Call for accountability as PY candidates left in limbo

As it stands, the number of advisers leaving the profession is outpacing the number joining and firms are struggling to attract young, fresh graduates.

According to financial adviser Trish Gregory, many capable PYs remain stuck in early stages like quarter one or two, not due to a lack of ability, but because businesses take advantage of their ambition.

This stifles career growth and delays their qualification, often driving them to leave for better opportunities.

“I know too many professional year candidates who get stuck on quarter one and quarter two, not because they’re not fantastic or talented or capable of moving through to quarter three, but because the business either got a bit ahead of themselves or they are taking advantage of this person,” Gregory said on a recent episode of the ifa podcast.

“I know someone who sat in quarter two for 18 months and they were a very capable person and yet the business [held them back and said], ‘You have to be a hundred percent perfect’.”

With PY retention already a problem for many firms, holding them back intentionally could make the profession even more unattractive for graduates and force current PYs to contemplate leaving altogether.

For Gregory, the key to retaining PYs and protecting them from exploitation lies in greater accountability for firms, ensuring professional development is a priority rather than an afterthought.

Speaking on the podcast, she proposed the creation of a professional year register, which would track candidates’ progression and hold businesses responsible for timely development.

“I would make it compulsory that when a professional year candidate starts their development, they’re registered somewhere,” Gregory said.

“It will give the firms that are not being the best that incentive to show that they’re getting people through this process. It also gives someone like the FAAA the opportunity to say, ‘You’ve had five professional year candidates and you can’t seem to get them through to quarter three.’ Or ‘You’ve had five professional year candidates and they’ve all taken two years to get through quarter one and quarter two’.”

On a previous episode of The ifa show, Dr Katherine Hunt suggested that firms should be taking care to foster a connection between a PY and the business, much like they would with a client.

“Imagine that, instead of an awesome young, recently graduated PY or recently qualified PY, instead of that, it was a client. Imagine. You might worry, ‘Oh, my clients might leave me and go to someone who’s a little bit cheaper down the road. How can I keep them?’” Hunt said on The ifa Show.

“All those 10 answers that just popped straight into your head right now, probably none of them were financial and you would do that to keep your clients.”

Much like advisers make a conscious effort to ensure clients feel that their relationship is about much more than fees, Hunt said that firms should be working to create an environment for PY advisers that they will value more than the possibility of a higher salary.

Moreover, she suggested that firms should also consider structural changes that would solidify a PY’s position there, anchoring them without making them feel stuck.

To hear more from Trish Gregory, tune in here.