Latest / Financial Planner Life Podcast / From Rugby Player to Financial Adviser: How Titan Wealth’s Sports Academy Supports Career Change | Ethan Waller

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From Rugby Player to Financial Adviser: How Titan Wealth’s Sports Academy Supports Career Change | Ethan Waller · Financial Planner Life Podcast

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: And today's guest on the Financial Planner Live podcast is Ethan Waller from Titan Wealth.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: He is a financial planner and he also heads up the Sports Academy.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's financial planning for those that have come from a sports background.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: He was a professional rugby player, and we talk about that transition, the ups and the downs, and why running the sports academy positions him perfectly to help people transition from sport into a career of financial planning.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna love this episode.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, Ethan, thanks so much for joining me today on the Financial Planner Life podcast.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is a very special episode because we've got a great partnership now with Titan Wealth.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: And over the next year, we're gonna hear loads of amazing stories from the people in the business, their journeys, and what it really means to be one Titan.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a lot of people might know you as a ex-professional rugby player, but you're now working for Titan Wealth.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So tell us what you're doing currently.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh I had about 14 years in professional rugby, uh about nine years in Northampton Saints with a five-year spell at Worcester Warriors in between there.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but during that time I'd I'd done a fair bit of exploring in terms of what I wanted to do after rugby.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: And the thing that really took my eye was actually becoming a financial planner.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: So started exploring that whilst I was still playing.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh reached out to the guys at Titan Pensions and Investments and started doing a bit of work whilst I was still playing.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been there now for coming up to two years.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's yeah, I'm a financial planner first and foremost now.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's a bit bit weird saying I'm not a rugby player anymore, but that's that's starting to fade slowly but surely.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: No, I can understand that, correct?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we've been a few people actually on the podcast, ex-sports professionals.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Davey Lewis, you obviously know, ex-rugby player.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Kieran Bywalter played for Man United.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: That transition from sports into uh civic life, if you want to call it, can be quite difficult.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Was it tricky for you?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was it was trickier than I thought it was going to be, in all honesty.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: I I always thought I was ready for life after rugby.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: I spent a lot of my time during my career as uh the chair of the Rugby Players Association.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what they are is essentially the trade union for rugby.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: But one crucial part of what they do is they try and prepare you for what's next, so give you opportunities to educate yourself or get experience in various places.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I sort of accidentally got into rugby in all honesty, and I'm sure we'll come on to that in a in a little bit.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I always had one eye on what was next.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, I'd I'd got my qualifications in personal training, I was doing a degree with the open university, and when when I went and reached out to Titan Pensions and Investments the next day, I got told that my contract wasn't getting renewed.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I basically got told that I was being, for lack of a better word, being sacked.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: But I wasn't nervous at that stage because I got told there was a full-time job waiting for me at the end of this.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: I took it in my stride.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: I I had opportunities to go to other clubs, other places in the world, go and experience a bit of France or a bit of Japan.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: But for me, I was I think I was done with the emotional volatility.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I ended up uh retiring in June of 2024, took a month off and went pretty much hell for leather into becoming a financial planner.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now at this stage, I already have my qualifications, I've done all the RO exams, I have my diploma.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I thought it was going to be a relatively smooth transition in that sense.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Everything was already mapped out, there wasn't meant to be this big dip, but there are just some things post-rugby or post-sports careers in general that you you cannot prepare for.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: There's this this loss of purpose, there's the grief for the career that's now gone, but there's also an element of I suppose for me I didn't really have closure as to why I've I've my contract was ended, um, which was a big bit of it.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: But my solution to that was actually just going hell for leather into becoming a financial planner.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I got my head down, tried to get through the process as as fast and efficiently as possible, which I ended up doing.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: But then when I hit that point where I was signed off and going and advising clients on my own, I remember I had a week off in Cornwall, just me, my family, so my my my missus, my two kids, my dog.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: They'd all gone to bed, so it's just me and my dog downstairs in front of the fire with a beer, and I just had a complete breakdown.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: I was I was crying, I was, you know, struggling to breathe.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: Everything just came out in that instance because I just bottled up all these emotions going, right, let's just tread forward.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: And it was harder than I ever could have expected it to be.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that that gave me a bit of worry going forward because, like I say, I thought I was one of the prepared ones.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: I thought I was one of the ones who actually had this mapped out and ready to go, and I found it really, really difficult.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: So, for someone who might not have any idea what they're gonna do post-rugby or post-sport in general, what are they gonna be like in that situation?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: So which which sort of led on to us creating this this sports academy and trying to help ease that that inevitable downfall when the careers end.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Listen, thanks for being so honest around that.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's definitely something that I can relate to.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: I I had a recruitment business for 16 years, um, I sold it.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that level of purpose that I had every single day that when I was going there, it kept me going.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: It was my identity.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: So as soon as it was gone and it was taken from me in a way that wasn't in my control, it scared the crap out of me.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it scared the life out of me.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um all of a sudden, what you knew isn't there anymore.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I can relate to that.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And is it something that you have spoken to a lot with other people in rugby, in sport, people that have perhaps come through, and we'll get onto the sports academy in a bit, but have come through the sports academy here at Titan Wealth?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I have spoken to people that are in that situation now.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't really speak to anyone during that time period.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: I remember I was I was in that process with a number of people, but I don't know, it's a very, it's a very rugby thing, isn't it?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: This this macho, you're invincible, do not say a word, you'll be able to just get through it.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: But now I encourage the our current sports academy intake.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: I encourage them to tell me pretty much everything.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: We have catch-ups every single week where it becomes the changing room again, essentially, for for an hour a week.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: We sit, we talk about what they might be struggling with from you know learning the industry.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: We talk about how games went on the weekend, how their mental state is, because it's such a volatile career sport that some days players will come in and they'll be on top of the world.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Other times they'll come in, you can see a notable shift in the way that they're acting, the way they are.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: One of the plus points about moving into this industry is it's a lot more level, which is a big plus for me.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: But for them, it's about managing that and understanding how to control those emotions in front of clients, for example.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I encourage them to be honest with me, but use that hour that we've got as a release so we can keep tabs on them, how they are.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Do we need to adjust anything that we're doing from a training perspective or any meetings we put them in and make sure that they're still tracking or on the right path?
