Financial Planning Pod Leader

Saltus is looking to hire a Financial Planning Adviser with POD leadership responsibilities based in our Newcastle office. This role involves overseeing and managing a book of clients and includes additional responsibilities in supervising Advisers in a Pod.

This role necessitates the leadership and mentoring of a small group of Financial Planners, Trainee Financial planners, and, at times, those Paraplanners transitioning into advisory roles. The guide ratio would be no more than 1/7 reports, with approximately 25% of the role dedicated to leadership, although this may vary from pod to pod and time to time.

Why Saltus?

Saltus is a financial planning and asset management house that is dedicated to providing a high-quality service for private clients, trusts, and smaller institutions. Our mission is to improve everyone’s relationship with their wealth: to make it a positive force for their future and, at the same time, to prevent it being a source of anxiety. We want everyone who works at Saltus to be proud to work here, and to derive fulfilment and meaning from their work.

Saltus Partners was founded in 2004 and has grown both organically and through a number of carefully integrated acquisitions. Originally, the business started out as an asset management firm and has developed the financial planning side of the offering, now putting this at the forefront of the client relationship. We have a unique investment offering with particular expertise in alternative asset classes. The team have produced industry leading risk adjusted returns due to their approach.

We are a successful LLP, backed by a Private Equity sector specialist, which has helped facilitate the execution of the buy-and-build strategy that has been employed by the business, and which has been an important pillar of the firm’s growth strategy in recent years. Whilst we have grown quickly, and now have a number of offices in the South and Southwest of England, we are incredibly proud of our culture and we work hard to ensure everyone feels part of a team whilst having fun and enhancing their career.

Today, Saltus has just over 350 employees and manages and advises on over £7.5 billion in client assets.

As a Financial Planning Adviser, you are responsible for (responsibilities):

• Providing advice to clients
• Developing and maintaining a client bank emphasising a client centric approach to financial planning
• Developing and maintaining an ongoing rapport and service to clients and professional connections in line with internal services standards and industry regulations
• Ensuring adequate personal CPD is undertaken, and records maintained in association with Compliance and SPS in place.
• Ongoing knowledge of financial markets and products, including appropriate legislative changes
• Supporting other internal departments on rotation when required
• Demonstrating a willingness to get involved in other projects within the business that fall within your capabilities, which may occur from time to time.

As a Financial Planning Adviser, you will generally fulfil the following (Person Spec):

• Industry relevant knowledge including but not limited to Investments, ISA’s, Bonds, pensions and Protection
• Proven experience in a leadership role within the financial services industry
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Be capable of delivery of high-quality financial advice to new and existing clients.
• Be customer focused but commercially minded and having excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to communicate with departments across the business.
• Good time and diary management skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks and work to multiple deadlines, often autonomously.
• Ability to make sound decisions under pressure and proven desire to work with policy and process and not against.
• Be willing to support and provide appropriate guidance/mentoring and advice to more junior members of the team, inside and outside of their pod responsibility.

Experience and Qualifications

It is a requirement to have a minimum of 5 years prior experience advising clients, and prior experience in managing and leading people.

A Pod Leader will be certified to hold a control function themselves with a current SPS in place. As a Chartered Financial Planning business, the Pod Leader will ideally be qualified as a Chartered Financial Planner, however those close to achieving this designation will be considered.

As a Pod Leader you are responsible for (responsibilities):

Key performance indicators (KPIs):

1. Supervisory responsibilities to include complaint handling, disciplinary management, and stage 1/2 sign off for new Advisers, Adviser T&C files in good order, SPS and CPD in place.
2. Monthly 1:1’s with your team in accordance with the T&C scheme, half-yearly and annual appraisals all completed on Lattice.
3. At least 1 observation/shadowing per adviser per quarter, with feedback saved to the Adviser’s T&C folder. New or junior Advisers to have at least 2 observed meetings per quarter.
4. Pod annual reviews completed (>95% minimum) rolling 12 months.
5. Performance management, agreeing a budget and setting for net flows and initial fees. Discussion with Advisers over high, medium and pride and recorded on Lattice.

Additional responsibilities will include, but not limited to:

• Maintaining good conduct and good relationship with Compliance Partners, exhibiting good judgment and awareness of the needs of the Adviser and to protect Saltus, its clients and its shareholders.
• Responsibility for Pod fee deviation discussions and sign off. Off panel and new product sign off will sit at Regional Leadership level and above.
• The Pod Leader is responsible for embedding the quality of advice and making sure those certified advisers in the pod are aligning with processes and carry out advice in accordance with the Advice Guide. This includes ensuring that pod activities comply with relevant regulations and industry standards.
• Supporting the personal development of advisers including mentoring, observations, and oversight.
• Working closely with incoming and outgoing advisers to ensure smooth handover and retention of clients.
• Working with CS/PP Team Leaders to support pods running effectively and efficiently in order to meet pre-agreed SLA targets for the production of Suitability Reports and processing of business, and any other activities deemed appropriate to have SLAs.
• Monitoring and signing off of both Pleo and Personal expenses, so that they remain within stated policy at the time. Agreeing any leave requests and ensuring the pod operates effectively at all times.
• Support the Regional Director with any recruitment and onboarding of Advisers where required.
• Ensure that strong analysis and commentary of the pod and advisers key performance indicators are available on a monthly basis for the Regional Director.
• Regular weekly highlight updates for the Regional Director on key messages derived from the weekly Monday dashboard and other Adhoc reports.