When Shakespeare wrote about all the world being a stage in As You Like It, he identified the ‘seven ages of man’ as different roles people play as they age.
None of the descriptions are flattering, in keeping with the pessimistic nature of Jaques, the character who delivers those lines. But taking Shakespeare’s age structure and applying it to advisers, what noticeable differences are there among the experiences and attitudes of advisers of different age bands?
In the first of a three-part series, we speak to advisers who have worked, or are still working, in financial advice, from their teens to their 30s.
Taking the leap
It is rare to find an adviser of any age who did not ‘fall into’ a career in advice. But Quilter financial planning consultant Dominic Johnson was single-minded from the off. As an administrator, he intended to become an adviser from the start.
“I was determined to pass all the exams as soon as possible to put me in the best position to progress,” he says. “After seven months as an administrator, I had a promotion and had passed my first exam, RO1.”
Johnson then decided to become self-employed, working alongside two senior advisers and joining the Quilter Adviser School to fasttrack his exams. “I was able to build my own admin business helping a number of advisers with their administration work,” he says.
For some new entrants, a job in advice is pure chance. “I studied a degree in commerce and business law,” says Joshua Bridge, now a legal consultant at marketing firm Pearl Lemon, a specialist in search engine optimisation. Bridge had previously spent three years as a paraplanner and adviser from the age of 22.
“I’d been studying for a few months and had a chance meeting with someone who owned an advice firm in partnership with a big financial services firm in South Africa – and I made a good impression.”
Old Mill associate financial planner Minnie Rider was just 19 when she joined the advice firm, having had no idea of what she wanted to do when she left school. “I liked maths and economics at school – I’m dyslexic and it was easier for me to get my head around those subjects,” she says. “Dyslexia hasn’t stopped me learning anything, but I have had to adapt the way I learn.”
Rider had deferred her place at Bristol University to join the Deloitte Brightstart apprenticeship programme, but found it was not for her. “I felt it was too corporate,” she says. “But it was more of a confidence thing – I felt it was too much, too soon.”
With her university place on hold, Rider decided to go travelling in Costa Rica for six months. But just before she left, a friend who was a financial planner at Old Mill offered her some work and the option of doing her diploma. When Rider came back, an offer of a permanent contract was made, and she went on to do her exams. She is now studying for chartered status.
“I didn’t understand what financial planning was at the start, but I liked what the advisers were doing and the client contact side of things,” she says. “I saw the advisers as role models.”
Now in her 30s, TP Financial Solutions director Tarnia Ellsworth left university with a degree in sports science. During the financial crash of 2008, jobs in her chosen field were scarce so she became an office manager at the Ministry of Justice.
“I think, on reflection, that was the best grounding I could have had to go into any industry,” she says. “Learning office work is important to managing an advice firm and you get along with lots of different people. It’s made me who I am in business.”
A colleague’s husband was a financial adviser who was looking for a practice manager and Ellsworth was recommended as the perfect candidate. “I did practice management for a while and met Annabel – now my wife – who was our adviser.”
Ellsworth eventually left the firm to become a self-employed paraplanner because it was difficult to juggle work – which, pre-Covid, was not offered on a flexible basis – with young children.
When her wife also left the firm, the couple decided to start up on their own. Ellsworth was to do the administration, paraplanning and office management, with her wife doing the advice.
“Both Annabel and I came from admin backgrounds, which is a good grounding to do the job efficiently,” says Ellsworth.
Pros and cons of youth
Some of the advantages and drawbacks of being a young adviser are more obvious than others.
“There is a lot of information to digest at the start and it can seem overwhelming if you have no prior experience,” says Johnson. “However, if you approach it with an open mind and are willing to do additional work it can be done.”
For Rider, not going to university worked out well as she has had three years ‘in the bank’ over those who have gone to university, which has enabled her to learn at her own pace.
“With dyslexia, it took me quite a while to study for my exams,” she says. “It has been six-and-half years – it will be seven by the time I’ve finished. Some people could have done it quicker, but it has been nice not to have that pressure.” Working also meant she could afford to move into her own flat.
