I joined Magenta in July 2019, having very little knowledge of the financial planning profession. I was excited and nervous about this new direction, as I wanted to prove to myself and my colleagues that I was capable of meeting this new challenge.
Hopefully you will be interested in my journey so far and I’ll provide updates on my progress to becoming a financial planner.
About Me
I was born into a military family, so we moved around a fair bit before ending up in Swansea, where I went to university to study physics. At school I was always interested in, and therefore better at, science and was told I would make an excellent physicist due to my curious brain and love for “the theory of everything.”
During my time at university, it became apparent that I didn’t enjoy the science and analytics as much as the problem solving, brain storming and interactions with my new friends and mentors.
This led me to re-evaluate my future career and after discussions with friends and family, I decided to look for work where I could do the things I enjoyed most.
Wanting to keep up the momentum of university, I quickly got a job as an insurance administrator which developed my interest in the financial world, but I knew I needed something more challenging than pushing buttons on a computer.
So, I found my way to Magenta as a trainee planner, where I hoped I would be able to use my brain, speak to real people and have a more positive, fulfilling career opportunity.
I’m also a real foodie and made an Insta blog, as I know how everyone likes to see pictures of what I eat every day, so if you fancy looking or even a cheeky follow, you can find me @geerefoodie.
So, what was the job I thought I was taking on?
I thought that Financial Planning is all about number work and with my analytical background, this would be the perfect job for me! I had heard about pensions and investments and I liked the idea of helping people with all their finances and tax problems to help them get organised and make important financial decisions.
Was I right?
Not quite! It turns out that Financial Planning is much more than an excel spreadsheet and hours of calculations!! There is some maths and technical knowledge involved, but mostly it is about talking to people to find out what is important to them, understanding what makes them happy and then being creative to find ways of helping them to make the most of their life.
What I’ve realised is that what makes an amazing financial planner is someone who can really listen and understand what a client wants. Once you have this fundamental understanding, you can then help to prioritise their needs and goals into a plan, easing whatever stresses they had about them before they came to you and help to tie their life and their finances together.
Why Magenta?
Unfortunately, personal financial advice doesn’t have such a great reputation and initially I was concerned about this. I was worried that I might be expected to sell financial products and become a salesperson.
But Magenta felt very different. It isn’t about investing money or selling insurance, it feels like how my Dad used to speak to me about finance, how he coached me, reassured me and guided me to look after myself financially so that I never had to worry about my money on my own.
Magenta has been very supportive and has encouraged me to make a start on my professional qualifications – I already have the first two exams under my belt. I am working towards my Diploma in Financial Planning and with the help I’m receiving from Magenta and NextGen Planners I should be Diploma qualified within 2 years and able to help clients on their financial journey myself!
Not only this, but Magenta have given me an insight to the profession that I wasn’t expecting in my first few months. I have been invited to attend conferences and summits, able to network with other financial planners to really feel like I’m becoming a part of a community.
Magenta is passionate about promoting best practice in this profession. The passion that they have as a company to make an impact and help people find their happiness is what has made me love my job. The constant learning to better our knowledge of our specialist subject and therefore give the highest level of service and advice to all our clients, is something I’m proud to be a part of.