Entering its fifth year, the Progeny Adviser Academy is a training programme designed to support team members to enhance their careers as advisers. Throughout the academy process, members will be able to develop a deeper understanding of what holistic financial planning really means, as well as learn a wide range of additional skills and experiences essential in client-facing roles.
To mark National Careers Week, we interviewed four advisers on their experiences of the Academy.
What has your first year of the Adviser Academy been like?
Zoe Webb: I’ve transitioned from a Paraplanner role into a Financial Planner with the support of the Academy. My first year of the Academy has been a challenging one, but those challenges have brought a wealth of new knowledge and experiences for me and my career.
In my training I’ve been refining my skills in client relationships both in terms of what it means to be fully compliant, but also learning how to develop and maintain my personal relationships with clients.
Although it has been a steep learning curve, I have enjoyed rising to the challenge to further my knowledge and my career.
What are your goals going through the Academy?
Cameron Clark: In the Progeny Adviser Academy, I hope to build on my existing knowledge and experience in financial planning whilst helping mentor members of the Academy going through their year 1 and 2 studies.
With the help of the Academy, I hope to expand my professional network both internally at Progeny and externally to build upon my own bank of clients in 2023. My overarching goal for the coming year is to continue to strive for the best outcomes for our clients whilst building on my personal development, with the aim of being a Chartered Financial Planner by the end of the Academy journey.
What do you think are the benefits from studying in the Adviser Academy?
Matthew Boreham: Being mentored by senior financial planners within the business is a great benefit. At Progeny we have some of the top financial planners in the industry and being able to tap into that knowledge and experience is invaluable early on in your career.
In addition to providing structure and support to become a financial planner, Progeny also takes this a step further by offering the opportunity to develop your knowledge in other areas of the business such as private legal, tax and property. As a result, graduates finish the Academy with a deeper, more holistic understanding of clients’ needs. This hugely benefits discussions in so many areas of personal finance, thus making a more well-rounded financial planner.
What were the most important lessons you learnt during your time in the Academy?
Victoria Ross: Firstly, financial planning is about people. Whilst we use technical skills and investments to get them to where they would like to be in life, we have to ask open, insightful and sometimes probing questions and listen in order to truly understand where it is they wish to be. So, one of the most important lessons I’ve learnt is: listen more than you talk. I even have a note on my wall to remind myself of that every day.
The second lesson is that every planner has a different skillset and a way of working with their clients. Gain exposure to as many planners as possible to understand their different styles whilst you are developing the type of planner you want to be. This learning should never end – you are never too experienced to see things through someone else’s eyes, especially when it comes to a people focussed vocation like financial planning.