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So sort of behavioural psychology involved in how to handle those emotions when you transition it into a new role, such as financial planning, because you've been there.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: I love this, you know, changing room kind of analogy that you gave there.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a really lovely way to do it, actually.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Fantastic.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: How different then is playing rugby to financial planning?
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: That transition in from, you know, how how different is it from changing careers?
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well, I'm a lot less sore every day, I can tell you that for free.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, uh, and being in a nice, you know, air conditioned office in the summer, warmer in the winter is a lot nicer than being in shorts all year round.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: I can tell you that for free.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't know, I uh uh it's not hugely different.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: I suppose it it comes down to the people that you surround yourself with, right?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm I'm really fortunate that the the office I work in is for the fantastic people who are really supportive.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: And the one thing that if you ask most retired professional sports people what they miss, it's the change room.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's the people that are around them, it's not necessarily the playing, although there are elements of that that of course you'll miss.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: It comes down to these are the people that you spend most of your life with, realistically.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: These are the people that you see five days a week for the majority of the time.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to be surrounded by a good group for you to make the most out of it and want to stick around.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the the ethos that we've we've got at Titan, which is a real, real positive, and it makes again that transition a little less aggressive.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: But there's so many crossovers and takeovers that you can take from a professional sports career into this industry in particular.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the the attention to detail you've got to have, the ability to to build trust with clients is another massive factor of that.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: If you think on in sport, you're you're building trust with in rugby in particular, I guess 14 other people on the pitch that you are going to do your job at the right time, in the right place, with a split-second notice, slightly less pressurized from a time point of view in in this industry.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: But there are so many takeovers that you can you can pull into it.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I think sports people are so well aligned into this, which is why it drew me to it.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I think is why we're now seeing such a big uptake in this this sports academy.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Titan heavily involved in sports, they love it, right?
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: But they're not there involved with loose heads, which is the mental health charity for rugby players, or they're sponsoring rugby teams, you know, involved in sport in general, which is you know a great, you know, a great thing for yourself to see that because you feel like you're you know inclusive, I guess.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um another thing you sort of mentioned there was that um community, that finding your tribe.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think moving from rugby and professional sports into Titan Wealth, where you are now involved in running the Sports Academy, which is fantastic?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna get into a little bit of detail about that in a minute.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: But do you think that that transition from sport into financial planning and being part of a community of ex-professionals who are either going through the transition of becoming financial planners and still playing the game or fully left?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think that that community and that tribe, if you like, is beneficial to your career?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I would definitely say so.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: I I think take it with a pinch of salt because although yes, it's it's beneficial and it lets you know Ethan the financial planner go and succeed and have his career, but it lets Beef the rugby player still be in existence.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: They're two crucial aspects.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: But I guess what makes it different is when those players come into the office, they're no longer Angus the rugby player or or John O the rugby player, it's it's Matt Angus who are the financial planning trainees.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: They're there we don't see them as any different in particular.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: I suppose the only change that there is is we're a bit more flexible about their schedules.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: We understand that at the moment rugby has to come first, but generally they're treated the same as the the the rest of the academy, and I think that's why it thrives because everyone is on that level playing field.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: There is no hierarchy within it.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I love that.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned that you were doing your qualifications whilst you were playing rugby and that you were talking to Titan Wealth.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: So let's bring that into the personal experience and now into the academy.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: How does that, how does your journey, how has that shaped the sports academy?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I I guess my my route wasn't particularly conventional.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: As I said, I I tried a little bit of everything whilst I was playing.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to figure out what I didn't want to do as much as what I did want to do.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: And how financial planning came around is I was at Worcester at the time and we had an education officer there.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Her name was Lynette Cutton.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: She was brilliant, she was fantastic at understanding people.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: And she came to me one day and she said, You like helping people, don't you?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Yep, and that's why I'm with the RPA.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: I want to make the sport a better place, want to help my teammates.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: She was like, You also are a bit of a fan of your own voice, aren't you?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I certainly am.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's a that's a bit of me.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and she was like, Well, look, I think financial planning could be a good route for you to go down.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: We've got this company that are coming in today, they're willing to help put you through the exams.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: Why don't you have a conversation?
