SJP: Professionalising advice is a good thing – and we need to shout about it more

Plenty of people will have dreams of what the perfect job might look like and wonder if they still have the time, stamina and wherewithal to make a change.

What drives that urge to change? Is it the push out of moving from something unfulfilling or the pull towards a better work/life balance and a more comfortable way to earn a living?

We recently conducted some research on the subject, in conjunction with hiring platform Indeed, and it came up with some interesting findings.

It found that, despite offering many of the desired attributes in a potential new role, only 4% of UK workers have considered being a financial adviser.

Yet of those who have switched to the profession, 45% say they earn more money (even if they have not fully reached their earnings potential), 37% say they have a healthier work life balance and 20% add that their career has more purpose and meaning.

Each change in regulation and legislation has brought with it a series of inflection points, where those in the profession must weigh up their own personal considerations and future

That feedback led me to reflect on my own career journey and how the advice profession has completely changed. Even the description ‘profession’ reflects the journey away from being an industry that relied on a very different model – more transactional, less educational – to the one we see now.

When I started out, working for the old Midland Bank, it was very much reliant on the bank assurance model, with two weeks of intensive, residential training for new recruits. This was followed by experiencing financial roles of different guises and eventually leading teams in the business, learning as I went.

I first embarked on a career as an adviser because someone within the bank – at a time when many banks had large in-house teams of advisers – thought I’d be good at it. My necessary qualifications were achieved along the way and on the job.

Older advisers have to challenge themselves to see if it’s worth investing in themselves, keeping their qualifications fresh

Which brings me on to the fact adviser numbers have dropped dramatically, from 250,000 at their peak to less than 30,000 now, and is often blamed on numerous regulatory changes, notably 2013’s RDR and the increasing tightening of qualification and professional standards.

I don’t see it that way. Being part of a profession, with visibly high standards from exam passes to chartered status, is vital. But it’s true we need to combat the gap in advisers if we want to plug the gap in advice.

My view is rather that each change in regulation and legislation has brought with it a series of inflection points, where those in the profession must weigh up their own personal considerations and future.

It’s important to make clear to potential new advisers that it’s not just a rewarding career but a flexible, sustainable and purposeful one too

For example, older advisers – and the average age of advisers has grown older for some years now – have to challenge themselves to see if it’s worth investing in themselves, keeping their qualifications fresh, each time there is a revision. It causes them to stop and review whether the balance is still in favour of them continuing, rather than retiring.

As our research makes clear, the key to bridging the advice gap is making the advice profession a much more visible option for those looking for a switch. And it’s important to make clear to potential new advisers that it’s not just a rewarding career but a flexible, sustainable and purposeful one too.

Andy Payne is head of the St. James’s Place Financial Advice Academy