What’s on offer
The variety of jobs on offer is endless. You could also be employed by a bank, insurance or life assurance company as:
- a tied adviser – only able to advise on products from your company;
- a multi-tied adviser- linked to a number of product providers;
- an independent adviser - able to choose from any products available in the marketplace.
Many work their way up through the ranks to a managerial role or set up their own company.
Paraplanner
Primarily a research and support role, your job would be to investigate the wide number of products in the market and pull together facts and information, which the financial advisers and planners take to clients. You may pull together a whole financial plan, discussing the implications of it with the principal planner. You’ll need to be organised and systematic, preparing reports on request and obtaining quotes.
Key responsibilities
- Preparing reports from information and documentation provided by financial consultants.
- Sourcing suitable products for clients, utilising product providers, external sources and in- house software systems, and make recommendations to financial consultants.
- Obtaining specific quotations and other literature from product providers which meet individual customer needs
- Resolving customer queries relating to transactions, ensuring no advice is given to clients direct unless authorised to do so.
- Acknowledging receipt of application forms and other documentation within standard time-frames and in accordance with procedures.
| Starting salary | Around £15,000 |
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| Potential earnings | £19,000 to £22,000 |
| Entry requirements | There are no formal qualifications required for entry. Professional qualifications are usually requested, although these can be studied on the job |
| Professional qualifications |
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| Apprenticeships | Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships. Contact www.careerswales.com |
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Financial Planner
Financial planners provide far more than just one-hit quick fixes. They look to the future, assess customers’ lifestyles and support them through a range of financial decisions to help them achieve their personal aspirations. You’ll need to understand what level of security each customer wants. Rather than specialising in one product area, you’ll need wide-ranging technical knowledge to understand the complete picture. You’ll be less focused on sales. It’s almost a counselling role, guiding people through retirement plans, investments, mortgages, inheritance tax – the whole spectrum of needs. This requires a creative, mature approach, and excellent people skills.
Key responsibilities
- Talking to customers about their financial situation, current provision for the future and future aims.
- Identifying personal goals and financial strategies and where there are gaps.
- Examining existing financial products, such as mortgages, pensions and life assurance, assessing whether they are best suited to each customer.
- Preparing annual summaries for clients, updating them on investment and pension performance.
- Contacting customers regularly with news of new financial products or changes to legislation and devising new strategies.
Please see Financial Adviser/Consultant below for entry and salary details.
Financial Adviser/Consultant
Advisers provide direct support to individuals and companies on financial matters and recommend the best way to make use of their money. Your job would be to help customers navigate through the financial maze, source the best product and secure a sale. You might, for instance, sell employee pension schemes to companies. In private client work you might specialise in mortgage, pension or investment advice. Some advisers are generalists, advising clients on these products plus all kinds of savings plans and insurance.
Advisers in tied sales are only permitted to sell their own company's products. Independent financial advisers (IFAs) sell a variety of different products from different suppliers, exposing you to a wider variety of people, situations and competitors. Flexible hours and not being confined to an office are among the many attractions of being an IFA.
Key responsibilities
- Contacting clients and setting up meetings, usually travelling to their homes/premises.
- Assessing each customer’s financial situation, providing information about appropriate products and services.
- Researching and gathering information from a variety of specialist company databanks and presenting the most appropriate options to customers.
- Tracking developments in financial legislation, such as taxation, tax relief and allowances, maintaining contact and communicating the changes back to them.
- Negotiating with product suppliers for the best possible rates.
- Maintaining detailed records which comply with the Financial Services Authority regulations.
| Starting salary | Financial Planners and Sales Consultants usually start on between £15,000 - £25,000 a year |
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| Potential earnings | Experienced advisers and planners can earn well over £60,000 when qualified. |
| Entry requirements | Experience in an advisory capacity is vital. You’ll need to have professional qualifications and specialist knowledge, which comes only from experience. |
| Professional qualifications |
There are fast track options for financial planners, with five years’ experience and who hold the CII’s AFPC, through the Institute of Financial Planning. They are required to sit 2 fellowship examinations to become Fellows of the IFP (FIFP).There are fast track options for financial planners, with five years’ experience and who hold the CII’s AFPC, through the Institute of Financial Planning. They are required to sit 2 fellowship examinations to become Fellows of the IFP (FIFP). |
| Apprenticeships | Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships for paraplanning and administrative roles may be available. Contact www.careerswales.com |
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Mortgage adviser
Helping customers make probably the biggest purchase decision of their lives, your job will involve balancing advice with selling. Demand for good and qualified mortgage advisers is huge. With them from the start of the process right through to completion, you’ll probably be the first point of call for house buyers, often more accessible than their own solicitor. Experience commands the higher salaries and you can find work within almost every high street bank or building society. Opportunities also exist within estate agents, broker firms or as an independent adviser.