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: So that was in 2020.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I started my journey there, uh, as I say, with a company local to to Worcester.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I then left Worcester, moved back to Northampton to play for the Saints, but was only about three exams in at the time because I'd had I'd had various businesses, I'd I'd had a couple of kids, I was still trying to play rugby, so very much finding my feet.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I started having the conversation with um Titan when I finished well, sorry, once I'd done my R06 exam.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that was in January 2024.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I went and met with uh the owners at the time, uh Gilly Man, John Telford, who have been fantastic again in the Sports Academy, which I know we're gonna get on to.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: And they basically said to me, Look, we have an academy program here that we've basically all our advisors have come through.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone here is homegrown, we've never recruited.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: We think we can do something similar with you, but we'll put it around your rugby career.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Come in on your days off.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: We know typically it's a Wednesday, but if that changes, it changes.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: And come and actually put some of that skill into real life application.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Because I I did all those exams without any knowledge of how the industry works, without ever seeing how a pension is administrated or about how advice is actually given.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: I just had all this theoretical data essentially.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: And how it began was I I'd go in, I'd spend you know, mornings or afternoons where I'd be shadowing senior advisors, seeing how they actually provided advice, seeing clients from every different walk of life, which is one of the things that drew me to it, is helping everyone, whether it's someone with you know 10,000, someone with 10 million, and everyone in between, you can make a real impact on someone's life.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Coupling that with a little bit of experience in the power planning department or the operations, so you really get an understanding of how that jigsaw is put together.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now, for me, I guess I was the guinea pig for this.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we found out the things that as a rugby player coming into it in my 30s that that I didn't need as much work on.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, probably my biggest thing was my biggest strength was client-facing, being able to talk to clients, being able to have a conversation that I'd done with sponsors, fans for however many years, versus what I needed a bit of extra work on to this day.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm humbled by the printer in our office at least three times a week.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's you know, it's a tedious example, but they're the kind of things that we're able to hash out and realize what is actually going to be the best route for these athletes.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we started doing it.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: We've now got roughly about 15 current professionals that uh are with us on this program, and they'll vary from a day a week to three days a week to four or five, whatever fits their schedule and allows them to continue being rugby players because they know that that career is finite, that's when they've come why they've come to us.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: And we want to make sure that by the time that that does end, because that is the only guarantee you can have in sport, is that that career will end at some stage, that they're able to hit the ground running as soon as possible, and we continue to create advisors that are uh from this background.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: I do want to ask though, why financial planning?
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because you had different options available to you, you only get a couple of kids and stuff like that on the go, but you said you had some different businesses.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: You sounded like you had some ideas in your head of the routes that you wanted to go, but you know, why financial planning?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: And did it live up to the expectation?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I guess I'll I'll I'll focus on the other things I had in the go to start with and why I didn't go down those routes.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: So um I've always been quite a large gentleman and I'm a I'm big into my food, and and those businesses were largely based on hospitality.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: I started up a restaurant in 2020, which probably wasn't the best idea in hindsight.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I had a still have a barbecuing business um where we go out and we teach classes.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: But the more I did that, the more I realized the bit that I actually enjoyed was was talking to people and uh helping them, whether it was with, you know, how do I cook this bit of beef, how do I make a sandwich that's like this, and I'll go, well, you do XYZ.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: I found so many parallels in what I was learning and what I wish I knew as a rugby player.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because I throughout my career, I was I was your typical professional rugby player, right?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: I was never a superstar, I was never playing for England, I was just a very good club man, and there were times where I was paid pretty well for that privilege.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: But I think back on the money that I wasted and spent on ridiculous things, but a lot of that came down to just not having the education or the knowledge.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: I learned a lot of this stuff in the twilight of my career, which was realistically when my earnings had already peaked and was starting to come back down.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: Had I known it when I was earning a lot more, it would have been massive for me.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: And couple that with my experience with the RPA and just wanting to help players, this seemed like a perfect fit because not only can I now help these players, but I can also do this for my friends.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: I can do this for anyone who has an issue or doesn't necessarily understand how the industry works because it's not something that's regularly talked about or that people are necessarily educated in.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: My job, take all that cluster of information that's unnecessarily confusing, make it something digestible for the client that's sat in front of me, and hopefully make a tangible impact on their life going forward.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's the that's the bit that now gets me up in the morning as opposed to pushing into 15 other blokes every day.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually I can make a real impact on someone's life and I can help them achieve what it is they want to achieve.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, I love that.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: And again, having exports professionals on the podcast historically, they talk about the short career.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um the people in the game still not really thinking about it, they think it's gonna last forever.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: And some people in different sports, I know rugby's not the same as say football, but some people earn some considerable cash in football.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um actually I think majority of people in football don't actually earn about as much as a train driver would earn in their career or something along those lines.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: So thinking about how they actually prepare for life after sport, retirement, all these things aren't really top of their list.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: And apparently there isn't a great deal of people coming into the clubs and actually talking about finance in general.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, with your background in sport, your background in rugby, is it positioning you well to deal with clients that are professional sports people?
