Calling all financial advisors
 

I have had an interesting proposal tonight from a family member.

To paint a picture.

I work on the oil rigs 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off.

When i am home the wife is at work and the wee man is at school, i get bored as hell and have been looking at trying to get a second job for my time off.

As i have an interest in the property game with a fair few buy to let flats i thought about estate agency or Mortgage advisor.

Said family friend has offered me a job as a Mortgage consultant at her very busy company.

She has offered to pay me through my CeMap and CeFA to get me qualified.

So what i am looking for from guys/gals already working in the industry is a run down and honest opinion on the job as a whole.

How hard are the exams going to be and what is the best route to passing them, I.E. intensive 5 day blocks or distance learning etc.

Is the market saturated? If i decide after a period of being qualified to go it alone what are the prospects like as a self employed IFA/mortgage bod?

I suppose my final aim would be to make it viable enough to jack in the offshore game and be at home with the kids where i belong.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited to add that i have done insurance sales over the phone so have an understanding of the sales process and pressures

Regards

ScottyB

[Edited on 30-11-2005 by ScottyB]

I am not an IFA but have a couple of friends/clients who are. They seem to be doing pretty well still.

My wife did CeMAP and had no problem with it. She did not go further as we had kids.

i would defo recommend the intensive course for cemap so you can book your exam on the back of that.
the actual exams are multi choice at your local driving centre.

the 1st is the hardest (financial law) especially if you have not studied for a while.
the remaining two can be taken during employment and are easier as they are based more on product knowledge and experience.

The trickiest thing is that they intentially try to mislead you in the question (use of double negatitives etc...)

I used an old Army term.. RTFQ...READ THE F*****G QUESTION:D

Once your brain is in gear, i found them relatively achievable to pass 1st time.

Good luck!

Thanks for the words of wisdom folks.

I see you are ex mob as well rev.

The old RTFQ, along with a few others i can remember........

Can you remember the old 7 P's????

Regards

ScottyB

are you referring to the '**** poor preperation' one?

I do smile when i think of the amount of rubbish that would be inflicted on my poor ears:D

Those were the days eh? went paintballing recently and me and an old buddy from Bosnia found our 'stalking' training most handy!
:D
not too sure that the group of 16 yr olds we played against were though:bouncy:

That's the one............

Did my RSI course and had the sound of the instructor saying it in my head for months afterwards.

Did the Bosnia thing as well, 24 Air Mobile ******** back in 95. Spent 6 months in GV and then a further 6 months in Ploce in Croatia. Awesome tour, ended up biffing half the locals!!

:lol:

Them were the days!

I was in the marine cadets for a couple years - does that count?

Ah, those were the days :P

Bah .. medics, you wanted to be in Signals if you were 'ard ;)

:pig:

Dada Ditt Ditt to you too TP.

Signals......................na no thanks, i actually passed the entrance exam to join up:P

I was an IFA, and the District manager for a large home service Insurance Company, in a finacial services career that lasted 15 years. Cemap should'nt present any problem but the industry regulation will drive you up the wall. Assuming you are competent and can get on with people in a sales environment, then the success of the job will be down to the quality and supply of leads. Mortgages are probably the best section of financial services to get into right now so good luck. :burn:

Thanks Rossco,

I have a few ideas for getting leads.

I may run them by you, and see what you think???

Will drop you a u2u

Regards

ScottyB

I'm still an IFA and have been since 1993. I work for a large national IFA firm running their Woking Branch and have about 12 or so IFAs in the Branch. It is nigh on impossible to find anyone who will take on and train someone to become an IFA from outside of the industry because of the supervision levels that are required. As a firm we run an academy whereby we take admin staff and train them over a long period to become advisers. I would say that the mortgage route is probably easier to get into but you will need CEMAP and undergo a high level of supervision. It is probably more difficult than it used to be to get into mortgage advice following regulation but looks as though you might have an in. Take the mortgage route and then take your FPC as well which will enable you to expand the range of advice that you will be able to offer. Best of luck though and if you need anymore advice then let me know.

With your recent foray into starting fights in empty hooses I am sure you would make a success at whatever you do!!!!;)

Thanks Webby. Will be in touch

And as for you Berto. your first to get fleeced of every penny you own.....:D

Sweet!:P

I was attatched to the GPMG's in the Royal Infantry (Polar bears)

TP, thought only girls were in the Signals?:D Well, the ones i saw were sought of cross breeds!:D

Followed the golden rule of never standing in front of an American so came out unscathed!:D

No regrets

[Edited on 2-12-2005 by revdecal]

If I can help in any way just let me know:eureka:

im glad i read this, it was something i had thought of looking into. im currnetly working in a sales enviroment but want to progress my career unfortunately i have no contacts, how much would it cost to have the training and the exams and how long would it take to become fully qualified

cheers

deej

Hi Deej, the easiest route into financial services is the mortgage advisers role and with a sales background you may be attractive to various companies. The Cemap exam is relatively straightforward and is all you need (Cefa is the banking equivalent) you can study for either in your spare time and the exam I believe was £60 last time I looked. The FPC 1 2 and 3 qualifications are a bit trickier but would lead to an IFA position advising on Investments, Pensions, Life/health protection etc, but nowadays its a tough environment to break into as any company that wants to put you through the programme even if you are already qualified cannot realistically expect you to earn commissions for about 6 months and the level of supervision is inhibitive. Once you have achieved competent adviser status though though world is your oyster. Competent adviser status takes 1 to 2 years on average. Although I believe some companies have streamlined it a bit more now. Good luck with it, you can earn a decent crust from mortgages alone.

Funny old world.

I've just found myself unemployed for the first time in my life and was also looking at mortgage advise so thanks to everyone who has posted on this one. It's been very informative.

;)

Sorry about spealling mistack! :D

Deej and Nick,

I am about to hit the sack for the night, i have to get up early for taking the wee man to school.

Will send you both an email in the morning with course details and prices.

It would be awesome if we could all get on the course together in the New Year.........

3 brains being better than 1 and all that.

Regards

ScottyB

Email sent to Deej.

Nicks no email in your profile bud.

Regards

ScottyB