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There has been a marked change in public perception of IFAs says Fiona Sharp.
Air of sympathy
Fiona SharpIFA View
In my former life, I was an air traffic controller in the RAF. If I ever mention this at a social gathering, the response is normally a slow intake of breath, coupled with the almost predictable comment that the job is highly stressful.
In fact, military air traffic control was 50 per cent calm with equal parts of pandemonium but there was, and still is, the public perception that the role is permanently demanding and tense.
I mention this, because the other day I was asked at a function what I did for a living. I replied I am an IFA and, for the first time ever, there was the same slow intake of breath coupled with the stressful job comment. I did a straw poll among a few others and the almost sympathetic view was that financial advisers have had a tough time.
Now that there has been a brief relief in the economic climate, it got me thinking about the two career paths and while they seem so different, they are quite similar. Both are highly skilled, require effective communication, the ability to remain composed under pressure and to assess a complex situation with immediacy and occasionally three-dimensional thought processes.
I would like to think the IFA can create security and order out of disorder, just as a controller would do so by safely prioritising landing aircraft. Both are regulated with the emphasis not only on qualifications but also experience, with a sound emphasis on the latter. You can have all the qualifications in the world but if you do not understand how a wind shear is going to affect an aircraft 100ft off the runway or what constitutes a low-risk investment, then the consequences can be quite serious.
When Captain Sullenberger landed his airliner in a most non-standard manner on the Hudson river, it proved that human intervention over automation can have quite extraordinary results when least expected. Ultimately, both jobs prove that the personal touch is vital when the chips are down, and that a Plan B is nearly always necessary.
The point from all of this is we need downsides, as that is what brings us valuable experience to cope with the unexpected.
Over the last two years, there have been equal parts of chaos and respite, most of it out of our control and yet it was down to us to keep calm and carry on. Most of us will have sat down with clients at some point to discuss investment risk. The answers we receive now are likely to be quite different from a couple of years ago.
Our role as financial advisers has not changed but the global markets headed off course.
I believe the positive impact that we have had on those we advise has helped to strengthen the public perception of us at long last. The bad times educate us all in different ways and when the economy suffers again in future, which it undoubtably will, I for one will be back on constant watch. Over and out.
Fiona Sharp is a senior adviser at Almary Green
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