Latest / Financial Planner Life Podcast / Supercharging Financial Planning Through Award Winning Administration

Transcript

Supercharging Financial Planning Through Award Winning Administration · Financial Planner Life Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone, it's Elena here from the Financial Planner Life Podcast, and this week I'm joined by Maria Mushtak, who is in an advisor support role at Holden Partners.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: This episode is all about empowering all things in the administrative role within the financial planning profession.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about why the administrative role is so valuable, the value that it can give to yourself, the importance of doing exams and administrator, the different future career options, and really we just empower this position and why it is so crucial to the clog in the financial planning business.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Me and Maria also talk about why women should pay more attention to their finances and the different experiences that ethnic minorities have within the profession.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, good afternoon, Elena.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: All good.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: How are you?
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, very well.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it's the first question that I start with with everyone when they're a guest on the Financial Channel Life podcast.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: So can you tell us a little bit about your experience today and how you've got to the point that you're at now?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, of course.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I started in the legal field, uh, did all my qualification and degree in there, joined uh my dream firm, stayed there for about a year, um, and then I needed something a bit more flexible rather than the uh legal hours I was doing until 2 a.m.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: sometimes.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: So I joined financial services by accident.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: A friend of mine was working at Chase DeVay.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: She said I should apply.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I did.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: It was an exciting job, a lot to learn, especially for someone new coming in.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I've not looked back uh six years down the line.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: So here I am.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, we you know, we've spoken about this before, but you know, you could have started um your first position within financial planning.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, obviously you had all the law degree, the qualifications, takes a lot of time to get to that point.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, you've you've as you mentioned then you've stayed within financial financial services for the past six years.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, what is it about this profession that's made you stay that that you love about working, you know, within this industry?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think it's got to be the two main things.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: So independence to work how you want to and manage your own workload, um, learn at your own pace the things that you are interested in or want to specialise in.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and secondly, just the ever-changing job, isn't it?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: It's no one day's the same.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that mostly tends to be because of the various different clients needing different things, not the job itself, but just different clients will come in and they'll be like, ah, we're special, we need this done.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's got to be those two things for me.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Lush, and um, and I think, you know, once when you're doing um, you know, a law degree or you know, building a career within law, there's obviously so much to learn, you know, all the regulations, you know, things like that.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And we speak to lots of people that have got law degrees um and want to, you know, start a career within financial planning, or on the flip side, you know, have worked within a law firm like yourself and go to build um a career within the profession.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, did you find working within financial planning really like fed the appetite to learn?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, it's a different kind of technical knowledge, but did you feel like it gave you, you know, lots um something to grab and build on, really?
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, it requires a lot of uh familiarity with the different products that you're dealing with.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: There's also a lot of regulation now, which didn't used to be there when the industry initially started to get advisors in or new administrators in.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um there's a lot of scope for you to learn.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: There's also that ambition.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: Almost everyone within my current firm uh is trying to get their exams done.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: Almost all the power planners, with exception to I think two, are chartered um already, you know, just in their power planning positions.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: Some of the advisors are fellows of the um financial society.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so there is that ambition and that drive, and you wanting to learn more and also be specialized in the field that you're working in.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: So that can be any career that you're choosing, and you're coming into finance, you're still going to have that drive, that ambition.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: You can also use some of the skill set you've obtained in your previous, you know, career or field that you were working in.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: So the skills are quite transferable.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100% very transferable.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I think financial planning, you know, gives you know lots of people a pedestal to keep learning and keep developing.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's an amazing industry for you know, second careerists and people that have come from one firm um to another.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: And um, within your current position, your job title is advisor support.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Am I right?
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you are.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Do you mind elaborating to it a little bit?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because obviously we said this before, you know, um, advisor support, financial planning administrator, IFA administrator, you know, wealth administrator, client technician, I've seen the role be called, you know, it's a very subjective um, you know, title, and each administrative position within different firms are very different.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: But do you mind giving us a little rundown about your job role and what that really entails?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Of course.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: So most of our job requires um new business and client onboarding.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, then once that's been done, it's also reviewing the client annually and making sure that we're giving them performance of their portfolios, taking any client inquiries in between, making sure that they're kept in the right risk profile.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the admin's job isn't just back office data input, but it's also liaising providers if anything needs doing or obtaining quotes if any new product is being recommended.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um so it's it varies and depending on how big of a client you've got and how much work is being done for them.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: Some of the clients tend to be simpler.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: So these are your wealth-building clients where they're looking to just utilize their allowances, the ICEs, their pensions, um, make sure they're building enough portfolio for say income in the future, whereas others will have enough monetary funds but just will need IHT planning or business relief if they've got businesses that they just want to offset the gains or losses against.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: So it depends client to client, but your work is quite varied.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: It's not restrictive.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: You will be asked to do something that a an administrator and say medicine or even uh a PA in legal field won't be.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: So you can just change.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing that I really love about the administration role within financial planning is that you really get to see everything from the onboarding to the implementation, and that you are arguably, I would say, probably, you know, the role within the career, the um the role within the per um the profession, the role that deals with clients that really get to see that process cradle to grave.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I know we've spoken about this before, but can you elaborate on that in a little bit more detail?
