How do you become a financial adviser on a salary, without the financial risk of going self-employed? Jason Howard, Founder & CEO of Insight IFA, and Greg Ryan, Performance Director at Insight IFA, join Sam Oakes on Financial Planner Life to explain how they train, pay and mentor new financial advisers and financial planners, and why 37% of their advisers are under 30.
Find out more about Insight IFA
Jason started in financial planning in 1989, commission only, and ended up in hospital. When he went it alone in 2001, the man he had joined turned out to be a fraudster who took £1.7 million from the public. Jason's team paid everybody back through hard work, not one member of staff left, and they spent the next two decades quietly building Insight IFA.
Today Insight IFA has financial advisers in the 60s, has acquired 33 businesses and is aiming for 100 financial advisers by January 2028. Its employed advisers are paid so they can focus on clients rather than bills, are mentored in small groups of three to four, and are handed clients by senior financial planners who "give up to grow".
QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE
How can you become a financial adviser without going self-employed?
Insight IFA uses an employed route. Jason says nobody can do proper planning with a client while worrying about paying their own bills, so the firm covers what he calls the hygiene factors and expects effort and activity in return.
How many financial advisers at Insight IFA are under 30?
37% of the advisory business, and in the employed part of the firm Jason puts it at more like 50%. Some of their young advisers look after clients old enough to be their grandparents.
Where do new financial advisers get clients from?
Senior financial planners pass clients down. Advisers are paid on the value of their book, so when one gives up a client paying £6,000 a year in fees, the adviser who receives it gets a pay rise.
Is Insight IFA recruiting financial advisers?
Yes. The target is 100 financial advisers by January 2028, with a head office in Norwich and offices in Westerham and north London.
ALSO IN THIS EPISODE
• Why mentors at Insight IFA get no pay rise, and queue up to do it anyway
• The 15 minutes after a live client meeting where Greg says the real learning happens
• BASS: what comes after competent adviser status
• The 90-day development programme and why discipline beats motivation
• Why Jason encourages his advisers to take 153 free days a year
This episode is for anyone thinking about how to become a financial adviser or financial planner, paraplanners ready to step up, career changers, and financial planning firm owners building their next generation.
KEY MOMENTS
02:51 Starting in financial planning in 1989, commission only
09:23 How Insight IFA paid back £1.7 million
13:23 Why 37% of Insight IFA's advisers are under 30
19:01 Why trainee financial advisers need financial security
24:33 Why mentors get no pay increase
29:33 BASS: business adviser status
34:27 The 90-day development programme
39:56 Where new financial advisers get clients
45:18 100 financial advisers by 2028
49:52 Free days, focus days and buffer days
54:24 From support role to financial planner: Johnny's story
Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://fpl.partners/insight-ifa-pod-ep
Connect with Jason Howard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-howard-insight/
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Financial Planner Life is the UK podcast for financial planners, financial advisers and paraplanners, hosted by Sam Oakes.
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