The appeal of financial advice to students

There has never been a better time to get into advice, according to 2022 FPA University Student of the Year winner, Matthew Kanizay.

Kanizay was currently studying a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Financial Planning and minor in Finance at Deakin University and also worked in a client services role at Melbourne-based advice firm Allan Advisory Group.

Speaking to Money Management, Kanizay said he had opted for financial advice over a career in law as he felt it would better combine his skills and interest in finance. 

“I was interested in personal finance as I learnt about it from my parents and thought financial planning married people skills well with technical skills to improve client outcomes.

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“The client services role gives me a broad scope of roles and ability to oversee the whole advice process. This includes attending client meetings, the factfind, the research, onboarding clients and completing paperwork.”

He also had a stroke of luck when, while working in a retail job, he got talking to a customer who worked in the advice department at Australian Super. This was an example, he said, of the power of networking to building a career.

“I completed an eight-week internship at Australian Super which was an education, it is important to know how super funds provide advice to their members as it is not through a direct channel.”

Although he was close to his graduation, he said he intended to work at the firm for a bit longer before commencing his Professional Year (PY) in order to gain experience.

“I want to get more experience before moving to a PY whether that’s in business development or as a senior client officer. It’s important to understand what the client wants from both the business and from the investment provider.”

Two areas he noted he felt his younger age was a benefit was around environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing and technology advancement.

He said: “There is a move to ESG and ethical investment especially among younger investors, people are becoming increasingly concerned about what’s being held in the super.

“The second thing is around tech advancement, clients don’t want to be left in the dark about their investments. It is a lengthy process to get advice, it can take 7-10 days to upload the authorisations and get the required info.”

If someone was interested in pursuing a career in financial advice, he recommended speaking to someone in the field first as well as to industry organisations such as the FPA.

“It has lived up to expectations and been what I expected, it is an ever-changing industry so it’s been helpful to have people around to work with and discuss things.

“There are so many opportunities, it is a growing profession and advice demand is rising. There has never been a better time to get into advice.”