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, of course.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: So absolutely, you're right.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: You get to see the client journey from the moment they become a client, even prospect clients.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: So when they're they're just discussing the options and looking at three or four different advisory firms or wealth management firms, to all the way until some of these clients actually pass away.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_02: And most of our advisors have a report with these clients for 20, 30 years.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: So it gets to a point where you even know their families, their grandchildren.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: So you don't just get the initial wealth planning or management bit, you also get to deal with their estate, you also get to deal with their children's university fees being paid.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it's also a job role where you get to deal with every aspect of their journey, not just writing the suitability letter for them or just meeting the client to discuss their objectives every year.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: You get to see the whole picture from start to finish.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess I would think so, and I'm sure you you'll agree that that's really fulfilling, you know.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think lots of people are looking for a job role or a career where they really feel like they can add value to the lives of other people.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: And do you feel like the administrative position within financial planning allows you to do that?
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it depends on what you categorize as fulfilling.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, and I understand and respect that some people might think, you know, building the portfolios of someone who's already got two or three million is not necessarily fulfilling to them.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: But you do also get those vulnerable clients who are elderly and are utilizing their portfolios just to manage enough for their day-to-day expenses, or those clients who are vulnerable and still have powers of fraternity in place who are looking to pass their estate on to say, you know, as a trust to their grandchildren.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: So those roles can really be fulfilling.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: And with most of these clients, you have to keep in mind that not all of them will have the financial knowledge that you do, and you need to be careful of the type of jargon you're hitting them with.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: So I find it fulfilling personally.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that definitely comes across.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we, you know, I feel like in financial planning, and I I I've said this before, you know, I feel like all roles within the profession, whether you're a TNC manager or an office manager or a paraplanner or um, you know, a partner of a of a practice, are all really valuable and really important.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I think sometimes the caveat of being called an administration role means that those roles aren't seen as valuable maybe as as others.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I I don't agree with that statement.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that you don't either.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: So do you mind talking to us a little bit about you know why you think the administration role is so valuable and important to sort of like the day-to-day running of a financial planning firm?
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it depends on the firm you go into.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: So some roles will some companies will diminish the administrative role to just, you know, back office and keeping the data up to date.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, in my firm is quite important.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: It's an important job.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: And the care that you can see the advisor giving to the clients and the power planner then actually keeping their circumstances in mind when prepping the suitability letters, it actually feeds back down to administration.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: And it's nice to see that everyone cares about the job that they do.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: And with the administrative role, like you said, it's not a small role where there isn't a lack of care or responsibility.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot that comes with it.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: A little error in say trading or sending an investment instruction can just decapitalize the client's CGT planning for that year, or it may sell down funds that with market movements might impact them to a much degree, uh bigger degree than you can uh initially imagine.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say it's an important role, quite subjective in that view as well.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: No, I think it's definitely an important role.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I always use the analogy as you know, as I said, I I just talked about loads of different roles within the profession then.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: But I think fundamentally we very much often talk about the administrative position, the power planning position, and the financial advisor role.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I always view them as three clogs in a machine, you know, one isn't gonna work without um the other.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And very much when we go back to what we were saying before about how the administrator is the individual that sees everything from very often through the whole process from the cradle to the grave, you know, they're almost like the glue, you know.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: The administrator is the the one that keeps everything ticking along.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's so cru the administration role is so crucial.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I I really like the analogy that you used with me once that the administrator is almost like the final chink in the armour.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: No, absolutely, you're right.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: It is like a tripartite system, so one thing will affect another.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the job is quite interlinked, and I think where the essential part comes in for the administration team is that we are basically the final, well, the completors of the work, if that's the analogy I'm going to use.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: So the advisor might go into a client meeting or a review and agree certain things with the clients verbally, discuss their objectives, discuss what they're looking to obtain or make use of in terms of the financial advice for that year.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: The power planner will then take that into account and prep the relevant recommendations, and then their job is done.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: It's up to the administrator to actually make sure that everything that's been agreed goes through till the very end, confirm back to the client, provide them with that reassurance that they're looking for.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so it keeps that report with the client, knowing that everything that they've actually spoken about has taken place um and has been implemented.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I completely agree.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, um we've spoken about your your obviously you've worked within a a couple of different um financial planning firms.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um and how is your role um developed, even though you even though you've always been in like an administrative capacity, you would say that your role is still developed in terms of competencies and technical capabilities as you've sort of progressed?
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_02: So initially when I started at Chase DeVere, it was quite basic admin, um, primarily because there was a lack of familiarity with the different products that were being offered.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Chase DeVereer are quite a holistic advice firm, like my current firm at the moment, Holden and Partners, where you offer holistic advice.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_02: So that includes insurance, general investments, includes IHT planning, pensions, and retirement planning.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so it was initially quite basic.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: So you're dealing with review packs or general client queries or just new business bits that come in.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: And over time it's varied a lot more where my job has just become a lot easier, where you're just able to do it within, say, three or four hours of the day, and then you've got the rest of the time to actually think about improvements, think about other things you can do within the business.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: So it's been basic, then it's gone to a technical level where I've specialized in certain products like pensions or VCTs and EIS planning.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: And then it's gone on to reach out to other areas of the business where I help out.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I lead the charity team, I help out with health and safety, and you you just have a lot more time to engage yourself in other areas of the business and make the overall client service a lot more easier.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes you can also impact your colleagues' lives by making processes a lot more smoother and time efficient.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_02: So it's developed a lot more.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's developed so much.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so nice to hear as well that the the position you're in and the fact that you've got familiar with your job duties has actually freed up more time for you to get involved with the wider business and help you push hold and partners and help you shape them forward because I feel like lots of people want to be within an organization where they can really, you know, help drive that ship.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: And while it is really dependent on the business that you're in, you know, you've obviously said very fortunate to be within an environment that will allow you to do that, it just goes to show that you know you can be in those kind of positions and that your voice is still heard.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, you know, once you get more comfortable and competent with certain competencies of the job, you actually have more time to get involved with wider areas of the business, which I'm sure gives you a larger job satisfaction.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um and when you've got involved with more of those competencies, has it been something that's like been offered to you?
