With the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) releasing the results of the February 2022 financial exam cycle, a number of new advisers appear to be meeting the industry’s tough training standards.
Now on the other side of the requirements, associate adviser at Verse Wealth, Tianna Rose, is celebrating her recent completion of the Professional Year (PY) and appointment to the Financial Advisers Register (FAR).
With a network of colleagues that the young adviser said have been “so much more than just supportive”, Ms Rose has been all smiles since learning of her admission to the FAR.
Speaking to ifa, Ms Rose explained that her entry into financial advice did not follow a linear path, which she said may speak to many other industry professionals who “fell” into advice like she did.
“I think we all kind of find it by accident, which is exactly what I did.”
Making her way through an arts degree, Ms Rose took on an accounts payable role before transitioning into an administrative officer position for a small boutique financial planning firm in Camberwell, Melbourne.
From there, the revelation that this newfound career path “felt so right” pushed her into reorienting her studies.
“I’ve always really had that drive to help people. The tangible difference that I could see in the clients’ eyes when they were walking out after [a meeting], I wanted to be a part of that.”
Switching to a commerce degree, specialising in financial planning, she worked her way into paraplanning at the Camberwell-based firm, where she was later offered the opportunity to undertake her PY.
Reflecting on her PY experience, Ms Rose recalled the initial ambiguity surrounding the professional requirements introduced in 2019. As the first young professional completing her PY at her licensee, both she and her licensee were navigating uncharted territory.
Namely, as of 1 January 2019, a person training to become a financial adviser is obliged to do a professional year before becoming fully qualified.
“I wasn’t always entirely sure what the legislation wanted from me,” she said
“But as it turns out, it was quite a bit more relaxed than I thought it was. I thought it was a very regimented thing, but it was almost ‘business as usual’. There was just a bit more shadowing work, more focus on actually bringing me up through the steps to make me a more competent adviser,” she added.
During her PY, Ms Rose not only passed the FASEA exam in the first quarter but also began attending meetings. By the second quarter, her supervisor was entrusting her with explaining concepts and discussing content with clients.
“After every meeting, we would debrief and my supervisor would say, ‘How do you think you did? What would you do differently?’ It was so collaborative.”
These discussions, the young adviser said, were standout moments in her education, and by quarter three, Ms Rose was taking client meetings alone.
“My clients were a large retired, ongoing base. They were all so willing and happy to help me with my training wheels. It was a really positive experience getting that training,” she recounted.
Ms Rose then took a short break, following which she joined her current place of work, Verse Wealth, where she completed her PY.
It was through this firm that she was appointed to the FAR.
Expounding on this process, Ms Rose explained that the nature of the licensee plays a key role in how quickly an adviser can get their name on the FAR. With Verse Wealth operating its own Australian Financial Services Licence (ASFL), she said there were “less hoops to jump through”.
“It’s mostly just you working with your supervisor. When you get to the end of the professional year, that’s where the licensee comes in and checks you,” Ms Rose said.
“I had collected all my logbooks and all my certificates. I had saved my hours of CPD (continuing professional development), my ethical dilemmas, and a letter from my previous licensee. That made it easier … they were able to just tick me off and appoint me to the register.”
Although meeting these standards may seem like a daunting feat, Ms Rose assured other young professionals making their way through their PY that things become more routine once the dust settles. She added that being able to support clients is a worthwhile end goal.
“Telling clients ‘You’re going to be able to afford to live comfortably through retirement, and then you’re gonna actually be able to leave your kids an inheritance’, learning what matters to people and helping them achieve, that is my way of helping people.
“Being worthy of that trust is just so nice. Getting to be in their corner keeps me going. It will really keep you pushing,” she concluded.
It would be nice if ASIC, APRA, AFCA and the new FASEA were also ‘worthy of trust’.