Professional year (PY) candidates should be self-motivated and understand it could take far longer than one year to build an advice business, according to panellists.
Speaking at the Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association (SIAA) conference in Sydney, a panel discussed the learnings they had taken from running PY programs at their firms.
Hamish Dee, director at Morgans Financial, said: “To say PY is a misnomer, the chance is it will be longer than a year. If you have an exceptional person then maybe they can do it in three years. It takes longer than people think.
“It is not one year, it is more like three to six years by the time they are building their own business and they still need a lot of help and contact during that time. It is a big journey.”
He also recommended people worked in the business before they started the PY to determine if it was the right fit for them, emphasising it was better to find a good-quality candidates who suited the business rather than take on too many.
For this reason, Melissa Nolan, senior compliance manager at Ord Minnett, said it was important that candidates were self-motivated and engaged to complete the program.
“[Candidates] have to be self-motivated, they are going through the program and taking up time and resources so they need to engage with that. A lot of proactive work is needed especially by the person going through it,” Nolan said.
A second issue was whom a firm should select as a supervisor for the candidate. Dee added for some, taking on a PY candidate was a way to ensure succession planning for their businesses. However, it was important to find the right fit.
Nolan said: “Not everyone will be a good supervisor, you have to make sure the fit is good, you have to match them up and if it isn’t working then you have to act quickly to do something about it.”
Sally Bridgland, executive director at JBWere, added: “Make sure the supervisor understands how much work is involved and has the time to invest in it one-to-one. Don’t pick someone who is busy trying to build their own business.
“The supervisor also needs hand-holding through the process, especially if it is their first time. We use role-play and education to help them have conversations with candidates and prevent bad habits forming.”
Dee noted Morgans had taken on 33 people for their PY and only five had left the process as they had either moved to another licensee or decided it wasn’t for them. Some 16 had successfully completed the program and 12 were currently working through it.
“If you lose them early, that’s probably a good thing. If you train them up and then you lose them later on then that’s a problem,” Dee said.
When I was searching for a PY (several years experience in industry and multiple degrees) it was a difficult, cold and disheartening process. Trying Morgans, they wanted their pound of flesh and to pay me only $50k p.a. as if I were a new grad with no experience. Ord Minnett asked for 2 more years as a client service officer before starting a PY but at least the indicated pay was better.
Feels like a waste of schooling compared to many other career paths.