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: Has it been something that you've been like, no, I want to do more, or has it been a bit of a combination of the both?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's a personal drive.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you'll get by any company.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: So as long as you can show that you're capable and you can get um any goals that you do have set, done and accomplished within time, you there will be opportunities that will come.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I think if any new administrators out there, you should look to utilize the those opportunities, whether be it to learn something or gain a new skill set, because by involving in these different companies, you really get to see how the management system works or how you're being maybe organised certain projects and what impact they have overall in the work that's being carried out.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's an opportunity for you to learn, develop your skill set, get involved in something that you don't normally get involved in and add a bit of change to your day-to-day.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and just add, as I said, like add value.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: You're obviously in a position where you get to add so much value to your clients, you know, getting the opportunity to speak to them day in and out, but obviously you then get to add, you know, value to the wider business.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And um, for yourself personally, um, obviously, um, you know, you're sitting with the exams, you're you're continuing to develop.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Have you thought a little bit about you know what you might want to do within the long term in the profession, or are you still sort of hashing that out?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: You get that question quite a lot.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's an interview question, isn't it?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: Standard.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: What are your goals in five years' time?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think personally I would like to get our pressions into quite a good place.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I don't see myself power planning long term.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um again, it depends on the firm that you work in.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: Our firm is mostly DFM, so discretionary fund management, where we set portfolios that clients go into.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: There are quite a few advisory clients, but where you have set portfolios, there isn't much of the chance for you to engage in fund research, for example, which is more of the freer form of power planning.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: So that's not something that interests me.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: I think for advising, you've got to be a certain type of person, quite salesy, quite confident, quite often, you know, meaning to go out there and get clients.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_02: And again, that's not something I envision myself in.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I think down the line somewhere, maybe operations might be something that I want to stay in, but you can't ever pinpoint for the next 10 years of your life.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: No, um, but I really wanted to highlight that, um, Maria, because I think that you know, people always see the career development path within the profession as quite linear, as sort of like you step in as an administrator and then you become a power planner, and then you become a financial advisor.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost viewed like that is the right or the natural career ladder.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: And don't get me wrong, there is amazing people who start within the progression as administrators and become excellent financial advisors when they learn all the different ropes.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's really nice to highlight someone that is in an administrative position, doesn't see themselves as a financial advisor potentially, you know, we don't know what might what will happen, but you know, does still see themselves as having like a really strong career path within the industry from what they've done.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: And do you think that I I guess it touches on what we said in terms of getting involved with other projects, but do you think then um that the skills that you've picked up from your administration roles or your advisor support role currently will allow you to do well in operations potentially in the long run?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: I think so.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um there's quite a lot that you learn.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: And it's also just some of it is general uh I I guess open-mindedness.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: So just looking at things from a bigger picture.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: And it doesn't again need to be just limited to operations.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_02: You can go into compliance, you can go into investments.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_02: There's so many parts of the advice process that we have going on in a firm that it's not just limited to say advising, like you said, which is the traditional path, isn't um after you become an administrator, you'll do your exams, go into power planning, then advise.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: You can still do your exams just to get the knowledge and have that credibility for the job that you do, but not choose to follow the standard path um and involve in other areas of the business.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: There's always someone who's needed for compliance.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you touched on then, you know, like the ex the exam side of things.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Am I right thinking that you're you're on your exam journey at the moment?
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: I am.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I've done two, um, doing the third one, and then I need to complete the other three to get my diploma.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm sure you'll do so well.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because I was I was gonna say then, you know, just hearing yourself speak previously about um, you know, the industry and what you do in your day-to-day, I'm being hit with that jargon, like Maria knows her stuff.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: I have no doubt about that.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: But people, you know, especially if you don't necessarily want to be a power planner or you don't necessarily want to be a financial advisor, some people might sit at her and go, well, you know, why why does she want to do her exams?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: Or or what value does, you know, you think that they add?
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess for the audience, do mine shining a light on like why you decided to do the exams and why you think they are, you know, how you think they're going to benefit you and why you think they're important.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think it's a definite must if you're in the field, just like if say exams aren't requisite to get into the field because there's a lot you learn on the job and familiarity breeds knowledge after a few years.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_02: But if you have the exams, you've just got that confidence that you know the products that are being recommended.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: So next time you're hit with a suitable letter and there's a certain advice being presented, you have an understanding of why that's being done.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_02: It will also help you manage your own finances to a degree, especially if you've done an investments exam or a pensions exam.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: You won't need to go down an advice path or look for someone who's financially regulated because you'll have that knowledge, you're able to help your families out.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not saying start, you know, recommending certain funds to them for investment, and once it hits low, you get blamed for everything.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_02: But it's a knowledge of the job you're doing, and it'll make you feel more confident, it'll make you feel a bit more capable.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it might even lead you to be a champion of those areas within the business that you've done the exams in.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, did you find that your like progression in different areas of the business has sort of aligned with the exams that you've done so far?
