Behind every financial plan is a human story. For advisers, supporting clients through life’s twists and turns is often the most important part of the job. Jamie Proctor, Private Wealth Adviser at Skybound Wealth Management offers an insightful and honest viewpoint for aspiring advisers to reflect upon.
If you ask someone outside our profession what a financial adviser does, you’ll often get the same answer. They talk about money. Maybe some will go one step further. They pick investments, recommend pensions and talk about retirement.
The reality is very different in my role.
If you’re a paraplanner considering making the move into advice, that’s probably the biggest change to prepare for. It’s not the technical knowledge and it’s not presenting recommendations.
It’s accepting responsibility for people’s lives at moments that genuinely matter to them.
This week I have had nine client meetings. None were prospect meetings where it was about new business. Every one was with an existing client who contacted me because something had changed in their lives.
Five of these clients are professional footballers who have signed new contracts or are moving clubs during the summer transfer window.
One client has sold their home and now has significant equity that needs a purpose.
One is the director of a family business looking to protect both the company and the people who depend on it.
Another is broadcasting at the World Cup while considering relocating overseas once the tournament ends.
One client, however, has received devastating news. Their health has deteriorated significantly, they have 12 months to live and our planning has changed almost overnight.
When people imagine financial planning, they often picture investment reviews or discussions around portfolio performance. In reality, not one of these meetings starts with the question, ‘Jamie, which fund should I invest in?’
They start with life and the real issues people face.
The investments, pensions, tax planning and protection all come later. They are simply the tools we use to solve whatever problem life has presented.
That’s something paraplanners understand better than anyone. Every suitability report you’ve written, every cashflow model you’ve built and every recommendation you’ve helped produce, began with a conversation about a person’s life, not a conversation about a product.
The difference is that, as an adviser, you’re now sitting in that conversation.
You’re the one hearing the diagnosis.
You’re the one hearing that a client is being transferred overseas with six weeks notice.
You’re the one hearing that someone wants to retire earlier than planned because they’re exhausted.
You’re the one expected to provide reassurance when a family has no idea what comes next.
Nobody really prepares you for that responsibility. You have your own family to care for and worry about, never mind adding to that.
The technical side of financial planning can be taught. Most advisers spend years developing their knowledge of tax, pensions, trusts and investments. Those skills are fundamental and should never be underestimated.
But there is another side to the profession that is much harder to teach.
It’s learning when to stop talking.
Listening is vital.
It’s recognising when a client doesn’t need another technical explanation but simply needs someone to hear them out.
It’s understanding that sometimes the most valuable thing you can do in a meeting isn’t produce an answer immediately, but give somebody confidence that there is a plan.
That emotional responsibility is something I don’t think we speak about enough within our profession.
Clients rarely come to us because everything is going perfectly. They come because something has changed.
Sometimes it’s exciting – like a promotion, a business sale, a new contract or the birth of a child.
Sometimes it’s deeply upsetting such as a relationship breakdown, illness or the loss of a loved one.
Whatever the reason, they’re placing an enormous amount of trust in us.
Not simply to manage their money but to help them make good decisions when emotions are running high.
That’s a privilege but it’s also a weight that advisers carry every day.
It’s one of the reasons people often ask why I’m available during evenings, weekends and usually, while I’m away with my family.
The answer isn’t because advisers should be available 24 hours a day. Healthy boundaries matter and they make us better professionals.
The answer is that life doesn’t operate on a diary structure.
Football transfers don’t wait until Monday morning.
Businesses aren’t sold because it’s convenient for the adviser.
Serious diagnoses don’t arrive the week before an annual review.
Clients reach out because something important has happened and in that moment they need somebody they trust.
For paraplanners thinking about becoming advisers, this isn’t something to fear. In fact, it’s one of the greatest rewards the profession offers.
You’ll still use every ounce of your technical knowledge. You’ll still rely on legislation, research and careful planning. In many ways, you’ll appreciate even more just how valuable great paraplanning is, because you’ll understand what sits behind every recommendation.
But you’ll also discover that financial planning is ultimately a people profession.
The numbers matter because people matter.
Every recommendation affects someone’s future. Every report reflects decisions that may shape the next twenty or thirty years of a client’s life.
That’s the part of financial planning that wont appear in all those job roles you’re viewing on LinkedIn.
And in my experience, it’s the part that matters most.
Main image: mobile phone, blurred, andrej-lisakov-XL-hPDNeZvs-unsplash