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think so, yeah.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh in fact, no, it's not even a think, it definitely is.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: I I have lost count of the amount of meetings we would have post-training.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Someone rocks up in a suit and tie, you're knackered from running around and hitting each other.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Someone comes in, talks to you about pensions, doesn't make it relative to you whatsoever.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: They talk to you about tax saving, but you're glazed over, just want to get out of that room as soon as possible.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: For me, something I say to players now is it has to be a balance.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: I've lived the career, I know how short it is.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be able to enjoy that while you're there.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Because for most of those people, they're probably not going to earn that kind of money again.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: So there has to be an element of enjoying it, but that's not to say that you can't make small tweaks, and the earlier the better, realistically, that can have a huge impact on when that day inevitably comes.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: For some people, they'll have a long career, it'll end in their mid to late 30s, they'll have had a brilliant time of it, they'll be able to retire on their own terms.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Some will not be as lucky.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen countless teammates that have had one injury that's that's shocked them and they've had to leave the sport entirely.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, how can we cushion that blow?
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: How can we make sure that when that cliff edge comes, it's a bit more of a step off a curve than it is a step off a cliff?
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: And we can do that by just intelligent ways of saving money, of reducing tax, things that become autonomous or ultimately taken off their plate so they can focus on enjoying the sport, enjoying what they're doing as a day-to-day whilst it still lasts.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: You can tell you've got a high level of emotional intelligence.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: I love that stepping off a uh stepping off a uh curb instead of stepping off a clip.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: I thought about that just now.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was really good.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: I love that, but also just the care and attention that you've got actually for those individuals because you've lived that experience, right?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: So that's really good.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: But you also have a bit of an entrepreneurial experience there with your businesses as well, which always comes in handy.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: I always find as an entrepreneur myself.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: Probably my personal finances are pushed to the side over the fact that I'm trying to run my business and build something spectacular.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I often sit in the background thinking, I really should take care of that.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, where's my pension?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: How much money have I got in there?
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm just super focused on trying to make more money on the front end, or you know, whatever it is I'm doing.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I do it's good to have that entrepreneurial experience as well because you know how tough it is, yeah.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: It is tough.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of the uh that not all sports people will think about life after rug, but you're quite right, and a lot of them think they're invincible, they think it will last forever.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: But you will get a fair few that will try and start a business, yeah.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's because they've got an ignorant amount of free time, which is something that I now realize I had, or that they are focusing on what's next.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: But a lot of it tends to be, you know, some people will start coffee shops.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: They'll uh it tends to be a lot of hospitality, actually.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or they'll start to look into something a bit more niche, and now suddenly you've got a lot of your mental focus has to be on the rugby, your spare time and that other capacity that you've got is now on the business.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: There's only so many times you can go to the well, isn't there?
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: There's a finite amount of bandwidth that you're gonna have.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of it is find someone that you trust, find someone that knows the situation that you're in, and that.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Can actually help you achieve what you want to achieve whilst knowing what your career span's going to look like.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: We know when things are going to go up, we know when things are roughly going to go down.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: We also understand the volatility of Autumn Internals, of playing around Christmas, have not having a Christmas break.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: There's a bit of common sense that comes with it, but I think you can only really have that if you've been in there and you've lived those scenarios.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get onto the sports academy, because I'm really keen to explore that.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because I just think it's you know one of the most fantastic things I think Titan Wealth are actually doing, along with other academies they've got.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: I want to dig into your actual experience at Titan Wealth, what you've experienced in your career so far.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: Can you just tell us from start to finish your journey?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: So as I say, I did those the exams from 2020, did my R06 in October 2023, had a couple of months where I did nothing, and then started with Titan in February 2024 after those meetings.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: The first six months while still playing, very much a case of getting a feel for everything, understanding what the advice process looked like, how we dealt with review clients versus new clients, or going out and helping with pension schemes.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: But then when I retired, I had a month break and then went into it full-time.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: Fortunately, when I went in at that stage, I'd done enough to start the sign-off process.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: So to go out and advise my own clients.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I managed to get through that um quite quickly in the space of about four to five months.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, at which stage I was then able to go out and start getting my own clients.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I suppose one of the things that Titan has been really good with me about is that, and with all the advisors that come through the academy, in all honesty, is you'll start to get reallocations of I suppose review clients to start with, to make sure that you find your feet, how you're advising, then you start getting a bit more drip-feed of new clients, and ultimately you then start to build your book up quite well.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I did that quite frequently up until about March.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: Then I went on quite a few pension schemes, which was you know, you're really able to hone your craft in that instance because you're seeing sometimes two, three hundred people a day.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: So you it is very much a trial and error at that stage.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm now at a position where I'm I'm extremely confident in what I'm doing.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I've inherited now quite, or in the process of inheriting quite a large client book.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't think I would have been able to do that had I not been able to have the confidence of the last six, seven months where I've been out there just finding my footing.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that confidence came from the support of Titan Wealth, just pushing you or supporting you to get in front of clients because of the clients that they've they've taken on through acquisitions and inheriting clients, these pension books you were talking about?