While some young advisers find their youth an advantage in that older clients know they are not going to retire before they do, others find it a disadvantage. Being a lot younger than his clients was something Bridge found challenging, as clients would question whether he was old enough to advise them.
“I’m not much older now, but the difference between being 22 and 26 is massive,” he says. “The people I was dealing with were in the 35-55 age bracket and they wanted to see someone their own age or older. Even if I pitched up in a suit they were saying, ‘are you old enough?’.”
Having the confidence to speak with authority to people old enough to be your grandparents can be daunting, says Johnson. He says it is all about having confidence in yourself and the ability to demonstrate it to clients.
“As soon as a client understands you are as knowledgeable as senior advisers, they gain trust that you are offering the best solution,” he says. “I find it is to my advantage that I am younger as the client can be assured I will be there throughout their retirement.”
Some younger advisers accept they will inevitably find some aspects of the job more difficult and see it as a learning experience. “Since I’ve moved into an advice role, I’ve become more comfortable at being uncomfortable,” says Rider. “Having joined straight from school I’ve done every job in the support team – but my favourite role, by far, is being an adviser.”
What may not be quite so good for advisers in their 20s is maintaining a healthy balance between work, study and personal lives.
“It can be hard to keep a work-life balance, but I have good family and friends to ensure I keep that balance,” says Rider. While happy to do extra work over weekend or evening occasionally if something needs doing, Rider takes care not to make a habit of it. “Our role as advisers is to encourage clients to live their best lives, so it would be hypocritical of me not to have that for myself,” she says.
By the time younger advisers are in their 30s, they tend to have more confidence in themselves. “I feel like I know who I am as a person,” says Ellsworth. “In my 20s, I went into the workplace and copied how other people were doing things. Now I’m in my 30s I think this is who I am, clients will want to work with me if they like me and if they don’t like me I wouldn’t want to work with them.”
Ringing the changes
Younger advisers will not have had decades to experience the massive changes that have taken place in the advice industry over the years. However, that does not mean they have not experienced any change whatsoever since joining the profession.
Some young advisers see the move towards video calls, which started during the pandemic – and the dominance of technology in general – as the biggest change they have experienced. For others, it is diversity within the profession which is a noticeable change.
Ellsworth has seen a gradual change from ‘all middle-aged men in suits’ to more women and younger people, alongside more support for people in the LGBTQ+ community and black/ethnic minorities.
Other advisers in their 20s see the new Consumer Duty as the catalyst for big changes.
“Advisers and the rest of the industry that supply us with products and services have had to change a huge amount in a short space of time and this has impacted a lot of business structures,” says Johnson.
“While the duty beds in and people grapple with what it means for them in the long-term, I think we will see more change as we go – but this will ultimately be positive if it helps produce fair value and good outcomes for clients.”
However, Johnson adds there needs to be a recognition that no client is the same. “It’s important not to have a one-track mind when it comes to assessing client value under the lens of Consumer Duty, and instead take a step back and assess the overall picture,” he says.
For some advisers in their 20s, the duty is a chance to lay the ghosts of the ‘wild west’ to rest. “Sadly, the adviser industry hasn’t had the best reputation in the past,” says Rider. “We’ve had clients who are a bit skeptical because they have been stung before – maybe the charges have not been clear, or they haven’t had a full understanding of the recommendations.”
Rider says it can only be a good thing for clients to understand what they are signing up for, what they are getting and what it costs them as a result of the duty.
“I’m hoping if clients have a more positive experience, they will start understanding it more and speak about their positive experience, so lots of people will benefit who haven’t in the past,” she says.
Ellsworth would like to see it having an impact on legacy adviser charging. “We see a lot of clients who move to us paying a legacy ongoing advice charge and getting no service for it,” she says. One client had been paying 0.75% a year for 10 years and never had a phone call.
“I suspect a number of the people we see don’t understand they are paying an ongoing charge,” says Ellsworth. “It’s shocking.”
