Financial Planning is failing to market and promote itself as a career anywhere near as effectively as other financial service professions, a Financial Planning graduate says.

Chris Gladwyn, in his early 20s, a graduate trainee at Milton Keynes-based Mazars Financial Planning, an Accredited Financial Planning Firm, said more young people would follow a path into Financial Planning if it were marketed better to younger people.

He said: “I worked in various different jobs, before I stumbled on the amazing graduate opportunity that Mazars was offering in Financial Planning. Having mainly been looking at accountancy schemes that offered CIMA qualifications, I came across the Financial Planning scheme at Mazars almost by accident.

“When I first read the job description for the Mazars role, I was a bit surprised at how much more interesting Financial Planning sounded in comparison to accountancy.

“It wasn't an area I'd really considered starting a career in. I think this is because Financial Planning isn’t marketed anywhere near as much to graduates as a possible career path compared to other financial service lines such as audit and tax.

“I think awareness needs to improve, as I’m sure many graduates, especially those who are studying finance related degrees would be very interested in considering it as a career.”

Sam Rees-Adams, former professional standards director at the Institute of Financial Planning, now working at the CISI, sparked a debate about the perception of Financial Planning last year when she wrote that the profession needed to cast off the wrongly held view from some of the public that it was a ‘dry, dusty’ profession all about selling products. She said it was vital to make it as attractive as professions such as accountancy and law.

Richard Allum CFPCM, former IFP board member and now part of the CISI’s IFP Financial Planning Professional Forum, warned earlier this year that there was a desperate need for fresh blood in Paraplanning and Financial Planning.

Mr Gladwyn explained that he chose Financial Planning in the end because “I love dealing with people and building relationships”.

He said: “I believe that Financial Planning is all about having strong relationships with your clients because they are entrusting you with their future and their money. Whether that is through advice or investment. Furthermore, being able to offer clients the best options to suit their lifestyle needs, sounded quite rewarding to me.

“I also felt that it was a career that would be useful for helping me to plan my own future. Using the knowledge I gain to reduce my tax bill and understand which financial products might suit my circumstances later in life.”

Asked if his perception of Financial Planning has changed since moving into the world of work, he said: “My original understanding of Financial Planning prior to doing any research around the area was that it involved helping people understand their finances better and budget more effectively. However, I now realise it is far more than this.

“For example, I wasn’t aware that it involved mitigation planning for changes in circumstances such as unexpected death or redundancy. I now recognise that Financial Planning involves adopting a long-term view for clients, whereas before I thought it was more short-term advice.”