10 Benefits of Being a Self-Employed Financial Adviser

You may be thinking about moving from your company to set up your own practice, or you may just be starting your career in financial advice. In either case, it is important to weigh up the pros and cons to find out what works best for you. In this post, we highlight the main advantages of working as a self-employed financial adviser, all of which are key considerations when thinking about your next career move.

1. Earning potential

With the cost of doing business quite small, the earning potential of a self-employed financial adviser is much higher than regular employment for a firm. This is because there are few overheads involved, leaving more room for profits. Self-employed is generally the most lucrative option when it comes to working as a financial adviser; you have greater control of your income and expenditure.

2. Building your client list

By providing genuine, sound advice, you’ll be able to build a great network of contacts through repeat business and word-of-mouth. Plus, the more quality clients you have, the better stead you will be in should you come to sell your business closer to retirement. There are opportunities to build upon your professional development by joining a firm such as Foster Denovo, who have a range of self-employed financial adviser jobs. They partner with financial advisers to help them reach their full potential. Working with a supporting team, self-employed financial advisers have the opportunity to dedicate their time to building upon their client base and nurturing their leads.

3. Flexibility

A huge benefit of being a self-employed financial adviser is the flexibility in your working life: your schedule is entirely up to you. You can choose when to take time off as well as what times of the day you wish to work, choosing your most productive hours. You can also decide whether to work from home or from an office, depending on what works best for you. This flexibility means that you’ll be able to focus on the areas you wish to develop, such as meeting with clients and providing excellent service.

4. Work-life balance

Following on from the flexibility and freedom that comes with working as a self-employed financial adviser, you will also benefit from a great work-life balance. You have greater control over when, and when not, to work. Got a family event coming up? No problem. The ball is in your court. This could also lead to improved mental wellbeing, decreasing stress and improving working conditions.

5. Learn new skills

Employed advisers have the option to climb up the career ladder in order to build upon their skills within the firm. However, this growth can be stifled if the company they work for does not invest in the training and development of their staff. Therefore, self-employed financial advisers have the upper hand: they have the opportunity to learn new skills and grow their knowledge whenever they like, without restrictions. For example, Foster Denovo supports its Partners by offering the opportunity to partake in an industry-leading training development programme, ran by top financial advisers.

“Foster Denovo recognised the drive I had. They’re passionate about working in partnership. Today my growing client book is proof that their belief in me has paid off. Big time.”

Learning new skills is the key to a fulfilling and rewarding career. Going self-employed often means you have more control over the areas you wish to build upon, and how.

6. No commute

Say goodbye to the dreaded rush hour traffic – self-employed financial advisers can work from home, which reduces stress levels and, let’s face it, saves a lot of time and money! The flexibility of a self-employed role means that you can pick and choose your working locations. Plus, you can also plan your days around meeting clients at a time that suits both parties.

7. Working culture

As discussed working as a self-employed financial adviser gives you more freedom with your working life. As an added bonus, you can wear what you want, create a workflow that works for you, and adhere to a culture you believe in. Without the control and rules set by companies, you can create ones that you agree with and operate to your full potential. If you’re worried about the risk involved in this, then joining a company such as Foster Denovo – rather than going directly authorised – can help you to reduce this risk and save on time. Plus, you can hand over compliance responsibilities to someone else.

Another worry many financial advisers have about going self-employed is loneliness – however, working for a company like Foster Denovo could be just the solution for this – they have a vibrant working culture that you can dip in and out of as you please – you’d really have the best of both worlds.

8. Limited distractions

Increased productivity is a great benefit to working self-employed; without distractions from coworkers, employees, other office-based noise, and meetings you’d really rather not be in, you can get on with your work in your day. You may find deadlines easier to reach and less interruption throughout your working day. Flexible working hours have been proven to increase productivity. Being self-employed allows this, as long as you’re disciplined with your time.

9. Decreased stress

Days are often less stressful as you have much more control over your stress levels; working from home means you can easily take a break when you need to. The freedom to work the hours you wish to increases productivity and therefore you are not confined to working at certain times of the day.

10. Save money

Not only can you make more money working as a self-employed financial adviser, but you can also save money on day-to-day costs too. For example, working from home means you’ll save money on petrol, lunches out, and other expenses such as buying coffee.

All in all, there are many benefits of self-employment and are worth considering when thinking about your next career move. If you’re contemplating the move from employed to self-employed, it can be a difficult decision when you take a stable salary, pension and life cover into consideration.

However, our client, Foster Denovo, make the transition much easier. If you’re an employed financial adviser who’s interested in setting up your own business but don’t need the burden of being directly authorised, Foster Denovo is a perfect choice. They will provide you with all the guidance you’ll need to get there. They have a range of self-employed financial adviser jobs that will help you settle into your new career. When you partner with Foster Denovo, you can still work in an office environment and build upon your skills. Plus, you will have control over your work/life balance.

Join Foster Denovo as a self-employed financial adviser and enjoy guidance from a strong back office team, including the support of marketing, training and development, paraplanners and administrators. Not only will this let you dedicate your time to building your client list and generating new business, but it will also enable you to develop professionally as you build upon your skills.

When you start working with Foster Denovo, you’ll get:

• a truly client-centric proposition.
• the opportunity to partake in industry-leading training, including their adviser development programme, ‘Quantum Leap’
• help with business development and marketing via partner support.
• time-saving technology, less administration and a slicker advice process.
• quick turnaround from compliance and guidance, de-risking the advice process.
• private client services so you can focus on winning new business.
• enhanced pay away rate for your first year and financial smoothing options to help with the transition from employed
• hands-on coaching and guidance around your business plan to ensure you know exactly where your business is heading.
• clear exit plans, adviser protection and share opportunities.
• central London and Weybridge offices, with meeting rooms and a great culture.

To find out more about what Foster Denovo do, and to see their latest self-employed financial adviser jobs, just follow the link below.