Advise about a career in financial services.

Asur84

Hi all.

I am wondering if anyone can provide info or advice on starting a career as a financial advisor or just in financial services.

I am going to be starting the CII's certificate in financial planning to start with after I have applied for membership to the CII.

But my real question is what would be the best way of getting into the industry and what options would I have going forward.

Many thanks in advance.

coinxoperated

Hiya

I'm not a qualified IFA but come from 4 years of working within financial services.

Firstly, don't do it for the money. It doesn't pay half as much as it did before the recession.

Secondly, an people will argue this, but you need to be a salesman/woman with Charm. If you have no previous experience of selling, get that first.

Thirdly, the qualifications to be a mortgage advisor is the Cemap. They are hard, but not impossible!

Don't forget you need to be very compliant with the FSA rules and regs too ^.^

InsideInsurance

"Financial services" is a massive range of potential careers and organisations from a call centre monkey for an insurer (which is where I started) to a CFO to a multi-national banking group.

You really need to narrow down what you want to do a bit more. There are plenty of threads on this forum and in the insurance section about people wanting to become an IFA and how to go about it. If thats your interest then just search here first.

If you are interested in other potential career paths within the industry then look into them before paying for any exams. Whilst education is very rarely wasted you may find there are better routes to what you want than the CII exams you are thinking of.

Kirit

I have been thinking the same thing recently. I'm eager to move into insurance. I currently work in sales, but have no prior financial/banking/insurance experience, so I'm on a bit of a long shot with this one.

However, I'm planning to join the CII and undertake the FIT (Foundation Insurance Test) and then move onto CF1. To obtain the certificate you only need to pass 2 or so more module at Cert level.

Then I have the tricky bit of trying to find somewhere to take me on. But I've heard there's a bit of scope of flexibility between the FPC and the Cert CII, with a bit of overlap between the exams. However, I'm pretty sure that the RDR now states you need to do the next level up after Cert (possibly Dip) to act as an IFA.

If InsideInsurance wants to shed some light on my views (or give me a job offer I'd be grateful

angeltreats

Yes you do now need the Diploma to act as an adviser, RDR raised the minimum qualification level for advisers was raised from level 3 to level 4.

You'll find that most employers want Diploma qualified candidates for non-adviser roles nowadays, for example compliance or paraplanning, and a lot have even started asking for chartered or working towards chartered. I've worked in the industry for about two years and went straight for the CII R0 exams, I finished the Diploma in just over a year. I work in compliance and we all have to be Diploma qualified where I work and many including myself have started moving on to do AF exams.

National_Careers_Service

Hi Asur84

If you’re looking to move into the Financial Adviser role then the CII qualification that you mention is certainly relevant for that role, but I’m wondering if you’ve done any research into what kind of skills and experience employers might be looking for in addition to the qualification?

As I understand it many employers consider people skills and a strong background in customer service, sales or financial services to be more important than formal qualifications. I’m curious about what your work background is. Do you have any experience in sales or customer service?

If you haven’t done so already, you could start looking at person specifications to get a sense of what experience and skills employers require.

A common way to get into the Financial Adviser role is to start as a tied adviser in a bank, building society or insurance company. You would do this job after being promoted from a customer service role and achieving an industry-regulated qualification.

You could also start as a paraplanner – that’s a person who provides administrative support and research for independent financial advisers- and apprenticeship through a Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship in providing financial advice might also be an option that you could consider.

Of course all of that information relates to the Financial Adviser role and I notice that you are possibly open to various roles within Financial Services. As InsideInsurance mentions, Financial Services is a big sector comprising numerous roles which may have different entry routes, so there may be some merit in trying to hone your ideas a little and thoroughly research the routes into the roles that appeal. That way you can ensure you’re taking realistic steps to move forward.

I don’t know how much research you’ve done into other Financial Services roles, but you might like to have a look at some job profiles for that sector as a way of feeling out which other roles exist and what the routes into them tend to be:

Financial Services Job Profiles.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

Victoria

Kirit

Firstly thank you to Victoria the National Careers Service rep.
Secondly thank you to all the forum members that currently work within the financial services (FS) industry either as Mortgage Advisers (MA), IFA and Insurance consultants and who have contributed their views and opinions to various posts directed at Newbies to the industry.

And a specific thank you to the following:
Magpie Cottage
dunston h
ACG
Aegis
holly hobby

Since last October I've started to get a clearer idea of where I think I should be headed with regard to the financial services (FS) industry and the current state of the market.

There are numerous posts on this forum from either complete newcomers to the FS industry with no prior experience at all or those who have worked in the FS industry but in different roles and who either lack the necessary qualifications, or who wish to now head in a different path.

Having worked within sales throughout the past 3 years I have retained an interest in moving into the FS industry but was uncertain which direction to head in first, as I have never worked within FS.

My ultimate objective is to become an IFA, but I note that to do so a L4 qualification will be required for RDR purposes, and I note that a DipFA will serve that purpose. I feel it would be pointless to think about becoming a self employed IFA at this stage as I have no CAS and would need to either join a network or a bank to gain this, having worked with them for a while.

Having observed the current trend of the market I note a lot of retail high st banks have shed their IFA over the past 3 years, perhaps because they couldn't make the business model work. Yet, on the flip side I note on jobsites there seems to be a gradual rise in entry level MA roles becoming available and I continue to see MA roles advertised within high st banks unlike IFA roles.

