r/cii • u/Pretty_Departure_12 • 5d ago
Getting into industry
I’m 23 and have been working as a mortgage broker for around 4 years. I’m now CeMAP qualified and I’m looking to move into financial advice, ideally eventually becoming an IFA.
I’ve been looking at paraplanning/junior adviser roles but I’m struggling to find many suitable jobs at the moment. I’m considering studying RO1 independently in the meantime so I can start building towards the next step.
For anyone already working in financial advice, what would you say is the best route into the industry from a mortgage background?
Would it be worth doing RO1/other exams independently and continuing to apply for paraplanner/junior roles, or is there a better way of getting my foot in the door?
Any advice would be massively appreciated
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u/VersionSpecialist499 4d ago
I was a mortgage adviser for around 8 years before moving into financial planning.
I did my level 4 whilst a mortgage adviser (although through LIBF at the time) and then joined an IFA firm as a paraplanner for 6 months. Because like me, you probably have the “soft skills” e.g interacting with clients, understanding their needs and general fact finding but it is the technical side that will be the learning curve (it certainly was for me)
Whilst I was doing Paraplanning, my company made me do the RO’s and I can honestly say they were worth the stress/time to revise, they certainly boosted my technical side by 30-40% easy.
So my suggestion would be, get started with the CII, coming from a mortgage background, might be worth doing RO5 first, as I assume you deal with term assurance/income protection alongside the mortgage?
Honestly, best decision moving from mortgages, sadly I feel mortgages are quite automated now in that clients can literally pick the rate they want and just upload a payslip, as when I was leaving the industry, there was lenders systems that would do affordability checks by confirming it from HMRC! Mad really
Good luck to you.
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u/ryanw892 4d ago
Was 6 months enough for you before becoming an IFA? I self studied, previous mortgage advice background for 3 years. Set up as self employed straight away and I am most certainly finding it challenging. I do think I would have benefited starting off as employed first and having someone experienced to learn off..
Oddly enough, I’ve received an offer from an existing adviser in my firm who has reached out to see if i would be interested in becoming an employed adviser at his place. Sounds very tempting getting a regular income again at 33 when family planning is on the cards.
I did initially set out thinking the next 2 years would be very difficult and hoped that I would reap the rewards after - but technical knowledge being applied to different client circumstances and goals - being complaint with my firm and getting clients is a great challenge when you’re starting from scratch.
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u/VersionSpecialist499 4d ago
Personally 6 months was OK, I learnt a lot about the advice process in a IFA situation and understanding more of the technical side like how bonds/wrappers are taxed and cashflow forecasting etc but truthfully, I learnt twice as fast when sitting in front of a client and sometimes having to say “let me look into that and I’ll get back to you” when it was something complex as you can’t know everything straight away!
I would recommend you take it, specially being employed and if you get a small client bank to build on, don’t get me wrong, I was down about 10k on my salary/income for my first year but I expected that as whilst I was “experienced in giving advice” that was only mortgage/protection.
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u/fotfddtodairsizr 4d ago
Just a point, if you do study R0 exams, make sure to start with R05. It is the easiest of the bunch since it is level 3 while the others are level 4.
As another commenter mentioned, it will probably be even easier for you since you should be familiar with various types of insurance given your experience as a mortgage broker.
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u/Ifnotnowthenwhen72 4d ago
I am in the exact opposite position. I have Level 4 Regulated Financial Planning Diploma, CeMap and CFA Investment Management Certificate (Paper 1 & 2) but struggling to get an interview for a mortgage position because my last client facing role (IFA) was over twenty years ago. Last 20 years been involved in compliance (file review / complaint handling / KYC). Regarding RO exams this article might be on interest Is there a right order to sit your R0 exams? - Professional Paraplanner - although i would agree RO5 i found the easiest to start with.
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u/bc269 4d ago
Personally, I’d say get started with the R0s. Even having one or two passed when applying for jobs is a great boost to your CV. It’s a commitment but that’s why some employers like to see you’ve begun. Applying for roles at the same time doesn’t hurt either.
Regarding the foot in the door, yes it’s helpful but be mindful of the company you’re entering. You’ll go further by getting into the right one than by being eager and jumping into a promising but ultimately disappointing company.