For a while now the financial services industry has been struggling to attract new talent, and financial advice in particular seems to be an area that is suffering for it.
According to a new report, six in ten financial advisers have had to turn away prospective clients in the last year.
Whilst the most comment reason was the administrative burden, attracting talent was also considered an important issue for the advisers that were surveyed for the report from Octopus Investments.
With the same report saying 60% of advisers intend to retire in the next ten years, this problem is only going to get worse if the industry cannot attract the quality candidates.
Especially as demand for quality financial advice looks set to grow.
Another survey, this time from Fidelity International’s FundsNetwork, said more than half of advisers expect to see an increase in the demand for financial advice in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic as clients seek support in navigating personal challenges and economic uncertainty.
So what did the Octopus Investments report think could be done?
Almost two thirds of the 225 financial advisers surveyed for the report suggested financial education in schools would help, whilst a similar number said more awareness generally was needed.
Financial education charity Young Money is making it its mission to improve financial education amongst young people. It said in July that it will send over 45,000 free copies of Martin Lewis’s financial education textbook ‘Your Money Matters’ to 700 schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The costs are being shared by Martin Lewis and the Money and Pensions Service.
Such initiatives should be championed by the financial advice profession if they want to attract more quality candidates into their sector.
Are you part of a financial advice business who is trying to do their bit to encourage more candidates to the sector? If so, make sure that your marketing team are doing all they can to help. A good marketing professional can amplify your efforts and help you reach a wider audience.
Brandon Consulting Services Ltd 