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I think it's for me that the as I say, the the my biggest strength is speaking to clients and building trust.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: And and I will quite openly say to clients that I might not know every single thing in the world, but you can bet that by the time you get an email from me later today or tomorrow, I will have gone and found the knowledge.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: The the crucial bit is building that trust and knowing that I'm here to do the best for them and I'm here to make sure that what they want to do is turned into reality in one way or the other.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's been the the biggest factor for me in I guess being able to be trusted with with some of these clients, and certainly this, the, the client book, is that ability to actually go and build those relationships with people.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: And that the the technical aspect is is hugely important.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: And the more clients I see, the more I learn, the better I get at it.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: But having the support network around me of all the experience that we've got in Titan is where I can then go to these people after meetings and say, Well, I'm thinking of going down this route.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think this is the best route for the client.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll either get a yep, that's spot on, or have you thought about you know adding this in?
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: Or have you thought about this route instead?
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: Take these options.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: And each time that happens, the knowledge bank gets a little bit deeper, it gets a little bit richer, and then it means that whatever comes through the door, whoever, whether it's someone from rugby, whether it's someone from you know a completely different walk of life, I've then got the tools in my arsenal to use this confidence and this trust that I've got to actually start making an impact.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's a distinct lack of financial planners in the profession.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: The average age is 56 years old.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Very, very few advisors, even under 30 years old.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: Really, really rare, right?
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, there's not many employed options for training financial planners.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: Most of them self-employed.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: You look at some of the major academies, as good as they are, they're they're self-employed.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: They're go in there, go through the academy, run your own partner practice, you're self-employed.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: What about your journey at Titan Wealth?
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: Self-employed or employed?
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: Employed, right.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that was that was a big point for me, in all honesty.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: I guess professional sport leaves you slightly institutionalized, to be honest.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think I came out from school where I had everything scheduled, planned for me, went straight into rugby where everything was scheduled, planned for me, including when I was eating for most of the time.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I knew that coming into a completely new career, I wanted to have something where, again, I could focus on getting better in the areas I needed to, utilizing my strengths, and ultimately know I've got the support around me that could give me that same level of structure.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: So from the word go, my days were structured in terms of whose meetings I was in, what admin I was doing, as and when.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: And even now that I've got more autonomy now in terms of how I schedule things, but I've still got people that that will help me with that.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I think for rugby players, that's one of the biggest draws.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think there's a right or wrong with employed or self-employed, but for me, coming into something that I knew there was going to be a lot of learning, I wanted to make sure that my bills were paid, that I could support my family, that that element of stress was gone and I could focus on the rest of it.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm glad I did, because if I had a breakdown without that, God knows what would have happened if I was uh self-employed as well.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: I was gonna say, you know, in in in hindsight, looking back at that moment, right, where you did have a bit of a breakdown, how important was that that the money was there, that the discipline and the structure was there also from the business and to kind of keep you on track?
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I'm I'm hugely grateful for it.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: I I think that I would have really struggled going down a self-employed route.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: And now that I've seen people that have really succeeded down there.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not to say that it's necessarily too bad, but for for me, it's I needed that level of stability.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'd come from an area that was so volatile, and half the reason I left rugby was I couldn't handle the emotional volatility anymore.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: I needed stability, and that was the biggest sort of base for me to then build this career on.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: Fantastic.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: So safe to say you're not a trainee financial planner anymore.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Not anymore, no.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: How long did that take you then?
