Welcome back to Inside IFP – the series where I sit down with members of our team over a coffee and chat about their career journey. This week, I caught up with Charlie, one of our Chartered Financial Planners, who joined as a Paraplanner before progressing into advising at just 23. Now, Charlie shares what it’s really like to build a career as an Adviser at IFP, the opportunities he’s had along the way and his advice for anyone considering making the move.
Charlie, you joined IFP as a Paraplanner in 2020, during Covid. What was that like?
I started between lockdowns, so I had my first couple of weeks in the office face-to-face with people before we went into another lockdown.
Is paraplanning something you wanted to do? What experience did you have beforehand?
I was working at a mortgage advice firm, so there was elements of paraplanning in terms of researching quotes and recommending products to clients, but I also got to speak to the clients and do life insurance applications. So, I suppose it was a mixture of paraplanning and adviser skills. Before that, while I was at uni, I worked part-time at a Financial Services firm doing info requests.
So, is it something that you always knew you wanted to go into?
Not really, to be fair, I just fell into it. I used to play football in Newcastle and it was our end of season do; I didn’t really want to go because I was a bit hungover, but I thought “I’ll just show my face, I don’t have to stay for the full thing”. I went and I got talking to the manager, who asked me what I’m doing over the summer. I told him I either needed to find a job at home or in Newcastle, and he said “funnily enough, we’ve just let our apprentice go”, so he told me to drop my CV off. I ended up working all summer full-time, then dropped to part time when I went back to Uni.
I didn’t necessarily know it was something I wanted to get back into, but when I came home I was looking for work and paraplanning seemed to fall in line with the life insurance job. From there I realised I quite like this line of work, but I preferred financial advising more than mortgage advising, so I just went from there really!
It’s an industry and role that everyone seems to fall into, so you’re not on your own there. How long were you a Paraplanner for before moving into Advising?
18 months.
Not long then! Did you have any qualifications before starting?
No, I didn’t. I spent 3 or 4 months getting my feet under the table and seeing whether I actually liked it, and I knew I did pretty quickly. I joined in October, so I thought I’d get Christmas out of the way, and then I cracked on. I think I got my diploma in just over a year, once I started studying.
That’s a great effort! What support did you have from IFP while working towards your Diploma?
I had loads of support. IFP put me through everything, which is obviously good. Then in terms of studying, I had lots of resources made available, like Wizard Learning.
I used to start early and study in my dinner break, so flexitime helped me a lot with that. I did some revision at home, but I managed to structure it so I’d finish at 3pm, and usually I’d have everything done that I needed to do for the day by 5pm. So it really helped me keep a work-life balance.
So how did you end up in an advising role?
A role came up while I still had two exams left to complete my Diploma, so I initially thought it might be a bit too early for me. I mentioned to Anj during one of my one-to-ones that I’d probably be interested in the next opportunity – a chance to sort of throw my hat in the ring. A week or two later, Anj came to me and said the Board knew I was interested and, if I could get my remaining exams completed by a certain date, I could put myself forward. I got my head down, got them done and went from there. It was a great opportunity!
I do think IFP are good at accommodating people if they express an interest in doing something! You’re currently doing SOLLA aren’t you?
Yeah, I am. I’m just waiting for my results now. It’ll be later this year, hopefully positive! But again, I’ve been supported the whole way through that. Josh has done SOLLA, so I’ve liaised with him quite a bit. I also got loads of resources from SOLLA to refer to.
It’s nice that you feel that constant support. Do you think the office and culture here is different to your previous office jobs?
100%. I think it’s really different in a positive way. People actually mix and enjoy being here, not that I didn’t enjoy my previous jobs, but there’s a nice balance of being formal and professional for clients but also being right for staff. I think everyone’s friendly, approachable and accessible, and no one has a filter! Even if it’s difficult to speak to someone because they’re busy, everyone is generally good at saying “just book some time in”; it’s a nice fluid way of operating.
I completely agree. What’s your favourite thing about advising?
Dealing with clients. Getting to know them and what they want to achieve, then putting them in a position to hopefully get there. I think that’s easily the most rewarding part of the job. It’s nice to liaise with the more technical bits with the paraplanners too, but for me, the best bit is working with clients.
How do you find our structure of having a dedicated Paraplanner and Client Services Administrator/Executive?
I think it’s really beneficial because you get to know how each other works and their communication styles, etcetera. And from a Paraplanning perspective, it’s really helpful if you want things presented or written in a certain way because they get to know your preferences.
You were only 23 when you became an Adviser. Do you think you would have had that opportunity elsewhere?
I don’t think it would have been an opportunity for someone my age. I also don’t know whether doing my diploma would’ve been an opportunity in many other places. I think there would have been certain criteria, but I like to think I’ve proven myself and that it has been a positive journey for me, IFP and our clients.
What would you say has been your proudest achievement at IFP so far?
I’m not a massive reflector, I’m just sort of a head down, power through and onto the next thing. But becoming Chartered is probably the most significant one. There are many advisers who are in the industry for 20-30 years without necessarily wanting to do the extra exams and equally they might not have the ability to. So, I suppose I’m proud to be able to say I have made the effort and passed the exams to become Chartered.
You’ve started doing a lot of work with other professionals, delivering presentations and networking. How are you finding the networking side of your role?
I enjoy it, and it’s good that we all rotate and get introduced to each other’s connections. We have a nice team approach here, where everyone can help out.
Presenting is always great to do, too. It’s nice to showcase technical knowledge and what we do, because at the end of the day, as much as it is beneficial for us to show other professionals how we can help their clients, the main thing is making sure people are getting the best advice and doing everything we need to so clients can achieve their goals. So even if they’re not referring a client, at least they’ve got a wider scope of awareness, so they know when to ask questions, and that goes both ways.
What is the dynamic like between the Advisers?
Really good, we all help each other out. Everyone is really approachable and tries to share as much knowledge as possible. It’s genuinely really collaborative and helpful.
Yeah, I think we’ve got a lovely team. Do you have any advice for someone who might be considering applying for an Adviser role at IFP?
First and foremost, be yourself. I think that’s what a lot of our Advisers are very good at. They’re authentic. I don’t ever feel like I’m talking to a false version of someone. Obviously, be professional at the same time, but I don’t think it’s a disadvantage to let your personality shine through. I think that’s what will help you mix well with clients, too. Being able to showcase that you can build rapport with clients would probably be my biggest tip.
Thank you, Charlie. Your career journey so far is really impressive, I’m excited to see where the coming years take you! I just need to ask you my quick fire questions before we finish up…
Describe IFP in 3 words or less – Chilled but professional.
Tea or coffee? Coffee.
Office or remote? Depends what I’m doing, sometimes it’s nice to collaborate and speak to people, other times it’s better to be on your own and get your head down.
Early start or late finish? Early.
Quick lunch or long lunch? Probably a shorter lunch.
Smarter or more casual style? Smarter.
If Charlie’s career or advice has inspired you, head to our Careers Page to see our Adviser vacancies. See you next time for another edition of Inside IFP!
