Financial Adviser

Typical Salary

£23,500 To £90,000

Typical Hours

35 to 40 a week

evenings / weekends attending events or appointments

How To Become a Financial Adviser

You can get into this job through:

a university course
an apprenticeship
working towards this role

College / University

You could start by doing a degree in:

financial services
business management
accountancy

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

Apprenticeship

You could do a financial adviser higher apprenticeship or a financial services professional degree apprenticeship.

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Routes into this Career

You could start as a financial services administrator or customer services adviser in a bank and work your way up.

To do this, you'll need to study for a level 4 qualification in financial advice recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority. These include:

Chartered Insurance Institute Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning
The London Institute of Banking & Finance Diploma for Financial Advisers
Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment Investment Advice Diploma

Other Routes

Other Routes are not listed for this job.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

customer service skills for finding out customer needs
knowledge of economics and accounting for understanding financial markets and products
maths knowledge for creating financial plans
the ability to sell products and services
excellent verbal communication skills
active listening skills
business management skills for negotiating product rates
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

As part of your day-to-day tasks, you could:

talk to clients about their finances and plans
research financial products and explaining them simply and clearly
negotiate with providers of financial products
produce financial reports
update clients about their investments
meet performance and sales targets
keep up to date with new products and law changes

Working Environment

You could work in an office, from home, at a client's home or in a contact centre.

Career Path & Progression

If you work for a large financial organisation, you could specialise in one area of work like retirement planning. You could also move into management, recruiting and training new staff.

With further specialised professional qualifications, you could become a director or partner in your firm.

Another option is to move into compliance work, making sure your company is following industry guidelines.

Volunteering Opportunities

Volunteering Opportunities are not listed for this job.

Tips & Information

Registration

you'll need to register as an 'approved person' by the Financial Conduct Authority

Further information

You can find more on working in financial services through The London Institute of Banking & Finance.

Restrictions & Requirements

You'll need to:

pass enhanced background checks