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh roughly about four to five months, I think.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Four to five months.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I was quite fortunate that well, I suppose you can call it fortunate.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: I suppose I did the exams, but I was quite fortunate.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: I came in with my diploma already, which meant that realistically it was a case of understanding how the business worked, understanding how the advice process worked, and then it was just down to making sure that I was competent enough to be in these meetings by myself.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it was it was quite quick.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: I I'll be honest with you, I didn't really have a barometer at the time as to what was quick, what was slow.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm told it's anywhere between 12 to 18 months, but again, I I just knew that I wanted to get through it, and that's why I put my head down and just try my best to get that completed.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: And you often see within the self-employed, I'm gonna compare it to self-employed because that's what most trainees are coming in, either self-employed or they're lucky enough to find an employed right role like yours.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: But usually around 24 months, oh wow, and it's usually quite a stressful period.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's quite stressful.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: So um it definitely does help if you're in a business that has got the ability to support you because I think one of the most important things is you get in front of clients.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, training, development, support, get in front of clients, and that's like one of the most important things because when you're self-employed, a lot of the time you're around the phone, cold, call, cold, cool, call, you know, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratching around the dirt trying to find people, and it's tough.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it's good you're in an environment like that.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Just to give the listeners a bit of an idea, though, where are you now?
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, what's your client bank you're looking after?
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: What's the typical type of client you deal with, average investable assets?
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, it it varies.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: I I've got I've got clients that have got 30,000, I've got clients that have got you know upwards of six, seven million to beyond.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: And that's deliberate because I I don't necessarily that the whole reason I came into this, the reason as I say that it gets me out of bed in the morning is because I I fundamentally I want to help people.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: So no matter where they are, I'm able to give them some advice one way or the other.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in terms of the type of clients that that that I deal with, again, it's it's such a broad selection, and then that's what I love.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we've got business owners, we've got CEOs, we've got um people who work in construction.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: There is no necessarily broad brush with it, and that is the the crux of what I do.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: Helping rugby players is a is another aspect of it, and I'll continue to do that, but they make up quite a small part of the client book.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: So uh in terms of of numbers, I'm I'm as I say, I'm inheriting a client book at the moment, which you know, if if all goes well, will bring me up to around 100 million, fingers crossed.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: But at the moment, I'm I'm looking after roughly about 50-60, and it's in the process of getting that travelled over.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: 50-60 million?
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, phenomenal.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, how long have you been a full fat financial planner for?
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: Since November 2024.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's brilliant.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like in comparison to the types of advisors I talk to who are that early in their career, very, very few are managing that level of asset with such a plethora of clients that they're working with as well.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a huge opportunity at Time Wealth, by the sounds of it, for trainee financial planners coming through to be able to have that level of exposure to clients and that level of responsibility.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: So that's really good to hear.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it is.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: And it is a massive responsibility, and that's why, as I say, I'm quite I'm quite honest in in the conversations that I have.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I think it would be disingenuous to not be.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: I give a background of where I am.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't go in going, oh hi, nice to meet you.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: By the way, I used to play rugby because that doesn't necessarily go down well and makes me look a bit of a weirdo.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: But it it is important that there's to build that trust that all the cards are on the table.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so far, everyone's been quite receptive of that.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I've got some really, really good relationships with my clients.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in fact, in fact, uh, one asked me the other day if we could start having our meetings in the pub.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I went, uh, perhaps we'll we'll we'll stick with the office for the time being, but I appreciate the offer.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's get into this sports academy then.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so you're heavily involved in that.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us a little bit about the sports academy.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: Why did it start, and what are you doing?
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I think we've touched on why it started quite a bit.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: The the the for not the fundamental reason why it started is I'd I'd explored all other routes.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'd explored the self-employed route, I'd explored other academies.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: Fundamentally, you can't do them whilst you're playing.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: You have to either go and do the exams off your own back, or you have to take a substantial amount of time out to go and get through these academies.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that doesn't work for a player that wants to have rugby as their main priority or sport as their main priority, sorry.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: The way that we've looked at it is I came in and as I say, as a guinea pig doing a day a week whilst I was still playing.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: How do we make this more accessible for everyone around the country?
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, where I'm located at Titan Pension Investments in Kettering, that's where this started, and that's where the hub has been to start with to get people diploma qualified.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_01: But we're so fortunate that within Titan we have such a geographical spread that ultimately this can follow players with their careers wherever they end up going in their whether they re-sign in Newcastle or they sign down in Bristol, we've got spaces to accommodate them, or as we have done with some of the GB7's players, helping them when they suddenly faced not being in a professional sport anymore.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it is ultimately to help bring more people into the industry.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I guess you spoke earlier about that that aging population.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: As rugby players, you fill that that gap in the middle quite nicely because you come into this industry, hopefully, by the time your career finishes, fully diploma qualified, you've got life experience, you can relate to a lot of clients, but we also start to feel that demographic and that conveyor belt starts then to continue to roll.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think athletes struggle the most with when it's when they're transitioning into financial planners that those outside of say sport might not see?
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the printer was a big one for me.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, no, I I think a lot of it is it's difficult because I I've seen different people struggle with different things, and it comes down to personality and again knowing those people really well.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen some that have really struggled with just using technology because they haven't had to.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: So we had quite a few that came in and were typing with one finger, and it took things quite a while.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: I've had others that have struggled with actually they've got the knowledge, they understand the processes and are very technically minded, but they freeze when they're in front of clients.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: No, I see them in front of a rugby pitch, I see them in front of their teammates, they're really confident.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do you actually draw that confidence out in a new environment?
