Advisers are in high demand in an industry already stretched for skills, so when it comes to recruiting the best talent there are some things firms should be aware of, says recruiting consultant Rachael Fennessey.
There is a "huge shortage of skills" in the financial services industry, and particularly financial advice, says Fennessey, who runs Aspire Executive Search.
"We've had RDR in 2013, where half of the advisers didn't reach level four... for whatever reason, so we lost lots of advisers then and over the past decade we've not [been] replacing them."
The other problem is that an estimated 15,000 advisers are going to retire over the next five to 10 years and they are not being replaced from the ground up, she says.
Adding to this, paraplanners too "are in higher demand than ever", she adds. "The problem with paraplanners is that they're getting really stretched because there's a shortage, so then paraplanners are overworked and firms are really having to work hard to keep hold of their paraplanners... to support the advisers."
But when it comes to attracting the best talent, preferences have changed over the years, especially since the pandemic, according to Fennessey.
"The pandemic's affected people's values a lot more in what they're actually looking for and historically a lot of people [went] into financial services especially to be financial advisers, they enjoyed the role, they enjoyed the client aspect but they [were] financially driven because there's good earnings potential, and that used to be more of a motivator than it is now.
"Now candidates are more focused on the whole picture, so things like wellbeing and flexibility and the actual culture of a company. So companies who are doing really well are the organisations [that] have a really strong message, a strong journey, the leadership are really involved with the advisers, and the advisers feel very engaged and part of the journey – and people are wanting that more.
"It's feeling valued rather than feeling like a number. And for organisations that's where the focus needs to be."
To hear more about how to make your firm an attractive employer for advisers and paraplanners, as well as how to prepare for a job interview as an adviser, click on the image above.
carmen.reichman@ft.com
