Advisor| September 2023
The issue of young people and career has been holding court for years within and beyond the world of financial consultancy. Indeed, financial consultancy, as any other freelance job, has a higher entrepreneurial risk component than employee work.
77% of new graduates in subjects akin to financial consultancy prefer having their debut in the working world in companies that ensure fixed remuneration rather than taking on a profession that, at an early stage, does not offer any certainties.
Generally, the first clients of a new financial advisor are relatives and friends. However, later on finding new clients outside of one’s comfort zone becomes a necessity – speaking of which, the memories of the pioneers of the profession struggling with telephone directories and intercoms are quite epic.
The efforts made by financial networks towards the inclusion of younger talents tend to focus on offering support to newcomers by both offering the chance to work alongside senior professionals and guaranteeing fixed remuneration for a set period.
In fact, a regular monthly income for people under 30 who make their debut in the working world is essential; it allows 69% of them to meet recurring expenses, be them a cheap Spotify subscription or a more consistent mortgage payment for their first home.
In addition, 56% of new graduates would rather receive a lower yet regular income than a higher (even twice as much) yet more inconsistent income. In fact, when it is not innate, the entrepreneurial spirit needs time and proven success to fulfil itself.
However, professions that offer little stability such as the influencer or the start-upper are currently gaining ground in the imagination of 55% of new graduates.
Thus, a communication campaign supporting the many concrete ventures implemented by financial networks could arguably make the job of financial advisor more appealing to people under 30.
Communicating with Gen Xers effectively requires the use of non-conventional channels, messages, and investments for a sector – such as the field of financial consultancy – dominated by Boomers.
Why not promoting young and successful financial advisors as testimonials on social networks widely used by people under 30, such as Tik Tok or Instagram? Indeed, Gen Xers spend on average three hours a day on social networks, which have inevitably become at once means of communication and sources of inspiration that can influence people’s habits and behaviors.
A case in point is Assogestioni, who relies on the collaboration of Will Media, an online community of over 1,9 million people. With Assogestioni, Will Media created 2Cents, whose Instagram account reached 24.000 followers in only a few months.
The world of financial consultancy is facing the challenge of generational continuity, not unlike other professions, just as noble and socially useful – artisans, doctors, nurses, who have become invaluable if extremely rare.
Thus, the issue of young people and their career as financial advisors is linked to the concept of parallel convergences: finding a meeting point between different generations, recognizing and enhancing different strengths.
Nicola Ronchetti