The Personal Finance Society is working towards changing the familiar narrative ‘I fell into financial planning’ into an active choice for young people thinking about their careers.
Following three ‘Shape the Future of Careers’ workshops, in partnership with education and talent development company EDII, the PFS has said it wants to promote financial planning as a rewarding career that improves people’s lives.
In a feature in the PFS membership magazine – the Personal Finance Professional – Vanessa Riboloni, head of research and insight at the Chartered Insurance Institute, showed how sharing stories among participants could help “unlock” ideas about how to support career pathways.
The article cited figures from FT Adviser, which revealed:
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Only 174 advisers under 25 (Feb 2024), down 60% since 2022.
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And 6,210 advisers aged 60+ (Feb 2024), up 29% since 2022.
The figures were gained by FT Adviser���s news editor Amy Austin, from an FOI request which had revealed the number of young advisers was falling.
According to the PFS, the sessions held recently “encouraged open discussion and produced rich, collective insight using tools such as personal timeline mapping, group collaboration and idea generation.”
The PFS article found there were six consistent themes, the biggest one being that “falling into the profession” was “still the norm”.
The article said: “Awareness of the roles and career opportunities within financial planning is low compared with other financial services sectors such as banking and investment roles, and role definitions and day-to-day expectations are hard to find, leading to talented people self-selecting out before they even begin.”
The remaining five themes were:
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Progression routes are opaque
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Culture can make or break a career
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Future-proof skills, not job titles
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Persistent barriers
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Proven enablers, such as mentoring and personal guidance.
The PFS said that success looked like a clearer pathway for young people to choose the profession “deliberately”.
Over the coming months, the PFS said it would continue to share and test insights with members and wider stakeholders, and begin shaping a shared career pathway framework.
These activities dovetail with the Personal Finance Society’s Pathways to Profession initiative, which backs early-career visibility and capability with meaningful funding.
Riboloni wrote: “We are grateful to everyone who has taken part so far. Together, we can turn ‘falling into it’ into ‘choosing it’, and build a transparent, inclusive and future-ready profession.”
