How to successfully change careers into financial advice

From gym owner to working with private wealth advisers, Shadforth’s Joel Perryman shares his top recommendations for career changers looking to transition into financial advice.

Industry commentators previously called for the advice profession to embrace career changers and mature students to help boost adviser numbers.

This could be people who worked in other parts of financial services before, such as wealth or funds management, or people who were completely new to the role and had experience in another field first.

Perryman, who is currently a client relationship manager at Shadforth Financial Group and working towards becoming a financial adviser, made the jump into advice after owning a gym for nearly a decade.

After departing the personal training industry, Perryman completed the bachelor of financial advice in 2023 and is close to becoming an adviser.

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“When changing careers, it is almost like you need to shed the old you and be reborn again, which can be difficult. I started as a client relationship manager for Shadforth [in August 2022] and during that time I have been able to learn so many things,” he told the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA).

Perryman shared his top tips for career changers eyeing out advice as their next profession.

You don’t know what you don’t know

The client relationship manager described: “The finance world is very different to most industries, regulation is generally a lot higher, and to the average Australian, it can be an information overload. Working in the field of finance is even more complicated again, therefore one of the first lessons I want to share with you is that you will feel humbled by how much you will need to learn.”

Perryman encouraged career changers to not be afraid of starting over again, learning from the ground up and making mistakes when transitioning into the world of financial planning.

“My one bit of advice for new starters looking to change careers: take the time to ask questions, learn, and be OK with making mistakes.”

Your experience follows you wherever you go

Since making the jump from being a gym owner to working in advice nearly two years ago, Perryman said recognising one’s transferable skills from their previous experience is crucial.

“Don’t neglect the fact that you learnt a lot in your last career. For me, it was customer service and being client-centric. However, we each have individual strengths and knowledge accrued from our last job that will help us transition into our new career,” he explained.

Leaning into your strengths and utilising your current skills will ensure an easier transition, Perryman added, particularly when it comes to client-facing abilities.

Back yourself and don’t be afraid to try new things

The advice professional also reminded career changers of their capability to successfully take the leap and adapt to the ins and outs of the advice industry.

“You will learn more from being in a financial planning firm, being in the thick of it, day in and day out, than carrying on with your current role. Take the leap of faith and back yourself in.”

As the advice sector looks to rectify its peak of 28,000 advisers pre-Hayne royal commission, Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, previously recognised the role of career changes in driving up the numbers.

“People don’t decide at the age of 18 that they want to become a financial adviser or when they are an undergraduate. It is people who have worked in a bank or as an accountant or who have studied a commerce degree and then decided they want to do advice,” he said last year.

“There is a pathway to growing those 16,000 advisers to 30,000, again, but we won’t get there in two years’ or five years’ time. We have to be pragmatic about it and have more doors at the university level, such as by recognising components of other degrees and ensuring there is a logical pathway.”