As well as working with customers, mortgage advisers liaise with other professionals, such as estate agents, conveyancing clerks and valuers. You would be governed by the FSA 'Mortgage Conduct of Business' regulations, requiring you to act in an impartial and ethical manner. You will also need to gain an appropriate qualification, such as the IFS Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) or CII Certificate in Mortgage Advice.
Salaries can either be fee or commission based. Basic salaries (without commission) range from around £18,000 to £25,000.
Pension adviser
There is life after work, and one thing you can be sure of is you need a bucket load of cash to fund it. With state pension funds ever decreasing, people are making alternative arrangements, opening up opportunities for work far and wide. Insurance companies, trade unions and pension consultancies all house experts in this field – from the clerical support roles to high-level decision makers.
Advisers may give advice to a wide variety of individuals and employers. This can involve giving talks to quite large groups and speaking to individuals about their personal finance. With all the facts and figures in front of you, your job will be to research all the options and recommend a pension. You’ll also advise customers if their circumstances change, for instance after a divorce or a death of a spouse/partner.
Like financial advisers, pensions advisers must be appropriately qualified and assessed as competent before they can advise customers unsupervised. Appropriate examinations include the Certificate in Financial Planning awarded by the CII or the Certificate for Financial Advisers awarded by the IFS. Those advising on pension transfers or overseeing the administration of stakeholder schemes must also have passed an appropriate examination. Visit the FSSC website for a full listing of appropriate qualifications.
Pensions is a vast area, with jobs for specialists such as actuaries, accountants, lawyers and tax consultants. You could also work on the fund management and investment side, taking a big pot of money and making it grow (hopefully), balancing possible returns with agreed risks. These areas all have their individual training and entry routes – advising is just one avenue.
Stockbroker
Those who fancy some front seat money-making action may consider a career in stockbroking. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t require a move to London. Stockbroking firms exist in most cities and even large towns. Your job will be to make money for clients, selling equities (stocks and shares) or even commodities on the markets.
This is fast action, multi-juggling work, requiring a calm and organised manner. You’ll work with many different clients, including private individuals, pension and unit trust portfolio managers, buying and selling on their behalf. You’re not playing with Monopoly money though – stockbrokers invest people’s life savings and future, so there’s no room for error.
Key responsibilities
Deciding which shares within a portfolio to buy and sell based upon information provided by market analysts, news announcements and sudden movements.
Identifying market trends and potential opportunities to make a serious profit.
Responding to an economic or political event that may suddenly move a market, or listening out for company results and buy-out announcements.
Answering questions directly from a client and preparing investment reports on a regular basis.
| Starting salary | Around £25,000 a year. |
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| Potential earnings | Anything between £45,000 to £80,000 a year outside of London. Working in London generally pays more, with experienced stockbrokers earning well over £100,000. |
| Entry requirements | High earning potential makes this an attractive and competitive career. Most stockbrokers have a good degree - usually a 2:1 or a first - particularly in economics, law or accountancy. Increasingly, entrants have postgraduate qualifications such as an MSc or MBA. |
| Professional qualifications |
For a full listing of FSSC appropriate examinations, visit the website. |
| Apprenticeships | N/A |
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And there’s more
Money laundering reporting officers, compliance officers or sales and office management posts - money advice is a massive and growing business. There are endless opportunities with employers large and small or within the specialist network providers that service small businesses. Fresh blood is always welcomed, especially those with ideas to break the mould and revolutionise the business. This is an all or nothing industry though, so not for the faint hearted. You’ll need to study hard, but once the groundwork is done, you can carve a rewarding and successful career. Our advice? Take a closer look.
For more information about these financial jobs and others visit: