JOEL CARTER Trainee Financial Planner, Liverpool

Did you always know you were interested in financial
services?
I’ve always known what I wanted to do in life, which I guess
is quite fortunate! From my early teens, I knew I wanted
to work in financial services. After spending my summers
doing work experience at an independent financial advisory
firm, this cemented my belief. I really enjoyed the client facing
side of things and felt my best subjects were maths
and business, so everything seemed to point in the same
direction.
For me, there’s nothing better than sitting down with
individuals and discussing their financial objectives, then
coming up with a plan to help them achieve those goals or
figuring out what steps they should take to get closer to
them.


Why did you choose to follow the apprenticeship
route?
I didn’t think the traditional university route was very
appealing, and I still don’t! Given the current fee rates and
cost of living compared to the opportunities offered by
apprenticeships, I always saw this as an easy decision…
Unlike university, where student debt in many people’s
views are ridiculously high, apprenticeships provide the
opportunity to earn a wage (and receive company benefits)
while studying.

 

What is the most enjoyable part of your job?
Meeting all different types of people, listening to their
family histories, backgrounds, goals, dreams, and fears.
Growing up, I was always told to “do a job that isn’t the
same thing every day.” Given that every client situation is
different, this means there is never just one singular right
answer in my role and every client is different.


What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day for me generally consists of either meeting
new or existing clients and drafting financial planning
recommendation reports to assist our clients in meeting
their financial objectives. I often liaise with our Senior
Financial Planning Director on complex cases while going
through my sign-off process.