Kingswood Holdings Limited has launched the Kingswood Academy. Recruited externally, the first group of four trainee advisers from across the UK have started a 24-month programme and, upon completion, will receive a Diploma in Financial Planning.
Two of the participants are ex-service personnel while the others are an entrepreneur and an ex-motoring sector professional.
Throughout their training, they will acquire new technical and people skills, and develop their financial planning knowledge. Kingswood believes that the initiative will help talented people learn the skills they need to provide effective financial advice which will lead to a successful career in wealth management.
The two-year programme, which began on Monday 11 January, is designed to nurture existing talent and engage with aspiring financial planners who are looking to start or switch careers into the wealth sector.
The candidates have a 13-week rotation in Wealth Planning and will be shadowing a wealth planner during this period. In addition to set projects and tasks throughout the programme, they will participate in external and internal training sessions. They will also be given study time to study and pass their examinations during the programme.
The selection process involved an initial interview with Linda Tottem, Vice President, HR – Talent Acquisition, then a numerical test, followed by an interview with Leigh Philpot, Head of Wealth Management in London, and Charlie Gillespie, Management Director in Sheffield.
Leigh Philpot, Head of Wealth Management at Kingswood, says: “We are a young forward-looking company committed to the development of our people and having a positive impact on the next generation of financial advice. The Kingswood Academy is not only an important initiative for our people and clients, but it will be pivotal in organically growing our business over the long-term. This new generation of advisers will most importantly speak the same language as a new generation of clients.
“With a new generation of bright and motivated advisers coming through, there is less risk of clients becoming orphaned because their adviser has retired or left the industry.”
