That, of course, is on top of the general feeling of making a worthwhile contribution.
Once of my favourite anecdotes from this year is when my wife and I bumped into a student who attended some of my financial education sessions in the local high school.
She told me, with great enthusiasm, that since leaving school she has completely changed her financial outlook, negotiated a pay rise and is now saving hard for her first home.
Of course, when you’re speaking in front of 40 young people in school, you have no real sense of whether you’re making a difference, so this was lovely to hear.
A couple of weeks later, her father approached me at a local beer festival and apologised for his daughter ‘hounding me’ and went on to explain the open and honest conversations about money they’ve been having as a family.
You just never know the reach that pro-bono work can have.
FTA: What do you make of the industry’s attitude towards giving back?
GW: There’s a lot of great work going on and a huge effort going into financial education of both young people and adults.
It’s also great to see voluntary support within the financial services profession itself.
Many experienced financial planners will help support newer entrants in their professional organisations, like the PFS, where I’m also registered as a mentor.
There are also some tremendous free resources available to the public, like Pete Matthew’s Meaningful Money project.
FTA: And yet, where do you see room for improvement?
GW: It’s a tricky one, but more needs to be done about the empowerment of people to take control of their finances, without relying on ‘advice’.
Self-determination and financial confidence must surely be the biggest prize for those who don’t want or need to devolve responsibility to a regulated adviser.
The industry needs to develop more choice for the way in which people plan their financial futures, but rather awkwardly, this might not necessarily require the recommendation of products or assets under management.
It’s work in progress and to some extent will be affected by the advice and guidance review by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Treasury.
Let’s hope the outcome will accelerate progress and not hamper it.
carmen.reichman@ft.com
