A 24-year-old graduate trainee at LEBC, the Financial Planning and retirement advice firm, has won the Chartered Insurance Institute’s Young Achiever of the Year award.

Matt Swiggs, a former Paraplanner from Southampton who now lives in Reading, achieved the accolade after completing an awards’ submission with references.

Mr Swiggs graduated from Herriot Watt University in Edinburgh with an Economics and Finance Degree and first joined City Financial Planning in Bath, then moved to the LEBC Academy, in June 2017. 

Within six months he had passed the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning, completing modules R0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. He is currently studying for the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning modules AF7 (Pension Transfers) and AF8 (Retirement Income Planning).

“In his first month there he has made a very impressive start to his advisory career. Matt has a very promising future.”

The LEBC Graduate Academy is based in two centres, in Hull and Reading, with candidates needing to be geographically flexible as they could be working from several of LEBC’s 16 offices around the UK, says the company. 

LEBC said it expects candidates to progress from a trainee Paraplanner to a trained Paraplanner or trainee adviser within 24 months. They are then supported to achieve Chartered Financial Planner status.