As I see things, the secret of success is to build on the strengths, work on tackling the weaknesses and, perhaps most important of all, recognise that it is rarely possible to alter an individual’s fundamental personality. With that in mind, the name of the game is to make sure that the round pegs don’t end up being wedged into the square holes. Fortunately, in the financial services industry the holes come in a variety of shapes.
Looking back
Going back a decade or two, it was not unusual for investment and mortgage advisers to land in a financial services career almost by chance, attracted by the prospect of challenging work that brought rewards for dedication and effort. It was equally a matter of chance whether they ended up performing the right role in the right segment of the industry to fit their aptitudes. The result was that some able and well-organised people whose personalities were not really compatible with a front line sales environment ended up as advisers. Meanwhile, some eager beavers who could sell ice creams to Eskimos if necessary, were languishing in the back office.
It has become even more important, since industry-based qualifications were developed and regulation extended, for the right people to end up in the right jobs, whether administrative, compliance-related, advising, or team management roles. With everything much more complex now, the talented all-rounder (always a rare breed) could be threatened with virtual extinction. Entry into financial services has inevitably become a step along a planned career path. If ‘planned’ means ‘structured to suit the abilities and aptitudes of the individual’, I am all in favour of this trend.
Graduate entrants
Something that has helped many new entrants to the industry to gain a clearer picture of their preferred career path is the fact that degree-level courses in financial services are provided at various colleges and universities. The courses turn out academically-qualified individuals with broad financial services knowledge. I have said on previous occasions that many of these able graduates are not ready to come face-to-face with real clients. Some, I suspect, may never be ready. That is not a criticism but simply an observation that their abilities may lie elsewhere. An advantage of the broad academic training they receive is that they are better equipped to recognise their own aptitudes and target the right market segment.
Many new entrants, rightly, aim to gain the necessary public-facing experience as soon as they possibly can. Even for them, there is usually a form of ‘apprenticeship’ to serve. This often takes the form of entry to an independent firm as a para-planner. In the course of such an apprenticeship, they learn about the administration and operations of an independent practice and gain some limited exposure to the client-facing side of things. They gradually shoulder more responsibility and can progress to the role of fully-fledged adviser.
Diversification
Some entrants recognise and accept that the client-facing end of the business is not their cup of tea. One option for them is to follow a similar trainee route with a view to advancing as well-qualified, specialist para-planners. They, like those who go on to become advisers, find that there is great diversity within the financial services sector, with varied niche operations abounding. At Park Row, for example, we have our core independent advice business, a multi-tie operation (derived from our Royal Liver parentage), a prestige ‘Corporate & Private Clients’ offshoot, our specialist Mortgage Partners business and our internet-based AdviceOnline service.
This scale and diversity enable us to put all my preaching into practice by creating an environment where individuals can develop into generalist or specialist senior advisers, or adopt a support role such as para-planning. Backed by an ongoing development programme to help advisers to get more out of their business and a Practice Buy Out scheme for when they finally hang up their boots, we think our arrangements are among the best in the industry. Companies that fall behind in selecting, training and supporting their people, whatever their chosen role in whichever market segment, will increasingly find themselves disadvantaged in this competitive marketplace.
