Can Gen Y replace aging advisors?

Scott McKenzie, director of marketing at Investors Group in Winnipeg, has connected his firm with various programs and hires their graduates. “Once you’re admitted to a college you’ve proven you can learn,” McKenzie says. “The college builds a shorter learning curve; grads do gain knowledge that puts them ahead.”

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But students aren’t work-ready upon graduation, he says, adding “their knowledge is broad but shallow.” More steps are required in the transition from knowing the theory behind the business, to actually producing results.

In large part, graduates lack the soft skills (along with entrepreneurial spirit and an innate ability to sell) that are the hallmark of established, successful advisors. They also don’t leave the programs ready-made to work in the less-structured environments common among independent advisory practices.

But different programs produce different grads, says McKenzie. Mohawk College, for example, does not require applicants to have degrees, whereas Seneca students must have at least a Bachelor’s. Programs can also differ by length, some only lasting a year, where others last three.

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Maintaining a strong connection with colleges, simply to promote the idea of becoming a financial advisor, is key to the recruitment process, says McKenzie.

“It’s a matter of telling Gen Y that not only can being a financial advisor mean independence and a rewarding income, it is also about connectivity,” he says, adding it’s worth the effort to train and integrate grads into the firm.

Another plus: Grads usually come licensed. And by completing the program, they’ve “pre-selected” themselves as suitable candidates just by showing strong interest.

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