I graduated around 7 years ago in law so I'm guessing that studying for either a L3 or L4 qualification wouldn't be impossible, but would probably still be difficult as I would be fitting in study time around a full time job, and of course, I've never worked in FS. My understanding is that a completed L4 qualification is equivalent to completion of the first year at university and I therefore presume a completed L3 qualification is equal to A Levels.

I understand that the IFS, unlike the CII provide you with elements of tutor support on the DipFa and the Cemap, and the more comprehensive, defined structure of the DipFA and Cemap courses draw me to the IFS. I've noticed that the Cemap is more widely recognised for MA roles by various banks and independent brokerages. Having never worked within the FS industry previously, my concern is that I would find the variety of options available on the FPC confusing as, with the exception of CF1, I wouldn't know what optional modules would be wise to select, whereas with the DipFA, my choices have been preset. My understanding is that with both the DipFa and the Cemap, I could theoretically complete each qualification within 9 months to 1 year.

Although I reiterate that my goal is to become an IFA, without any prior FS experience I believe that I would struggle to enter the industry as an IFA, even upon completion of the DipFA. Judging by the current trend in the market, I do not believe I would face the same struggle with the Cemap and entering the industry as an MA. I feel this would provide me with an opportunity to then obtain CAS and I could then move on to study DipFA.

Having searched on a popular auction site I note the numerous numbers of CDs now available with Cefa, Dipfa,CII, and of course Cemap past papers, and revision guides. All of which are by now out of date and available at a heavily discounted rate. My concern about using these materials has always been the July changes with the Tax updates as I seriously doubt these CDs will provide the updates.

I've also been speaking to a few private tuition companies who offer revision days and exam success strategies, and have mixed views on these companies. A lot of them push the hard sell over the phone, which I've largely become immune to over the years (probably because I do too much of it on a daily basis). My guess is that there will be a need to use the companies at some point as I understand that modules like Cemap 1 are especially boring and attract a higher failure rate, due to the large amount of material involved, with minimal practical application to client scenarios. However, I feel it would be wiser to join ifs, read their materials and then join a tuition company, if necessary.

So, that's currently where I am for now.

Any opinions, suggestions, guidance, advice, etc would be gratefully received and applied as best as I possibly can.

dunstonh

Most banks have pulled out of providing advice. So, one of the old routes to becoming an IFA has gone. This effectively leaves you with joining a local firm. However, most will not be interested until you have the qualification as you would just be a drain on their resources with nothing to show for it. The more typical route now is to start as a PA or mortgage adviser so you can earn money whilst you learn to become an IFA.

Do not waste your time with old CII materials. All pension stuff is now massively out of date due to the last two weeks. RDR change a lot of things (so pre 2013 material is useless) and the change of regulator and the regulated system effectively makes any old R01 exam material obsolete.

You can earn a significant living from financial services but most do not. I am lucky as I am long established and employ others (and earn from them as well as my own). i wouldnt want to be a new person starting out. Even in the boom years, over half of new advisers left the industry in the first 2 years, most of them in debt. You wont get spoon fed clients. You need to get them. However, you cannot cold call. They effectively have to come to you.

ifonly_

Hello,

I work in recruitment within the FS industry. Mainly for IFA and wealth management firms.

If you are looking to long term become an IFA then I imagine you will be looking at a career within this type of a company rather than banking.

Realistically there a 2 ways to get into these firms, either you go in into a trainee type role, or in a junior role and work your way up. The former are very few and far between and very competitive, and would most probably end up going to a recent grad or someone with a little industry experience. I would suggest that the latter would be the way to go. With a couple of 'CF' exams under your belt you could probably secure this type of a role as that would back up your interest in the industry, and a Law degree is also desirable in the industry so will help.

There are a number of firms who specifically deal with clients from the legal sector, so targeting these might help you to secure a role as you will have a knowledge of their clients.

Once you have secured a 'sales support' or 'IFA admin' role the firm would hopefully support your exam studies, and allow you to progress from there. You would look to achieve level 4 qualification and be a paraplanner, gain further experience of products/technical side and then progress to advising from there. I would highly recommend studying towards chartered status for higher employability beyond this and higher salaries.

Feel free to message me if I can help further.

Kirit

Thanks for your comments.

I think the Cemap and then trying to get a role as a PBA/PA moving to MA will be wise for now.

If I get CAS as an MA, will this suffice for an IFA

If so I can then proceed to DipFA and try to get paraplanner/tech/back office roles

magpiecottage

If you try to jump in then, as DunstonH says, you will probably leave the industry in debt within a couple of years.

Worse, as a law graduate, you need to know that FOS has no concept of limitation as you know it and will pursue you for life (or if you join a network then the network will pursue you).

Better to start at the bottom and work up.

IFS is, in my opinion, better than CII. You get the book and a year to have a pop at each exam.

If you can start with mortgages and get a backroom job with a firm then once you have CeMAP they may be willing to let you loose on their mortgage clients. Now may be a good time for this as later this month the demand for mortgage advice will increase substantially with new regulations.

Once you have done that you can study for investment exams as part of your continuing professional development.

If you ever set up your own business make sure it is a limited liability one and do not give personal guarantees to a network.

Otherwise you are likely to end up pursued to your grave.