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: It definitely has.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: So I did RO1, which was regulations exam.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_02: It really helped me understand the compliance side of things and the senior management regime and why we need to hit certain areas.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um within certain say deadlines.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_02: GDPR initial uh requirement came in in 2018.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: That quite changed the financial industry.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: We had to get a signature from all of our clients, keep that in mind.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_02: Then recently we've had um client duty of care come in at quite a stringent level by the FCA.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: They are again guidelines, but we need to show that we're treating our clients fairly and fulfilling our duty to them as advisors.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um so there's a lot that you learn through the exams, which will help you not only your job, but everyone else's job within the business.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: And naturally, by feeling more confident in your job and knowing the ins and outs of everyone else's job, that's just going to allow you to be, you know, the best administrator and the best employee for your business that you can be.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: If you're trusted with your job, you're given more independence.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's nice all around.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_02: You're not feeling like you're being micromanaged or, you know, there just to do the hours.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: It takes that feeling away.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess going to like the flip side of things, I think one of the things that, you know, you mentioned to me about is that sometimes when you start an administration job um within the profession, and there might be people within the um, you know, within the audience that are listening to this, they feel like it's slightly a data input job.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: And they're sort of, you know, maybe not having the exposure to clients or doing some of the more technical tasks that they would like to be doing, like yourselves, they're hungry, they they want to do more, they want to get involved in more.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if maybe someone in our audience is feeling this way, um, you know, how would you get them to challenge that or overcome that?
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think as part of any job where you start from the bottom, which is essentially the administrative role.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_02: I think the only lower bit is an apprentice, maybe or a junior administrator.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, there's going to be a prerequisite for you to do some of the dry jobs with a bit of data input.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: And these jobs aren't going to go away because everyone needs to do them.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: They're they're part of the job, they help the advisors, they help the power planners.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's an important job that needs to be done.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_02: And you've got to learn to walk before you start running.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: So it's one of those things that you do actually need to do for a certain amount of time before you're given that trust to deal with something more complex or something more gritty to get into.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: The one thing you can do when you start off a job like that or a role like that is try and learn something about a new product or work with someone else who's, say, in the power plumbing team and say, hey, I'm interested in this product, or hey, I saw you do say CGT calculations for this client.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, do you mind showing me um how you did them or what impact this has?
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_02: And the thing about financial services is a very much a uh people-driven sector.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's all about relationships and engaging with your teams that you're in, with the company that you're in, and not just the clients.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_02: So everyone will always be open to teaching you something new or talking you through something.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, there isn't that higher set hierarchy that you get in other firms, say like KPMG or PWC, where there's associates that you won't even see for most of the year.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: It's very much working with people, working with the partners, working with the advisors who you see or interact with on a day-to-day.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: So you've just got to be open uh and ask questions and have that drive to learn more.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess you've got to wear on your stripes to a certain level, you know.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like you how how long have you been within like the financial services now?
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's six years.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: So you're obviously in a position where you're sitting your exams, you're like hyper technical, you know, you listen to yourself speak, you you know your stuff.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, that that didn't happen overnight.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's really important for for the audience to appreciate that that you know, like you're you're top of your crafts.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna go into your accolades shortly, Marie.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, that that doesn't happen overnight.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I think one of the things that I sometimes get frustrated about um do doing things on the recruitment side is I will speak to candidates um who, you know, really want to be financial advisors, you know, that's their long-term aim, they know what that what that what they want to do, and that's brilliant.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love that passion, I love that drive, I love that ambition.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: But I sometimes get a bit frustrated when people almost get disillusioned with the fact that they've got their first role within the industry.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: Very often it's an administration role.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: And sort of three months later, they're calling me up and they're going, Well, I've done this for three months, like when can I be a para planner?
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess, you know, you'll probably you'll probably agree with me that you know it's even there is so much to learn in the administrative position that even if you do have long-term ambitions to step within a different role, it's not something that you can do like super quickly.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: You've gotta you've got to learn all the rotations of what you're doing.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_02: Correct.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_02: No, you're absolutely right, Elena.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: And it's also about the company size.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_02: So when you're in bigger firms, maybe the shift might be quicker than say in a smaller firm.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: There needs to be that position available, that role available for you to actually walk into, and also, like you said, have some credibility and some exams that are completed with it.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_02: Most companies nowadays nowadays will require a full diploma before you even think of power planning, and they'll shift you into something called a junior power planning role where you actually learn on the job what it's about before you move into a full functioning role.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_02: I do recruitment as well here.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_02: So if you not ask it, but just the initial interviewing uh new administrators into the company.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and one thing we always uh highlight to them is you'll need to give the job at least two years of your time before you actually think of moving into power planning.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I think some of it is to do with our company size.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: We are a smaller firm and the shift in roles and job changes or promotions isn't going to be as fast as somewhere bigger, which is a national firm.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but you do need to give a certain amount of time to administration.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_02: And three months, like you said, it's almost an impossibility.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: You don't even know the A to B of final, you know, administration, let alone go into power planning.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: So that's about patience.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Patience.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: But let's say, for example, we use that two-year guideline as a bit of a guideline.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: I know we've sort of like I plucked that figure out all there.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: And as you said, completely subjective, you know, different jerk people's journeys might be super accelerated.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: You might be in a position where you can sit your exams within six to twelve months.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know people that have done that and you're ready to take that next step.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: But I just think it's I would like to highlight this because it's something that we speak to a lot with people, and I think it's really interesting to point.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: But if we use that like two-year time frame as a bit of a said, pulled out of thin air, why do you think it's important that someone sits within an administrative role for two years before they start thinking about the next step?
