Demand for IFAs has been rising in recent months but recruitment consultants say the premium for gaining chartered status has yet to become fully established.
Coast SRS consultant Karen Halliday reports that despite a subdued economy, volumes have remained high over the summer, usually considered a slow period.“The last year has been really busy considering the job climate and it has been particularly job heavy. Although the volumes have stabilised now, we are still seeing more vacancies than candidates.”
As Level 4 diploma becomes the norm, some recruitment firms are reporting that additional qualifications may be necessary for jobseekers to differentiate themselves.
James Associates director Simon Benstead says: “We have always worked for RDR-ready clients, so the demand for the Level 4 diploma has been the bare minimum for some time. I think we are now moving to a situation where some employers are looking for someone who is working toward chartered status. Particularly for paraplanning, we have had candidates rejected because they are only qualified to diploma Level 4. Clients are saying if you want to work for us you need more than the bare minimum.”
However, Halliday reports that the demand for chartered status has not been as strong as expected.
She says: “We have not noticed an increase in vacancies that require chartered level status. In fact, we were expecting more demand for chartered candidates.
“It is possible that after the RDR wewill see more candidates, who may have been waiting to see what the effects on the market would be, and perhaps more people who are ready to go for chartered status.”
Harris Keillar of Keillar Consulting managing director also predicts it will be next year before the market for chartered advisers becomes properly established.
“At the moment, we haven’t seen a big rise in the number of firms wanting chartered level candidates. I think wewill get to January and the next tax year, and then we’ll see what happens. Individual firms who are made up of chartered IFAs will be marketing themselves as such and we will see what effect that has on the job market.”
