How did you become a Financial Adviser?

When I turned 18, I secured a job as an Administrator at a prominent financial services firm with the intention of working for a year, saving money, and then going to university to study economics.

During my time working in this role, my manager suggested that I consider studying towards a relevant professional qualification, believing that it would help to enhance my career prospects and deepen my understanding of the industry.

After some research, I decided to study for the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning qualification. The more I studied, the more I realised that financial planning and advisory was something that really appealed to me. I applied for a role in Paraplanning and upon completing my CII Diploma, I accepted a job as an Adviser at MAC Financial.

What do you like best about your job?

Working as a Financial Adviser, my role is  varied, and I am often out of the office meeting clients. It is especially rewarding to see a client through their advice journey, from the initial meeting, preparing an advice proposal, supporting a client while they are making changes to their finances and finally seeing firsthand the difference that my advice has made.  

The clients I work with can vary from teenagers, who have been enrolled into their workplace pension, to those that are planning to retire or have already retired.

I’m also very lucky to work with such a great team, there are eight qualified advisers at MAC Financial and we all get on well. As a team, we all work together and support each other where we can.

What do I have to study to become a Financial Adviser?  

To provide financial advice on the Isle of Man, you must be Level 4 qualified either by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) or Chartered Institute for Securities or Investment (CISI) in addition to completing mandatory continuous professional development.

I am CII qualified and have sat six exams to hold the Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. I am currently studying towards becoming a Chartered Financial Planner.

You can find out more about the CII study routes here and the CISI study routes here.

What career progression is available as a Financial Adviser?

As a Financial Adviser, there are lots of career progression opportunities available to you.

If you work at an advisory firm, like MAC Financial, there are opportunities to work on larger, more complicated cases or to specialise in a particular area of advice.

Alternatively, the transferable skills and knowledge that Financial Advisers have are desirable to other sectors including banking, wealth management and investments.   

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