Senior Financial Advisor

We are seeking a Senior Financial Advisor to join WTW’s Financial Planning Group. In this role, you will provide guidance and regulated advice to individuals who are direct clients of WTW or members of some of our largest pension scheme clients. Our guidance and advice services focus on retirement planning, requiring a extensive understanding of the UK pensions landscape, investment, and broader financial planning knowledge.

This is a great opportunity for someone with solid experience in the UK financial advice market to grow their career. Join a financial planning team that is focused on strong committment to ethical practices and doing the right thing for our clients. Providing guidance and advice to employees and members of large workplace pension plans and corporates. No requirement to have existing clients.

At WTW, we trust you to know your work and the people, tools and environment you need to be successful. The majority of our colleagues work in a ”hybrid” style, with a mix of remote, in-person and in office interactions dependent on the needs of the team, role and clients. Our flexibility is rooted in trust and “hybrid” is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

We understand flexibility is key to supporting an inclusive and diverse workforce and so we encourage requests for all types of flexible working as well as location-based arrangements. Please speak to your recruiter to discuss more.

The Role

You will be involved in delivering guidance and advice in the following areas:

• Preparing for retirement for people who are over the age of 55
• Retirement income strategy, including advising on annuities, drawdown, UFPLS, or blended solutions as appropriate
• Advice in retirement: maintaining income and adapting to changing needs and circumstances
• Pension switching and consolidation
• Investment advice and subsequent portfolio reviews

Clients

Performance Objectives:

• Apply specialist knowledge to provide high-quality, cost-effective guidance and advice tailored to clients' needs and objectives.
• Display extensive knowledge of financial planning topics, providing written and verbal advice to clients, prospects, and colleagues.
• Build credibility with clients and prospects, taking on additional individual client or account responsibilities.
• Deliver face-to-face elements of workplace structured financial education projects.
• Monitor and promote client satisfaction, managing expectations on budgets and timescales.
• Cultivate relationships beyond initial client appointments to broaden or deepen services provided.
• Promote marketing efforts for individual client opportunities.
• Collaborate with the wider WTW business to promote and expand workplace financial guidance services.

Excellence

• Demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Share ideas and provide constructive feedback while fostering collaborative problem-solving by analysing complex technical and regulatory issues.
• Ensure compliance with the WTW Excellence framework.
• Maintain Statement of Professional Standing status, meet WTW CPD requirements, and comply with WTW standards for advice relating to regulated new business.

People

• Positively mentor and develop junior associates through formal processes and informal day-to-day interactions.
• Clearly specify task requirements to Paraplanners/administrators to ensure efficient and budget-compliant work delivery.
• Develop meaningful professional relationships and network of contacts within WTW and with providers.

Financial

• Work collaboratively and manage tasks effectively where appropriate, with accurate time recording.

What you’ll bring

• Suitable professional qualifications to Level 4 with the ability to provide retail investment advice.
• Proven track record of providing guidance and advice to large corporates and CXO level Clients.
• Excellent knowledge of the UK pensions market, including DB, DC and Cash Balance, and wider investment product knowledge is essential, as is an ability to provide guidance and advice on retirement income options
• Extensive understanding of the UK pensions tax regime, including Annual Allowance (AA), and the ability to provide guidance and advice on these for affected individuals, including higher earners affected by the Tapered AA and individuals with all types of LTA protection.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to learn quickly, use initiative, and organise workload effectively.
• Good working knowledge of Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, with experience in financial planning tools such as Morningstar Adviser Workstation, FE Analytics, Intelliflo, and Voyant being advantageous.

This is a Certification Function role under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Senior Manager and Certification Regime. Candidates are required to be assessed under the Fitness and Proprietary standards. This assessment will be carried out through self-disclosures, permitted criminal record checks, reference checks, credit checks and other background checks. If hired for this role, you will also be required to complete an annual declaration regarding your Fitness and Propriety. This role will additionally be subject to the FCA’s Conduct Rules

What We Offer

Enjoy a benefits package designed to help you thrive, both professionally and personally. You'll receive 25 days of annual leave plus an extra WTW day to relax and recharge. Our comprehensive health and wellbeing offering includes private healthcare, life insurance, group income protection, and regular health assessments, all giving you peace of mind. Secure your future with our defined contribution pension scheme, featuring matched contributions up to 10% from the company.

We support your growth and balance with hybrid working options, access to an employee assistance programme, and a fully paid volunteer day to make a difference in your community. On top of these, you can opt into a variety of additional perks including an electric vehicle car scheme, share scheme, cycle-to-work programme, dental and optical cover, critical illness protection, and much more. Start making the most of your career and wellbeing with a range of benefits tailored for you.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We’re committed to equal employment opportunity and provide application, interview and workplace adjustments and accommodations to all applicants. If you foresee any barriers, from the application process through to joining WTW, please email candidate.helpdesk@wtwco.com