Formal or not, we've all been students at some point.
Dr. Lien Luu, Associate Professor at Coventry University, wants people to remember that as a new generation of financial planners are born. She believes the field of financial planning is becoming increasingly more professionalized. That means that younger people actually have an advantage:
"At the moment, the industry is aging, and there are enormous opportunities for young people. Our students can excel because they can pass exams and achieve the highest qualifications possible."
And that's exactly what she aims to do through her financial planning program at Coventry Business School, geared toward preparing students to be financial planners. Not bankers, not accountants, but true financial planners.
Luu's background is a curious mix of academics and financial services. She began her work as a history professor. However, when she started a family, she wanted a job closer to home. It was then she decided to consult with a financial adviser to weigh out her options.
When she met with the financial adviser, something interesting happened.
Luu explains, "He asked me three questions: what do you want to achieve financially, where are you now, and how will you get there? I felt really empowered, because no one had ever asked me those three questions."
These questions had a profound impact on Luu. In fact, when he asked her if she knew anyone who would be interested in joining his company, she volunteered and began work as an apprentice.
Within fifteen months of working as an apprentice, Luu became a top adviser. Although she began her work inspired by the three questions she'd been asked many moons ago, she realized they were the bulk of the "planning" aspect of her job:
"The company didn't have a process in place to develop that methodology further. When we saw a client, we asked those questions, but very quickly, and then moved onto products - do they want pensions, investments?"
This didn't seem right to Luu.
"Because I came from an academic background, I was interested in the process," she explains. "How do I establish a client's needs before discussing solutions?"
To Luu, financial planning should be broken into three phases:
So Luu broke off to start her own company. But she quickly realized she still had ropes to learn, so she joined yet another firm. However, once again she was disappointed: their planning process was still product-sale focused.
The discrepancy in personal versus company values became even more glaring when she decided she wanted to obtain certifications from the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP) and the Chartered Institute of Insurance (CII). Her company discouraged her, but she pressed on and got her certifications anyway.
Between general career soul-searching and the passing of her father, Luu decided it was time for a change. It was then that a fortuitous opportunity was presented to her. University of Northampton was wondering if she wanted to spearhead a new type of financial planning degree. She agreed, and so began her combined career of academia and financial planning. In 2015, she moved her talents to Coventry University.
Finally, Luu had the opportunity to present the version of financial planning that she believed would change lives - and empower her students to do the same. She's been running the program since 2011, and the future is looking bright.
The program at Coventry emphasizes vocation over theory:
"The financial planning degree we run is very, very practical. I [teach] students how to do proper financial planning, goal analysis, analyze the client need. I encourage them to use Voyant to help clients see the future. I [bring] in a lot of top financial planners in the industry…We [offer] students very practical hand-on-training, so they could actually walk into a job."
This isn't to say Luu doesn't believe subjects like risk theory aren't important. However, she doesn't want students to be reliant on on-site training to nail the day-to-day of being a financial planner. This desire is a huge driver behind having students use cash-flow modeling software:
"Students normally have to use Voyant to model with me. I adapt a CFP case study and… they have to use Voyant. So they are competent Voyant users - I have been making it compulsory; I allocate marks to the use of Voyant."
One wonderful part of teaching students is their embrace of such technology:
"They love it," Luu says. "It's different, it's engaging, it's visual, it's extra stuff to put on their CV. It will make them more employable."
The biggest challenge for Luu's program is the lack of big players and awareness surrounding the field. Some students yearn for the "prestige" that accompanies working for companies like The Big Four accounting firms. Their parents also express hesitation of them cracking into banking's newer cousin:
"Parents don't know what [financial planning] is. [They ask] why do you want to go into that career? The perception is accounting and law have good reputation. All the students who want to do accountancy… they actually find that financial planning is much more intellectually stimulating."
As for the "soft" skills required to be a financial planner?
"To be a good financial planner, you need to like working with people," Luu explains. "You might have the academic skills, you could be a good problem solver and be perfect on paper, but you might not have the social skills"
Luu fosters these skills through encouraging presentations and having her students do role play as client and planner, which "…helps them think on the spot [and] express their ideas."
She also runs a wealth management mentoring scheme where leading financial planners are invited to mentor students. In her words, the students feel "privileged" to participate.
In the end, Luu knows that younger financial planners may receive pushback for their age. But as the government demands more qualifications for financial planners, she knows her students will receive plenty of "experience" before stepping foot into their first office:
"[We have] much more proper training in place: we train people to do the job properly… Qualifications can help them achieve some of that credibility."