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that comes down to again, experience, getting in front of clients as often as possible.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: But I that there is no no really one size fits all with it, which again is why it's it's quite exciting because you've got some that will be able to fly through, some that will need a little bit of help in other areas.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: But the more people that we get through this process, the bigger group we've got then to call on for when other people come in.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm already seeing a lot of the mistakes that I made as a trainee shadowed in these advisors that are coming through at the moment, so I can help them overcome it, and then it continues to go down like that.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_01: So you really are the guinea pig, aren't you?
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: What are some of those mistakes in hindsight looking back?
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_01: For me, there was I think generalizing uh anything that wasn't client-facing as admin and not seeing it as important, which it absolutely is.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_01: That took me a while to to come to terms with little things like how notes are taken or how messages are relayed in in our office in particular.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're very efficient in the way that we do things, but we're only efficient because of the way we communicate.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: And it's quite ironic because you'll see a lot of these players who their whole their whole job and their whole lifestyle is being part of a team, but when they get into this environment, sometimes that just disappears by the wayside, they become a lone wolf, and it very much becomes a case of oh, I need to prove myself, I need to show that I can do this, that I don't make any mistakes.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: I want them to make mistakes, I want to see what they're doing wrong so I can help, but I can't help if if they're trying to mask that.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, again, it comes down to to making sure that they're they're honest with themselves, they're honest with me, and making mistakes isn't failing, it's learning.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_01: So shifting that mindset.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: The uh the plus side is though in sport, you're so tuned to feedback, you're so well tuned to it that whenever something is given to these athletes, they normally action it pretty much instantly.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's why I was able to improve at such a fast rate because I'd spent my life getting micro bits of feedback, watching the review of training straight afterwards, and immediately getting a message from the coach.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: So when I then receive that in this kind of environment, I know that that change has to be made equ instantly, and it's part of my DNA to do it.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why they can go through this process so fast, is because they're so well tuned to take feedback and action.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you are literally looking for feedback all the time, really.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because to you that's a development tool.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, it's not a personal attack.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think that's that's some of the things because obviously we have we have the sports academy, and then we have the academy as as a whole.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I'll do quite a bit of conversations.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_01: I have some trainees in meetings with me from both camps, from the sports side and the the the regular academy side.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_01: And those feedbacks, it's very much a case of this isn't this isn't an attack, it is the way to get better.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: The quicker we can action this, the further along you improve, the more I can have you doing in meetings, the faster you're signed off by yourself.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: Why is why is patience such a big part of the process as well?
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, within financial planning, I always hear about patience, you know, progress, not perfection.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: Why is patience such a big part of it?
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think patience is a is a massive thing because there are gonna be situations where a complicated client is gonna come around and you're not necessarily gonna have the answers, you're not gonna necessarily have seen anything like it before, but by the time that meeting's over, your knowledge will have increased no end.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_01: And now these these might come along once every few months, these might come along once every six months, but they're gonna be the cases that really start to push you into the the more comfortable scenarios.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_01: The more comfortable you can be with being uncomfortable, because a lot of conversations that that you have with clients, some of them have to be uncomfortable, to be honest.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I've had people come to me that want to do a certain thing and they're not in the position to do it.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be able to break that bad news.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: Someone wants protection, insurers won't protect them.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be able to deliver that message carefully, and these don't come around every day.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: So there's an element of patience in that end, but also honing you craft doesn't happen overnight.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: Even if you action feedback, that's just the thing that we've seen that we need to get better on.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's not to say you're suddenly the finished article, and I don't think I'm the finished article now.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm still receiving feedback and I embrace it.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um if anything, I'm receiving less than I used to, which for me is actually getting me a little bit itchy.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: I want to make sure that that I'm still doing things right, and I want to make sure that there's there's things that I can always improve on.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_01: The patience aspect of it is is always going to be a factor.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: I remember sitting in that sign-off process in in a bit of purgatory because I didn't know how long it was going to take.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: I thought I was doing all the things right, but then having had conversations with those that were training me, they said, Well, we haven't actually had a chance to see you in this situation or this situation.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_01: We need to if we know that you can actually go out there on your own and suddenly a client throws you a curveball that you've got to deal with.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I understand the frustration with it.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, I do, because I was I was in that scenario.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_01: But when you get onto the other side, I think you most advisors now would be grateful for the extra time that they took to get to that stage, especially when there's this an issue that's come up that you have to deal with.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: Which just kind of like reinforces the whole doing your qualifications whilst you're still playing the game.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, start the process as early as you possibly can, get that exposure as well.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, whilst you're playing rugby, why not dip your toe in the financial planning world as well?
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: And is that something that you offer?
