training to be a mortgage/financial advisor?

plzhelpmesave!

Hi there

I have posted this on the employment thread, but hope its ok to put it here too, as there are IFAs and mortgage advisers about. Mods - please move if you need to!

My DH looking for a career change. He's been in various management roles for 10 years or so, and in retail management for 4 years, and is now looking to do something that can give us a more stable family life, and spend time with the kids. Looking into financial or mortgage advice.... i'm trying to make him into the next martin!!
Anyone out there who has been thru this? Just collating all the info at the moment re the various courses available/costs/qualifications etc, so any advice/suggestions would be really appreciated.

We're also hoping to apply for a career development loan if we can get it - anyone had one of these? if so, what do you think?

many thanks!

homer_j_3

Hi

If you use the search facility for CeMap or Training to be a mortgage adviser kind of titles there have been plenty of discussions around the subject.

The first thing I would state is that Martin is not a qualified financial or mortgage adviser, he is a journalist who has created a niche for himself.

The second thing is you need to understand the difference between mortgage and financial adviser as they are 2 different roles. Mortgage advisers tend to focus on mortgages and the protection products that go along with it. Financial advisers will deal with investments, pensions, protection, savings and some will deal with mortgages too.

To study to become a mortgage adviser, you need to look at CeMap (google ifs learning) or MAQ which is a CII exam. The CeMap costs about £400 for all of the exams if you pass first time. The FPC's are a bit more I think but not exactly sure.

The key mistake people make when coming into this industry is that they think that they can study for the job and then go and give advice. The industry is highly regulated, competitive and can be quite difficult to get a decent break in it. Its like driving - you learn to pass the test and then you realise how much more developed you become as you drive for longer.

The quality of life can be achieved but you will find that the hours can be very long and demanding.

I hope that gives you some ideas and food for thought.

dreamylittledream

There are two main rival bodies that offer financial services qualifications:

The IFS which offers the CeMap (mortgage) and CeFa (general financial advice) exams.

And the CII which offer a modular exam the Certificate in Financial Planning (CFP) - this was previously known as FPC. This has a mortgage paper that can
be sat to give you the same equivilant qualification as CeMap (CF6), whilst the other papers cover general financial services, risk and investments, life insurance, pensions and giving financial advice.

In a very general sense CFP/FPC is the more common exam to hold as an IFA or in the insurance industry. CeMap is very better respected qualification for mortgages.

Truth be told however there is very little difference in the two exams. Most bank trained advisers take IFS qualifications and most with a background in insurance will take the CII based one.

If you take CeMap or CFP1 and CFP6 you will have the basic qualifications to act as a mortgage adviser. If you take CFP 1-5 or CeFa 1-3 you have the basic investment advice qualification.

Taking some exams with one board will exempt you from others with the other. I for example hold a full CeMap and FPC qualification but I didn't take all of the papers that they are made up of as some of CeMap exempted me from the first FPC paper.

Both of these qualifications are entry level - IFA's tend to specialise in difference areas and will often hold further qualifications (what was known as AFPC before they went an complicated things somewhat).

Most people will be sponsered to do the qualification by their employer, although they are not particulary expensive (CFP papers are £90 for the exam and £55 for the distance study notes - so £725 for the full qualification). I believe CeMap is a similar cost.

As Homer said sitting the qualification will not qualify you to give advice, although it may improve your chances of getting a role with an employer.

Dan_Collins_2

Get him in to a corporate roel to learn the job and get the certificates he needs!

ManAtHome

Working for yourself usually reduces the amount of time you can spend with your family.

dunstonh

It would not be possible for a financial adviser to do Martins role or vice versa effectively as Martin would be hit with a load of regulation and compliance that would prevent him saying the same things as he does currently without a load of warnings and documentation etc. We cannot say what he says as we would breach FSA rules and could be fined and lose our licence. The rules for Journalists and financial advisers are different.

and is now looking to do something that can give us a more stable family life

Depends on what you mean by stable. Over half of new advisers leave the industry within two years, many in debt, having failed to make a go of it. Those that do stay on tend to have to do a lot of evening work and driving and that can kill family life. Its only later in your career that you can look for the big earnings and better lifestyle. That said, its ten to one in the morning and I have just finished writing a suitability report that I started just after 10.

The industry itself is in decline. There are about a third of the financial advisers that there were 10 years ago and I seem to recall the same being said 10 years back. Mortgage side is suffering at the moment as well. Things are likely to get harder on the financial advice side (rather than mortgage advice side) from 2009 when it is expected that the minimum qualification for IFAs will be the Diploma rather than the current certificate (diploma is what used to be called the AFPC which DLD mentions). To get to that level typically needs 12-13 exams (assuming mortgages as well).

The old career path of starting with an insurance company as an agent and/or tied rep has gone. Nowadays the banks have taken over that role. Its a horrible job being a tied agent at a bank but its often a necessary evil as they can pay for the exams, get you clients and you get to make your mistakes on bank customers without any personal financial liability. This is why you see banks having such a high turnover of advisers. The good ones move on and the bad ones leave.

Its a brilliant career once you are at the top levels but its pretty rough at the start. I wouldnt want to be starting out at this time.

plzhelpmesave!

thanks everyone for the informative and detailed replies - appreciate the time taken. Haven't been on much this week due to sickness & sick kids so have only just read them. Looks like he'll have to look into something else then!

chezzers

Looked into doing exactly the same about a year ago ( funnily enough exact same reasons, with roughly the same experience). Studied through CII towards CF1 with thoughts of progressing onto CF6, which would have led to me being qualified to advise on mortgages. Signed up for the course, but did'nt do my research into future employment.
I decided to sign up to a few agencies (reed, etc), and put on my CV that I was studying toward CF1 and hoped to progress onto CF6. Applied for a few Trainee Mortgage Brokers jobs, only to be told that a) I had to already be CeMap to apply and b) I needed 12-24 months face to face financial sales experience. I took that to mean that although at the moment I earn a slightly less than average salary, I would be better working in a bank for £12-£14,000 a year and hope that a position came along.
It may have just been my bad experience, but your DH is probably better getting a position within a good company as a Sales Support, continuing his studies and hope that his hard work and education get noticed.