Most people know that to become a UK regulated financial adviser you need to get Certified by a Senior Manager, either in your firm, or in a network.
In order to get Certified, you typically need:
A level 4 qualification from a relevant financial services provider
To go through a Training & Competency programme with an assessment of Fitness & Proprietary. This includes an assessment of:
Competence and capability
Honesty, integrity and reputation
Financial soundness
Once you have Competent Adviser Status, you can undertake unsupervised visits and be officially Certified as an adviser.
So, how do you get a T&C programme and Competent Adviser Status? There are, essentially, only three routes to competency:
As an employee of a firm.
As part of an academy.
As a self-employed registered individual of a network
Both have their pros and cons and need reviewing in depth in order to select the best path for you, both in the short term and the long term.
The right next steps of you will depend on a number of factors, including:
Your personal and financial circumstances.
Your progress with qualifications.
Your existing experience, both within financial services and elsewhere.
Your preference for an self-employed or employed role.
Your desire, or otherwise, to run your own business.
There isn’t a single right answer, but we know it is challenging to understand the various options, and so we have put together a webinar looking at these areas to help your next steps.
As part of this, we are bringing in people who have been in your shoes to talk through their experience, and what they wish they had known.
You can find upcoming webinar dates here. We are limiting them to 20 people on each one to ensure there is sufficient space and time for conversation and questions! Get signed up now!
