Future shortage of finance professionals likely
The financial planning industry is likely to experience a shortage of trained professionals in three years’ time, and must prepare now for that situation, according to the chief executive of Prosperity Advisers, Allan McKeown.
McKeown said there is an increasing number of ‘free resumes’, or jobless financial industry professionals, floating around the job market as companies let people go as a result of the downturn. McKeown believes that as time passes they will move into other fields, creating a shortage of financial planners in the future.
McKeown said newer members to the industry are often worst affected, with trainees the first to be cut.
“Speaking with our colleagues in the industry, a number of firms are cutting back or freezing their new staff intakes, particularly at an intermediate or entry level. From our experience, having been in the business for a considerable amount of time, [when the economy recovers there is an] acute shortage of people,” McKeown said.
“As the cycle turns, as it inevitably will, the demand for people will increase, the workload will increase and skilled and trained people just won’t be available,” he said.
“Whilst they can’t hire everybody, [and] our firm will continue to recruit trainees and train them for the future, some other organisations just take a scorched earth policy of no intakes whatsoever.”
Recommended for you
The FSCP has announced its latest verdict, suspending an adviser’s registration for failing to comply with his obligations when providing advice to three clients.
Having sold Madison to Infocus earlier this year, Clime has now set up a new financial advice licensee with eight advisers.
With licensees such as Insignia looking to AI for advice efficiencies, they are being urged to write clear AI policies as soon as possible to prevent a “Wild West” of providers being used by their practices.
Iress has revealed the number of clients per adviser that top advice firms serve, as well as how many client meetings they conduct each week.
