Ben Whitwell is all for ensuring high standards in the financial planning industry.
The award-winning planner just isn’t sure introducing university degree requirements is the best way to achieve that.
“I don’t think having a degree necessarily means that you have a higher standard than someone who doesn’t,” he says. “There are a lot of good life advisers who may not have a high qualification level, but are very good at sitting opposite a mechanic or a plumber and having a proper chat, explaining things clearly.
“I’m concerned there will just be academics left in the field, and some of the older guys will be pushed out. I think there is a place in the profession for those who can relate to the everyday person and they are people who are less likely to have a degree.”
Whitwell is speaking from personal experience. After he left high school, he started a series of small businesses, which he would build from the ground up before selling.
He ran businesses in lawn mowing and gardening, rubbish removal and non-structural demolition, as well as a food wholesaling business.
He had somewhat of a Midas touch with running a business, although he maintains most of his success was down to hard work.
“I think you need to realise miracles work in five to 10 years,” he says. “Starting any kind of business requires hard work, focus and lots of perseverance. “And there is a lot of sacrifice because in the early days you’re working really hard, but not making any money.”
Whitwell sold his last business after he started a family because the hours were not conducive to married life with a small child.
“I called my accountant, who was a friend, and said, ‘I’ve sold my business.’ And he said, ‘Great, what are you going to do now?’ I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but he said, ‘Why don’t you come and work in a business I am starting.’ ”
That is exactly what Whitwell did. After a two-week holiday in Europe, he went and worked in his friend’s burgeoning salary-packaging and employment business.
“We shared an office with a financial planner, and I thought, ‘Hang on, I want to do what he is doing’,” Whitwell says. “So I went off and got my qualifications and didn’t look back.”
It was a career he loved from the start.
“I immediately enjoyed the connection with the clients, and the building of relationships,” he says. “We discuss finances, but I am not about a transaction. This is a relationship you’re building.”
Whitwell’s clients fall into two categories: retirees or those approaching retirement, and young people on good wages who want to get ahead and plan for the future.
“They will come in and want to know whether they should buy an extra property or invest in stocks, and I tell them, first of all, to get rid of their current mortgage,” he says.
Whitwell explains that his single male clients tend to be worse at handling their money than his female clients.
“The single blokes have had the great life and they have travelled and had the cars and there is this feeling that they’re bulletproof,” he says. “But single women, I think, often feel a bit more vulnerable and they have been very cautious and focused and made good out of what they have been given.”
| Ben Whitwell
Name of firm: FinAdvice Financial Planning Name of licensee (if not self-licensed): SIRA Group Time in the industry (previous jobs?) Started in the profession in 2000, have been an adviser since 2001. Prior to that, built and sold several small businesses. Academic qualifications: Diploma in financial planning Accreditations: Certified Financial Planner through Deakin University, accredited ASX-listed investment product adviser Professional association memberships: FPA member since 2000, FPA Chapter Committee of Western NSW Division Other memberships: Most Trusted Adviser award-winner in 2015, Securitor 2015 NSW Adviser of the Year |
