Adam YoungA Career profile: Financial Planning

Dragonfly

Personal Background

Adam Young Business owner of Dragonfly Planning:

Financial planning business Creates relationships with clients to help them

achieve their personal goals Building enduring relationships

Personal career path: Left school at 16 with 4 GCSEs Entered retail banking sector at Barclays Joined insurance brokerage in 1989 Bought out owner & re-engineered business into a

financial planning business

Introduction

Setting the scene for financial planning? Traditionally in the UK financial products have been

distributed through sales channels set up by retail banks, insurance companies or predominantly small adviser firms

Around the 1980s a more holistic form of distribution was introduced centring around goal oriented cashflow planning, providing a more comprehensive overview to the clients’ circumstances and introducing a broader range of solutions not necessarily product related

In addition the Retail Distribution Review has caused a re-alignment within the industry to increase professionalism, qualifications and transparency around charges

What is financial planning?

Exploring the goals and ambitions of clients

Understanding threats and risks to the family’s financial landscape

Establishing a lifelong cashflow forecast

Understanding their attitude to risk Creating a strategy to align their

objectives Implementing agreed solutions Reviewing planning and affairs

(typically annually)

Firms that employ financial advisory professionals Private Banks Wealth management firms Retail Banks Insurance companies Employee Benefit Firms Large advisory firms (often embedded

within accountancy/legal firms) Networks Small firms Sole traders

Career opportunities within the financial advisory market Administrator Paraplanner

Research & Reports Cashflow Planning Reports

Compliance Officer Client Relationship Manager Asset Manager Financial Adviser Management

Advice to someone considering financial planning as a career

Gain an understanding of the profession

Align your own skills and passions Need for qualifications requires

commitment Change is constant (prepare to

evolve) Don’t underestimate the soft skills

that are required to advise in an emotive environment

Regulatory framework provides structure but can also be restrictive

Qualification Pathways - Paraplanner

A number of factors are presently changing, however:

Paraplanning set at level 4 entry (foundation certificate in financial planning plus tax paper)▪ This is currently changing and it is likely that

most employers would request the new diploma▪ To be a good paraplanner requires good

administration skills and therefore someone entering into paraplanning without level 4 may want to start on their pathway by following courses on administration skills and learning on the job

Qualification Pathways – Intermediary/Adviser

To advise as an intermediary from 2013 requires a Level 4 qualification from a recognised accredited professional body such as CII and IFS

Qualification Pathways – Adviser enhanced educationThrough the Institute of Financial Planning (by way of example):

Certified Financial Planner designation requires: Diploma entry together with an exam and

case study Fellowship requires:

Exam route as a CFP or chartered professional or

A Masters at MMU (will require a thesis or dissertation)