What is a Financial Adviser?
Financial Advisers offer advice on investments, taxes, estate planning, college savings accounts, insurance, mortgages, and retirement to their customers. Personal Financial Advisors, Financial Planners, Financial Advisers, Financial Service Advisers, and Investment Advisers are all terms used to describe them.
A Financial Adviser’s goal is to build a strategy for a client’s money. It ultimately boils down to compensating someone for the skills required to achieve specific goals. In this scenario, a more promising financial future.
There are many different types of Financial Advisers these days. The following are a few of the most common:
A robo-adviser is a computerised platform that provides financial recommendations based on the data that a client provides. It assesses a client’s risk tolerance and recommends investments based on algorithms and, in some cases, artificial intelligence. These services are often low-cost, but they are restricted in what they can provide.
These services go beyond robo-advisers by often providing a greater range of alternatives. Online financial-planning services are mostly automated and may assist a client in developing financial plans and budgets, as well as portfolio management, goal setting, and reporting.
Certified Financial Planners (CFPs), brokers, Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and wealth managers are among these professionals. Traditional Financial Advisers often give complete, specialised financial advice to their clients. They may provide product suggestions based on the client’s unique position and objectives, invest on their behalf, and keep them on track.
Financial Advisers are often ambitious people, which means they are natural leaders who excel at convincing and influencing others. They are also traditional, which means they are detail-oriented and organised, and prefer to operate in a structured setting. If you recognise yourself in these traits, a career as a Financial Adviser could be a perfect match for you.
Responsibilities
Your responsibilities as a Financial Adviser will vary depending on the type of company that you work for but will include:
- Speaking with customers to identify their spending, income, insurance coverage, financial objectives, tax status, risk tolerance, and any other information necessary to construct a financial plan.
- Advising clients on insurance coverage, investment planning, cash management, and other areas in order to assist them to achieve their financial goals.
- Analysing financial data provided by clients in order to build strategies for achieving their financial objectives.
- Assisting customers with financial document summaries, investment performance reports, and income predictions by preparing or interpreting financial document summaries, investment performance reports, and income estimates.
- Providing financial advice and answering customer queries regarding financial goals and strategies.
- Putting financial plans into action or connecting them to experts who can assist our customers.
- Regularly reviewing client accounts and plans to see if life or economic changes, situational issues, or financial performance demand plan revisions.
- Taking care of customer portfolios and keeping them up to date.
- Contacting clients on a regular basis to learn about any changes in their financial situation.
- Establishing and retaining a clientele.
Salary
The salary for Financial Advisers is influenced by geographic location, employer and experience.
The expected average salary for a Financial Adviser In the United Kingdom is £40,296 per year, ranging from £22,000 to £154,000. The extra compensation is anticipated to be £11,408 per year. The estimated average salary for a Financial Adviser in London is £68,390 per year, ranging from £28,000 to £209,000. The additional income is anticipated to be £25,106 per year. Cash bonuses, commissions, tips, and profit-sharing might all be options for further compensation.
Working hours and work location
Some positions, such as working as a tied adviser in a high-street bank have set office hours, usually working 35-38 hours per week. On the other hand, working at a banking contact centre or as an independent Financial Adviser (IFA) requires flexibility, as customers may request evening and weekend sessions. Financial Advisers often operate in small or big businesses’ offices. To bring in new clients, some travel may be necessary to attend conferences, seminars, or networking events.
They may also be required to travel to the workplaces or residences of customers. The majority of Financial Advisers work for finance and insurance companies, such as securities and commodity brokers, banks, insurance carriers, and financial investment firms; however, many personal Financial Advisers work for themselves, running small investment advisory firms in urban areas.
What to expect
Financial Advisers are classified into two types, fiduciary and non-fiduciary.
- A fiduciary Financial Adviser is obligated to prioritise clients’ interests over their own. They are not permitted to get commissions on the sale of any investment and normally work on a fee-based basis in which clients pay a fixed charge (monthly or yearly) for their services. Fees are paid separately and are not deducted from your investment balances or trading results.
- Non-fiduciary Financial Advisers sometimes work with institutions that compensate them (through commissions) for selling certain investment products. They are merely subject to the criteria that investments be “appropriate” for your needs, rather than the lowest cost or greatest fit.
To help you grasp the differences, consider two mutual funds with similar performance. Because it is in their client’s best interests, a fiduciary Financial Adviser must propose the fund with the lowest costs. Because the fund is still “appropriate,” a non-fiduciary Financial Adviser can suggest it with higher costs, netting them a bigger commission. Various Financial Advisers will provide different sorts of services. Because there is no one-size-fits-all solution, there are typical services provided by various Financial Advice specialists:
- Advice on investments: Financial Advisers assist in determining the appropriate investments for risk tolerance and objectives. They also assist in staying on track or making smart changes when life throws a curveball.