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_02: So when you join any new firm, the first three months are just three months for you to learn how that company works.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: So that's going to be their internal processes.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: As I said, financial services doesn't regulate exactly how each work is done within your company.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_02: They just want the broader goals met of client fairness and your duty of care being in place.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_02: But each firm will have its own procedures, each firm will have its own um processes of doing certain things.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_02: So the first three months you're becoming familiar with the people that you're working with, the processes of how things are done, their back-office system, um, just certain providers that they're working with.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_02: Each firm also has different providers that they work with, and each provider will have its own platform, its own functionality.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_02: So the first three months are just gone like that.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: You shouldn't even consider them as part of the two years.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_02: Then you've got your exams.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_02: Now, each exam does require at least two months of revision.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_02: And you've got six exams to do within two years.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: So you if you even if you paste out three exams in the first year and three exams in the second year, you should take your time to actually know the background and absorb the knowledge that you've obtained from those exams and not just, you know, memorize them.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: I do understand that the diploma exams are multiple choice questions, so you can't memorize stuff and just go in and tick boxes and it's done.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: But you should try and absorb that information because that's going to help you with your power planning job.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_02: Secondly, each firm has its own investment proposals and agendas.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_02: That itself is going to take you some time to adjust into looking into fund research, looking into, especially if you're in the ESG field like we are, what greenwashing is and how we actually s select certain companies to be part of our folios and portfolios and uh their fund selections are offered.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_02: Then you've got your manager that you need to satisfy.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_02: So you're hitting your KPIs, you're hitting your objectives that they've set for you.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then overall is about developing that that trust within two years that you have excelled at your job, you've done your exams, you've you're smashing everything out, you know, through the park, and the company will then be able to trust you with the power planning job.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_02: Again, because the jobs are so independent, they're not there's no way to measure how much work you're doing on a day-to-day to the tiny detail where we can see how long it takes someone to write a suitability report or how long it takes someone to prep a review pack.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's all about trust and capability.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: So once you're into power planning, no one is going to be looking over your shoulder, making sure you're doing certain things.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_02: Two years at a company gives them that trust.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_02: It gives you that credibility once you've done your exams, you're familiar with the process from start to finish of how the advice goes, and then you're ready to step in and actually do the letters and take on the next part in your career journey.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that was such a beautiful explanation, Maria.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: That was so lovely.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, as I said, I think there will be people that you know are really hungry to be successful um within the profession and might have a role in mind that they want to get to, which I said absolutely I love the ambition, I love the drive that people have, but it's appreciating and enjoying the journey that you're on rather than always, I guess, grasping for the next thing.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, if if you're really motivated and driven and you do the right things, eventually you'll get to the point that you want to be at, but you've all got to enjoy that journey.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I think even just going back to that question that we previously asked, in terms of, you know, why that two-year period and you know, people that I we I speak to that have been like, I've done this role for three months and I want to move on.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: Do you feel like sometimes the administration role within the profession can be a little bit overlooked?
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we've spoken about how it's so valuable, but do you feel like it can be undervalued by people at times?
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely it can.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think, especially for those advisors who've not been in the role and they've come straight into say a trainee advisor role after their grad degree, um, or they've come into from power planning onto advising, and they might not necessarily understand everything that's needed to actually fulfill a piece of advice that's just been issued out to the door.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: It might take a power planner three hours to prep that report, an advisor another hour to overlook it, and then sign off and send it off to the client.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_02: But it'll take the administration team six hours, seven hours to make sure that everything goes through, confirmations are sent out, keeping an eye on things.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so it can it definitely can be overlooked.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_02: And also it's the nature of the roles, bottom of the food chain, essentially.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_02: So the job is sometimes simpler, but the volume of the job isn't simple, it's all about prioritization and management of your time, and that's a complex part of the job.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_02: The job can be quite simple and complex depending on what you do, but it's on you to manage it, and that's the key bit.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because even though, like, you know, and I we're we I we're using administrator and I sort of like generalizing this term throughout the whole episode.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: And as I said, you know, it's it's not very often that you work within a financial planning firm and you're called administrator, you know, administrator so the camera can see you're a financial planning administrator or an IFA administrator, all these job terms that I I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: But I think just the word administrator and the fact that it's an administration role can have certain connotations to it.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm sure you'll agree with me that you know the the this role is nothing but simple.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's something that should not be overlooked.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: It it adds tremendous value.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: And while it is the administration role within the profession, it's not simple or or basic like you might assume, you know, other administration worlds like generally are.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_02: No, absolutely.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_02: It is a lot more complex.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_02: You do need to be familiar with what's being recommended, you do need to be familiar with the service sector that you're in, and I think even how to deal with clients.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_02: Our clients are a lot more nervous than other sectors, they are a lot more needy than other sectors, apart from medicine, I'll exclude that.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um they do require a lot more attention and they do require trust and that rapport.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_02: And if you pick up the phone and a client is called in and they're giving you their name and they're like, Oh, I'm so so.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_02: I've got this portfolio, I've just received this letter from the provider, I don't know what this is about.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_02: Can you shed some light onto it?