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's that that's essentially largely what the Sports Academy is.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: So we have uh one of our uh trainees in the Sports Academy at the moment, he's not sure whether he's going to continue past this year.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_01: So he started with us March last year.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_01: He's got one more exam left to do for his diploma to be complete.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_01: But there's no reason to say that whilst he's he's playing, excuse me, he can't start on that sign-off process.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_01: So that then if he does choose to retire in the summer, he's actually fully ready to hit the ground running.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's that's so important.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_01: And and look, this academy, we're gonna have people in it that come in and realise this isn't what we what they want to do.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because if we've helped someone that's to figure out what's next for them and what the best step is, that's just as important as the advisors that we're actually bringing through and getting getting into this industry.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: The the ultimate aim has to continue to be to to help people, whether that's the players, whether that's other people coming in in the industry.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we're we're doing that really, really well at the moment.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you okay then well, let's just help people out who's listening to this, because there's probably gonna be a few people listening that are in sports, they're considering Titan wealth and the academy and the great work there that's being done.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: What type of person do you think suits the sports academy or suits financial planning as a career, as a profession?
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_01: As a financial planner, you're gonna you're gonna be client faction.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: You've got to have the ability to hold a conversation always positive.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I think a lot of the attributes that sports people have inherently actually make a huge, huge difference.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like I say, that ability to take feedback, that ability to constantly want to improve in an industry that's ever changing and everything is constantly throwing a curveball at you.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be able to adapt to that.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_01: Or in a meeting, you have to adapt quickly.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: So that coupled with the the structure that they all are are very attuned to, as well as that ability to really bring people together within an a a A group within an environment is something that's massively important.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that's not to say that that's the only route in, because naturally, if you sat down with a financial power and uh planner and a power planner, you're probably going to find two very opposing sets of personalities.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_01: That doesn't mean they can't both be in financial plan uh in the industry, sorry.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_01: So that's not to say that we should pigeonhole all of the sports people into one as well.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we've actually had a couple that have come on, started as advisors, realize that isn't the route they want to go down, so are now in the power planning side of things.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not to say that it's it's a one size fits all, it can't be.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: We've got the ability to actually house them in different areas within the company, which is again is is different to what's out there at the moment.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: Take yourself back then to your last couple of years in your career as a rugby player.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: What conversation would you have with yourself to prepare you for the next stage?
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's a tough one.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_01: That is a tough one because the things that I I could prepare for, I think I'd done relatively well with.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'd figured out what I wanted to do.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was confident that that was the choice.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_01: I tried enough other things that I knew I wanted to go into financial planning.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_01: The bits that you cannot prepare for, as I say, are the grief of losing your career, of losing your identity as to who you are.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_01: And certainly in that sign-off period, I hadn't found who that was.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_01: I was still just floating around trying to figure out who I was now, I wasn't beef the rugby player.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_01: Now, fortunately, I've I've found that it's Ethan, the financial planner, who wants to go and help people, players alike.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: But beef the rugby player still exists in those hour-long changing rooms and helping those people.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_01: So if I could go back further than two years, if I could go back, you know, maybe seven or eight years where I was probably at the peak of my earnings, there's definitely some financial things that I would I would tell myself, save a bit more money, maybe don't buy a sandwich shop, probably a big one.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_01: But I think now I'm grateful for those.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I wouldn't necessarily change a thing because that's put me in a position now to help others learn from the mistakes that I made and hopefully get a much larger group into smoother transitions when the time comes.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think your lived experience as well, going through it, carving the pathway for the next sporting professionals that come through that are concerned about life after sport, careers after sport, can comfortably move into the sports academy at Titan Wealth, knowing that somebody fully understands what it's like to be on that journey.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think your experience and sacrifice at that time and going through what you went through is only gonna make their lives a million times better and make the academy better and Titan stronger.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: Gonna finish on this one.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: What does the word or the what is the phrase one Titan mean to you?
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, coming from so Titan Pensions and Investments, where I am currently, was formerly Telford Mann, and we became part of the Titan group well before I joined.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so the last year or so has been integrating and becoming part of the group.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_01: And now it's to me that that one Titan is that we are all on the one same mission.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're all out there trying to help clients as best we can, trying to get them to the position that they want to be.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I guess the more that I've met different people from different parts of the company, the more it's strengthened that vision and that bond we've got.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: So the summit that we had last year, where everyone came together, brilliant opportunity to meet people.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_01: And since then I've gone on and done work with several of those that I've met.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we have such a such a geographical spread.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_01: We've got so many different ways that we can help.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_01: So no matter who comes through the door, there is someone within this business that will be able to help them get from where they are to where they want to be as safely and as efficiently as they can.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_00: Fantastic.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if anybody's listening to this podcast, they want to get stuck into Titan Wealth, go to the show notes.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be able to find a link where you can see the Academy, you can see any job vacancies.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and also as well, your contact details will be in there.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_00: And if somebody wants to connect with you on LinkedIn, they're happy you're happy to do that.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: Ask you any questions.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, get stuck in.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: Fantastic.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Ethan, beef, thanks so much for your time.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: Absolute pleasure.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_00: Cheers.