Cost beNefit The issue of cost is perhaps the single biggest thing prohibiting adviser firms from recruiting new talent. “There’s still a contracting market in the


IFA sector because it’s harder to recruit, attract and retain investment advisers - most firms would rather headhunt fully trained advisers with an established client base than recruit and train,” says Richards. “The intermediary sector is


predominantly made up of small firms where the owner or principal runs the business but is also practising and giving advice. Few firms have the infrastructure or capital to train new recruits because it can impact on income flow and distracts them from advising. “It’s a big challenge when you’re talking


about recruiting on a small scale of maybe just one person at a time. If in a year it doesn’t work out, a lot of time and money and effort has gone into training that individual and the business owner’s back at square one.” Chadborn is on the same page as


Richards. “The cost is prohibitive for most small


firms,” he says. “We cannot afford the time cost or the financial cost of taking on people without a minimum of two years’ face to face experience as an adviser and the requisite qualifications. “It’s the insurance companies and


banks which have the resources to pay for training and spending time bringing younger advisers along.” Vince Sammon, who at 31 is one of the


younger guard of brokers, has just set up as a DA having worked at John Charcol for nine years, and agrees cost is a big issue for him to overcome at London- based Sammon Mortgage Management. “When you’re young and new at broking


you need to be fed leads. When you’re older you’ve got the client bank and developed relationships with those clients who’ll come back to you for repeat business. As a small firm with five brokers, I’d feel much more comfortable taking on someone I don’t have to hand hold, who I know is good at sales and who will bring in business immediately,” he says.


reteNtioN “There’s also the issue of lower retention for the younger guys coming into the business. But then again, if they’re older, in their late fifties, you have to wonder how hungry they’re going to be for new business.” Katy O’Neill at Kingston Knight says this


view has been a trend in the market for a while. “The problem we’re seeing is people already in the industry reluctant to move – it’s a case of keeping a stable base salary and better the devil you know,” she explains. “It has all been about recruiting advisers


who will cover their seat from day one, with an established client base and proven track record.” On the issue of retention, there is a


general feeling in the industry that younger people don’t have the same loyalty to firms that was inherent twenty years ago. “After two years, possibly only 40% of


firms which have taken on a graduate trainee will still have that graduate,” says Richards. “When you’re a small business that can be really disheartening and we aren’t in an environment where we can sustain the failure.” Even at larger firms the cost benefit has


left graduate recruitment lacking, though Countrywide does take in people without a financial services background. “Whilst we welcome applications from


qualified mortgage advisors, we also accept people without a financial services background who have the ability, drive, charisma and ambition to succeed in the field,” says Alan Snowball. “In return, we offer comprehensive training and ongoing support to help them grow and develop their skills set.” Ray Boulger, senior technical director at


John Charcol, says the broker had made efforts in the past to run graduate recruitment schemes but that it’s not been the best way to retain talent in the industry. “In the past we have run graduate


training but it was one of the casualties of cost cutting when the credit crunch hit. It’s an issue that there aren’t enough young people in the industry but I think graduate recruitment has problems,” says Boulger. “The last time we did the scheme we


had 12 recruits: a couple dropped out, some moved on fairly soon after qualifying because they were attracted by a bigger salary and the number who stayed with us was not enough to justify the cost of the programme.” Boulger says retention is key and


Charcol changed its business model in an effort to keep the best brokers under its umbrella. “We now give consultants the option to


go self-employed in Charcol. The brokers who are generating the most income are inevitably the ones who would choose to go self-employed and we’d lose them if we hadn’t found a way to give them that option.” It’s worked up to a point, but Boulger’s


argument rings true and Vince Sammon is a case in point. He set up his own directly authorised broker at the age of 31 after leaving Charcol’s self-employed arm last year. In 2007 Sammon was the best performing mortgage broker John Charcol “I was at Charcol for nine years before


deciding to give being a DA a go. The most important thing for me was developing my client relationships before setting up solo – getting that right is really crucial. “I was probably the youngest at John


Charcol by quite a long way. Brokers tend to cut their teeth as tied advisers in big banks and then make the jump. There’s a big difference between being a financial adviser in a bank and a broker in an intermediary firm.” O’Neill adds that this shift has been


more marked in the past three months. “The past three months has seen a shift in the type of work we’re recruiting for. The self-employed market has picked up significantly with lead generation firms guaranteeing up to three appointments a week, which makes a really attractive offering for brokers.”


experieNCe Despite the dissatisfaction within the industry that not enough is being done to attract new talent, there is still some feeling that there’s a good reason IFAs are that bit older.


mortgage Introducer SEPTEMBER 2010 25


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52