- Debt management: Financial Advisers may help develop methods to pay off your current debt and stay out of debt in the long run.
- Budgeting: From saving for a trip to purchasing your dream house, Financial Advisers can help create spending and saving plans that will help a client achieve their goals.
- Retirement planning: Financial Advisers may assist in increasing savings, identifying shortages, and then protecting what a client has saved as they approach retirement.
- College savings: Financial Advisers can assist in identifying educational savings plans that align with clients’ education.
- Tax planning: Financial Advisers may assist in identifying strategies to save money on taxes. This might include charity contributions, tax-loss harvesting tactics, and working with your tax adviser to ensure that a client’s investment strategy helps reduce the annual tax bill.
- Long-term care: A Financial Adviser can help plan for healthcare later in life, including long-term care insurance that fits a client’s budget, regardless of their age.
- Estate planning: Financial Advisers can assist in identifying chances to achieve your legacy goals, such as transferring wealth to family members or making charity commitments.
Qualifications
Although graduates and diplomates from any discipline are welcome to apply, the following topics may help you stand out:
Employers generally consider personal traits to be just as significant as academic qualifications, thus entry without a degree is conceivable but a degree can ensure that you get the best paid and most prestigious jobs on the market. In order to work as a financial adviser, you’ll need to complete a level 4 Financial Advisory qualification recognized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Skills
Here are some of the skills that you should possess or acquire in order to become a Financial Adviser:
must have skills:
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, and listening skills
- Self-motivation and organisation
- Research and analytical skills
- Customer service skills
- Determination and tenacity
- Negotiation and influencing skills
- Time management skills
- Professional and ethical work ethic
- Discretion and knowledge of the importance of client confidentiality
- Ability to explain complex information simply and clearly
- Ability to network and establish relationships with clients
- Ability to work in a team
Work experience
Apart from formal education, relevant work experience in customer service, sales, or financial services is also a plus.
New entrants frequently begin their careers at a bank and study part-time while learning from seasoned advisers. As a paraplanner, you might work in the Financial Advisory industry, providing research and administrative help to a Financial Adviser. There is no requirement for a postgraduate qualification prior to admission. Some retail banks provide graduate training programs, although private banks frequently hire graduates immediately.
A higher Financial Adviser apprenticeship or a financial services professional degree apprenticeship are also options. For a higher or degree apprenticeship, you’ll typically require 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent. You may work your way up in a bank as a financial services administrator or customer service consultant. To do so, as previously mentioned, you’ll need to study for a Financial Conduct Authority-approved level 4 certificate in financial counselling.
These include:
- Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning from the Chartered Insurance Institute
- Diploma for Financial Advisers from the London Institute of Banking and Finance
- Investment Advice Diploma from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment
Career prospects
After a successful career as a Financial Adviser, you may choose to:
- Work on behalf of clients with larger sums to invest.
- Ascend the ranks of your company and take on responsibility for the work of several other advisers, the recruitment and training of new employees, or the marketing and promotion of the firm – this could include forging relationships with accountants, estate agents, and solicitors to encourage them to refer clients to you.
- Specialise in one sort of financial advice, such as pensions and retirement, planning, or savings and investment plans, and you may become known as an expert in your workplace, with colleagues referring to you for client guidance.
Some Advisers advance to compliance work, which entails ensuring that all advisers adhere to corporate rules and regulations established by regulatory organisations. There may also be possibilities to join your business as a director or partner. Another alternative is to work for yourself. Financial sales consultants with successful work experience are frequently hired to start their own firms as independent Financial Advisers (IFAs).
Read more: What can you do with an MBA in Finance?
Related Courses
The University of the West of Scotland’s one-year full-time program will give you the executive training you need to launch your career as a Financial Adviser. Since the London Campus is located in the financial centre of London it provides you with a unique perspective on UK business and gives you a hand up on Londons’ lucrative Financial Adviser job opportunities.
This one-year full-time program delivered by the University of the West of Scotland will provide you with the executive training you need to get your Financial Adviser career off the ground. The London Campus is positioned in the heart of London’s financial district, giving you a unique perspective on UK business.
BA (Hons) International Business
Students can choose from a variety of start dates for this full-time program given by the University of the West of Scotland London over the course of two years and eight months. Industry experts, guest lecturers, and seasoned professionals are available to teach students at UWS London. The best thing about this course is that it is held on the London Campus, in the centre of the United Kingdom.
MSc with Accounting and Finance
This one-year full-time program delivered by the University of the West of Scotland will provide you with the executive training you need to get your Financial Adviser career off the ground. The London Campus is positioned in the heart of London’s financial district, giving you a unique perspective on UK business.