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_02: And you're there sounding wobbly and not knowing where to go and how to obtain that information and reassured them, it makes them lose faith within the company, not just in the administrator not being as competent.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_02: It makes them lose faith in the service being provided and how their their uh portfolios or money is being handled.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I agree with you is a lot more technical.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because I feel like that's always the pushback that I sort of have to give people in terms of like the length of time that people expect to be in the role, or you know, in terms of you know, we I do speak to people that, oh, I don't want to start as an administrator, and I'm there like, well, if if you really dived into the nooks and crannies of the role, like I we're we're definitely shining a light on today, Maria, which is why I was so excited to have you on as a guest.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's a role where you add so much value, you know, you're invaluable to your business, to your clients, you can build on your technical knowledge, it gives you all the foundations to keep on excelling within so so many different areas.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's why um it's been so nice to talk about that.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: But I guess you mentioned earlier on um that you are involved um with the recruitment side of things, and I think there will be lots of people that you know are looking for their foot in the door and do see the administration position as where they would like to start, or generally just you know, other administrators that are looking for a different role.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: When you are um recruiting people or you're going through that interview process, what are the things that you usually look out for?
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_02: Because we're a smaller firm, we look for a good team fit.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's the that's our most important category.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_02: So we need someone who's optimistic, willing to learn.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_02: Those are some of the key things that we look for.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and they've got some kind of familiarity within the financial services.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_02: They don't need to know everything there is to know, but it would be good to get someone in that we don't need to tell an ISA is, for example.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we do have uh junior administrators or apprentices, like we call them, with you know, who have no knowledge whatsoever of what's going on and we're happy to guide them through things and have training sessions with them and show what different products are.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_02: But for someone who's coming into an administrative role, we need to just know that you're the kind of person who will engage, who will be willing to learn, who will uh pick up our processes and socialize with the team.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's funny that you say social fit is so important because one of my colleagues ran a poll the other day in terms of like hiring managers on what you look for.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: And um, social fit were was definitely on the agenda, I think the highest percentage that that most people said.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's nice for our audience to to hear, and especially from you know, a potential you know, hiring manager or someone's in the interview process math directly, is that like just go in there and be yourself, and you know, if if there's synergy and you're a good fit, your experience might not a hundred percent hit the mark.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: But if you show that optimism and X, Y, Z, like like you're saying that you're just splitting, that you you might be able to still find them um a role within the business.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's really encouraging um for people to sort of hear.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think I touched on the accolade earlier on, and I'm gonna blow Maria's trumpet because obviously Maria has spoken a lot about the knowledge that she's got today, and I'm sure it probably doesn't surprise people if they've got this far in.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: That Maria is um Professional Advisor's Administrator of the Year 2023.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we've got we're bowed down.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we've got a great person.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a great person in the room today um to talk to us all about the administration role and what makes the greatest administrator.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: Because according to Professional Advisor, there isn't a better one this year.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think I just gave them too much alcohol.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_00: Too many glasses of champagne, and they're like, But I guess if we hone in on that accolade and on that award, um, and I know it's difficult for you to blow your own trumpet, but I'm gonna force you to try, is that you know, if you had to pick a couple of things that you feel like you do that the and I'm sure people can probably point things out for themselves from listening to this episode, but you know, if you had to pick up on a couple of things that you think you've done or you did to to receive that, have you got a couple of pointers that you can share with the audience?
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: Matt, where do I start?
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um I can't think of much apart from maybe just one care.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it's just care that I have for our clients, but also for the people that I work with.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_02: I think maybe that came through when I was speaking about my job uh and what I do.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_02: So it's about making sure that not only do our clients get the best that they can out of us, but we get the best out of our employees, and we also give them that same care back.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_02: So when I think of improving something within the company, I think of how much time can it save my team members, or what is there another way of us cutting out these manual bits that we do at the moment to make our job easier or to make our job quicker because then there's room for them to do something else.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_02: At the moment, we do padmin letters in my firm, and that was a great thing that came in because then they get familiarity with the power planning side of things.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_02: It may be simpler, such as isotope ups or pension contributions or even annual review summary forms with no change.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_02: But that's probably what might have come through to them, just that you care um about your job, uh about the people that you work with, and then the ultimate client output.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's very obvious that you care and that you care about your job role and you know the your clients and making sure that you do the best for your business and your organization, and you're obviously a massive credit to the administration role.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think even going I think even going back to the point that people overlook the position and people overlook that, whether that may be as we touched on, you know, financial advisors that have never been in that role, or power planners that have not been in that role, or you know, people that are, you know, want to be advisors and view it as a stepping stone.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think the fact that they're I'm sat with the an award-winning administrator and that that is recognised as something that you get an award for just shows how much value that job role adds to the profession because if it didn't add that much value and it wasn't something to be celebrated, it wouldn't be being celebrated.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's just like an amazing achievement for yourself, but an amazing achievement for that role within the within financial planning, and just displaying about how great it is, really, at the end of it.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think another thing, and I think that you know you you've you've displayed sort of like a passion about to myself is obviously we've spoken so much about administration, but as you said, you know, one of the reasons why you're such a great administrator is that you've got a lot of knowledge um about the profession and and really care about it overall.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, like one of the things that you've highlighted to me is that you you feel like women don't pay enough attention to their finances, and that's something that we should sort of encourage.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, do you mind sort of elaborating on that in a little bit more detail?
