Special education approach mooted to retain older advisers

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

20 March 2023

Educators could be encouraged to create training specifically for older financial advisers in a bid to keep them in the profession, according to The Adviser Association chief executive, Neil Macdonald.

He has also argued for more involvement by educators, technology providers and licensees to develop programs to better handle the professional year regime.

Amid increasing concerns about how long it is taking the Government to deliver on its promised ‘experienced pathway”, Macdonald said that this was now outside of the control of the advice industry and up to Government to decide.

“What is within our control is helping to change the mindset of older advisers in relation to further education and helping them prepare for it,” he said.

He said that this was reason for the profession to think more literally in relation to attracting university graduates.

“The 2022 longitudinal Graduate Outcomes Survey revealed that some people graduating from some undergraduate programs are underemployed in the short term – that is, four to six months after graduating,” he said.

“Graduates of study areas such as mathematics, computing and information systems, accounting, business management, banking and finance, economics, and law had short-term, full-time employment outcomes of around 80 per cent or less,” he said.

“Some of these study areas are closely related to financial advice. We therefore have a window of opportunity when people first graduate to encourage them to consider other options and doing what may be just a few additional subjects to follow an advice career.”

Macdonald said the profession needs to create an organised recruitment campaign, so that this opportunity is not lost.

“The campaign could highlight all the great things about the profession and make it easy for graduates to find and take up places,” he said.

The third issue to be tackled is the Professional Year which Macdonald said creates a significant time and money impost on licensees and smaller businesses.

“When you’re a small AFSL, supervising graduates often means you can’t be as productive in your business. You also obviously have to pay them,” he said. “The flip side is that employing graduates is likely to be more affordable than hiring experienced advisers, and they’re likely to be tech savvy, which could lead to greater business efficiencies.”

While the profession is not in control of those kinds of decisions, Macdonald said it could work with educators, technology providers, licensees and practices to develop programs that make the supervision, recording and assessment of PY requirements easier and more consistent.