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I I think it's it may be something to do with tradition um and how we've simply not had enough funds, um, you know, say 30, 40 years ago as we do now.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, women nowadays work more, then there's less of that um housewife role that was traditionally there.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_02: So we do have finances, but I think even previously we've entrusted that to say our fathers or husbands or partners to take care of jointly with their finances.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I think as we grow almost on par with the income that we receive from our occupations or our careers, there does need to be a bit more attention to how we can save that money.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_02: Most women tend to um spend their money in terms of uh maybe a show of quality or love, but on childcare, on meeting the house care needs.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um whereas, say uh your partner's salary might not cover everything you need for the household.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_02: So there's less of that, in my view.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_02: And again, it's quite subjective, and it may have something to do with my culture that I come from, um, on saving for yourself and eventually planning for your own retirement, where you you know, your more most immediate needs are childcare and house costs, and we also don't earn as much as men.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_02: So I think there's also that extra need for us to be more careful and manage our finances more.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_02: There's a glass ceiling that we hit in any career or field that we're in, which stops us earning on par with our partner.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I do think women need to be a bit more proactive about their savings and about their retirement planning.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um but I don't know how we engage women in that.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_02: One of the things we could do is maybe raise awareness of it in schools, get more women to be advisors and be role models in their field.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um but again, there's so much that needs to be done.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_02: And it will take some time.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_02: It took us some time to get to where we are, and it'll just take some more time to get to a place where we're competent with our finances and we know what we're doing.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_00: I completely agree.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_00: And did you feel like obviously you talk about there being proactive and you touched on earlier on, you know, being in a position where you're doing your exams allows you as an individual to have more care about your finances and have a greater understanding?
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_00: But did you find for yourself personally that until you sort of stepped, I guess, into this role or in into the profession that you didn't have maybe as much an understanding or weren't as proactive about your finances as you are now?
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_02: No, definitely not.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_02: I I come from an Indian culture and we don't really believe in retirement planning.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_02: We believe in just having cash there, not even invested.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um you can imagine why the stock market and uh share business isn't really great in India.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_02: So it's something I get from my parents.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_02: But initially it was about retaining a job, getting enough income, uh, maybe having an ICE, which I had before I joined the field, and that was about it.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_02: But there's a lot more to how you can grow your funds.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't like to use this word, it may be a cliche, but making your money work for you.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_02: So making sure you get as much out of it as possible.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's quite a risky field as well, um, in terms of investments, um, where men have naturally been a lot more uh I'd say, I don't know the right terminology to use, but maybe a bit more open to taking risk with their money.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so investing uh historically directly into companies or lending money directly, whereas we as women are a lot more into stability with our finances and we're a bit more careful as to what we do with our money in terms of say investing it into funds.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but you've got to understand there are risk categories nowadays, and there are investments built for those people who are cautious or maybe just want a balanced approach to investments, don't necessarily want to go into something adventurous, you know, a new company startup that has just come up in the five years, gains look amazing, dividends look amazing, let me invest in that.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um so because of the regulated nature, I think we can take that risk a lot more now, and we should try to, especially if we want to get more than uh manage our finances in line with inflation, sorry.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, but I think it's really interesting what you said then, like coming from um an Indian culture, because one of the most beautiful things um about you know the the United Kingdom now is that we are a multifaceted society and we have so many different cultures that all create the beautiful patchwork that is where we live.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_00: But do you think you know the the upbringing and up the upbringing that you had and the beliefs that your parents have sort of like ingrained a certain attitude in yourself, which you sort of had to unpick, I guess.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_02: It did, and then I came into financial services and I had to be like that doesn't work anymore.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_02: I think, especially in the debt-ridden culture that we've got in most Western countries at the moment, and because of the capitalist approach we've got um economy-wise, you are going to need advice on how to manage your mortgage payments.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_02: That's another debt on you.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_02: Most of the things you can now easily buy via credit card, just day-to-day spending, you're going to need advice on how to manage that if it gets too much, or the loans that were so happy and easy to take, you know, easily take out on cars or things like that.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_02: You need to be more, it doesn't matter whether you're a woman or a man, you need to be more careful about your finances because you don't want to end up, you know, in debt everywhere, left, right, and centre, and manage your finances within what you earn, not what's out there of uh just consumerism.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's really interesting, and I think one of the things that you noted as well is obviously women paying more attention to finances their finances, but also just encouraging more ethnic minorities um into the industry.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um so you when you were coming from like an ill Indian culture, were you when you said at the beginning that like you your downparents are like you're gonna be a lawyer or you're gonna be an accountant or you're gonna be this?
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: So was like your financial services something that they sort of like encouraged you to do or potentially to step into?
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: They don't respect my sector and they don't respect the job I do.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_00: No, and you know, we're and if you don't mind sharing this, but like why why do you potentially think that is?
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's a lot to do with traditional values that my parents have.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um there's certain sectors which they think, you know, because they require um a degree, because they require a certain amount of uh ambition, and because they have a certain amount of respect in the culture that they came from, they think that those are highly valuable.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's also something that they can brag to their families and friends about.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_02: So my daughter's a lawyer, so if she needs any kind of legal advice, or my daughter's a doctor, so if you have any ailment within the family, you've got free help coming in.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think it's just traditional belief that they have.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_02: And not every I don't think I know anyone apart from maybe one or two people within my current firm who actually thought of coming into financial advice and then ended up in financial advice.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_02: Most people end up in the sector by accident.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: So um I can imagine that that's quite a barrier though, because you know, if they're we're talking about getting more ethnic minority, or you know, the the you know, the the profession is nowhere near as diverse as the society that we serve, I think is sort of the key line.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_00: And alongside that, as a profession, I feel like we should be encouraging more people from ethnic minorities and shining a light on it to different groups.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_00: But I can imagine it's a bit of a barrier then to certain communities if it's something that traditionally might not be as respected as highly as as other industries, if that makes sense.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_02: Right, and also about role models about who you see in that field um and who you're familiar with within the medicine industry.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_02: There's quite a lot of ethnic diversity, similarly.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_02: So there is in law, but where financial services have been um have had a certain strata of society as its main role model, it's hard for someone to envision uh a career in them.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_02: When I joined my firm, I was the only member of ethnic uh minority at my firm, the rest of it was predominantly white, and then we've recently had people of other um ethnicities in it just to diversify it.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but it's it can be hard when you don't see anyone else uh, I guess, of similar physical appearance, if not like mentality.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_00: No, a hundred percent.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm I think that and maybe you will agree with me, and or maybe you won't, but I personally think that by potentially having more financial advisors or shining a light like we're very much doing today on people that come from an ethnic minorities in the background, more people will A see their place within the profession, or B, you know, feel that they can access the financial advice because they see people that look like them and and talk like them.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do you agree with me or do you disagree with me?
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I know I 100% agree.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think that that's one of the reasons that maybe certain ethnic minorities tend to invest in fixed interest with their local bank then rather than going to a financial advisory firm and looking to invest directly in stocks and shares.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um it does breed familiarity.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it also may it's not just ethnicity, I think it's also got to do with age group as well.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_02: We've seen quite a lot of younger advisors come up, um, and there is that initial cautious feel that you get from clients when entrusting the all of their portfolio to someone who's in their mid-20s or early 30s compared to the traditional older advisor they may have had.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_02: It was also the same with women.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they're approached in a certain manner compared to, say, uh a male advisor.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_02: And then recently what I found that this is quite interesting.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, one of our advisors has um a hearing impairment, um, might not be the right term I'm using, but he has recently decided to learn sign language so he can engage better with those clients who may have a similar difficulty as him.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um and that's quite an interesting approach to have because again, those uh individuals or those groups might feel excluded and might feel like they can't reach out to the standard firm that you might go to for financial advice.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but that's amazing because God's you know beauty, beautiful, I think, is the fully the right word, Marie, because as soon as these individuals, you know, jump on a Zoom call or you know, they get to meet with this advisor face to face, they they connect.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_00: And again, it's seeing someone that you know communicates with them the way that they communicate.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a very broad question, and I don't know if either of us is gonna be able to come up to an answer to this, but you know, there is no there is no doubt that the industry has been tainted with this, I guess, overarching brush of white middle-aged men, and and that dynamic and that picture is a hundred percent changing, and that's something that we've got to be proud of.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_00: But as we touched on then, you know, you know, there there's still a a way for us to go.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, in terms of encouraging these ethnic minorities and encouraging, you know, people that have a level of disability and and all these beautiful different facets of life, as we touched on then, how do you think we go about doing that?
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's an easy question.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think uh awareness is the first step, and then opportunity.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's hard for us to just throw an opportunity out there and not expect a certain social class to feel more open to applying to it than other social classes.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_02: But if we raise awareness about finances or managing finances generally at schools, I think it should be included as a subject, maybe not as a GCSE completely, but even a three-month subject, you know, making them aware about finances and how to manage them once they do go into employment.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_02: It might be a way of encouraging a certain social group, maybe more women, maybe more ethnic diversity, maybe someone who may um not be as able as anyone else.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_02: So it's about awareness, going into schools, maybe encouraging um people to look into their future finances.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um a degree also isn't a classic route anymore of going into straight after A levels.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_02: So people might go into apprenticeships or employments immediately, in which case they need to know what to what to do with their finances.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_02: So school visits, social awareness might help.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that is about it, all I can think of, other than that your credit agency that might help you.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_00: I was gonna say, I think the one thing that I could think of, and again, it just ties in so nicely to having you on the podcast today, is just you know, shining a light of people that are women or come from different minorities.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that's what we love about the Financial Planet Life podcast is that we give a platform to for so many different people from in different roles, from different backgrounds, you know, who have different stories to tell but have different characteristics, uh, a platform to talk about, you know, their careers and what's important to them.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I also think you know, businesses out there and um have an onus to shine a light on your great female leaders, to shine a light on your great advisors that come from ethnic minorities and just talk about the great people that you have in your business because all you need is to see someone that resonates with someone else to make them pick up the phone or call that advisor or pick up the phone and say, I've seen that female director, I know I can be a female director.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's just all about, you know, as we've been doing, just celebrating all the goodness that we have in the profession and hoping that that positivity just feeds off, really.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think if we're gonna come this to a lovely conclusion, we've obviously spoken about so many great things today, but really championed um the administration role.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Maria, can you tell us sort of, I guess, the the three things that you love the most about being an administrator within financial planning?
• 56:43
  SPEAKER_02: Oh um, I think client impact is a good one.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_02: So knowing that your work actually has an impact on someone is brilliant.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like one of the examples I had, one of our clients, she's quite elderly.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, she also has mild dementia.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_02: So you've always got to be uh a bit more softer when you're speaking to her.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_02: But she loves to call me up when she gets a monthly income payment, and then like sometimes she'll send me a picture of our dog, um, and he is just adorable.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_02: It just makes me feel like I've got a connection to someone whose life is being impacted by something I love.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_02: So client focus has got to be one great team of people that I work with, that's got to be another one, and a third I might say, just the changing role, just the changing uh regulation, even because this makes us do something beyond the normal bits we're doing for our clients.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we've got a vulnerability policy now in place, and that just makes us a lot more open to understanding that not everyone who's above 75, for example, may necessarily be vulnerable, but you can also be vulnerable due to your situation that you're in, whether you're going through separation, divorce, or things like that.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, I didn't know that's three great things from here, and thank you very much for spending the time to sit and talk to me this afternoon.
• 58:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me, Elena.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_00: It was lovely speaking to you.