Financial Changemakers

Welcome to the Financial Changemakers podcast with Gretchen Betts – Managing Director at Magenta Financial Planning and Olivia Parnell – Trainee Financial Planner, Ascot Lloyd.

This podcast series is for you if you are interested in learning about diversity and inclusion and are keen to embrace and make positive change in your life, business, management style or company ethos.

In this eighth episode, hosts Gretchen and Olivia, discuss the previous episodes and key takeaways from the series with their guests, Ollie Smith, Editor New Model Adviser and Jenni Kampf, Internal Coms, Cardiff University.

Diversity and Inclusion to Jen means recognising and celebrating difference and doing that in a positive and active way. Valuing different perspectives and opinions and viewing them as something which enriches our lives. If we were all the same, it would be a pretty dull world! We should create environments which enable people to share their whole selves, without judgement.

For Ollie, it means everything that it has never meant!

Diversity and Inclusion will ever be evolving, and we must not shy away from being open to it ever changing. We must always challenge ourselves to have hard conversations.

We need to start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.

What’s worse? You feeling uncomfortable having a conversation? Or someone having to experience systematic suppression and discrimination?

We cover lessons learn from the series and key take-aways. 

Welcome to the Financial Changemakers podcast with Gretchen Betts – Managing Director at Magenta Financial Planning and Olivia Parnell – Trainee Financial Planner, Ascot Lloyd.

This podcast series is for you if you are interested in learning about diversity and inclusion and are keen to embrace and make positive change in your life, business, management style or company ethos.

In this seventh episode, hosts Gretchen and Olivia, discuss the topic of Sexuality and Sexual Orientation in the Financial Services Profession with their guest, Joe Baldwin, Vice Principle from Bridgend College.

The Mission Statement of Bridgend college is ‘Be All That You Can Be’. One of the values of the College is to be an Inclusive organisation.

There is a shift happening about how people discuss sex and gender, and the profession will need to evolve as society is, to ensure that businesses move forward.

In order to create an inclusive process for clients, we must try to re-frame our inbuilt ‘default’ of assuming that all couples are male and female.

It will take time, but it is important to continue to break down the ‘norms’ that people have grown up with. To change the mindset and the language, so that everyone starts to feel/act less awkward.

It’s important to feel that the experience is the same for all clients, but at the same time, tailor made and suitable for the individuals needs, whatever their circumstance.

It is a skill to develop, and requires us to ‘unlearn’ the language which has been built in.

This is a wider society issue, which need to be addressed both in and out of the workplace.

Joe’s shares his personal experience with Financial Planning - and there is so much we can learn from this. 

This podcast series is about creating a safe place for discussion and ultimately enabling you, our listener, to be a Changemaker.

Let’s listen. Let’s Discuss. Let’s Learn. Let’s Implement Positive Change.

Welcome to the Financial Changemakers podcast with Gretchen Betts – Managing Director at Magenta Financial Planning and Olivia Parnell – Trainee Financial Planner, Ascot Lloyd.

This podcast series is for you if you are interested in learning about diversity and inclusion and are keen to embrace and make positive change in your life, business, management style or company ethos.

In this sixth episode, hosts Gretchen and Olivia, discuss the topic of Disability in the Financial Services Profession with their guest Kathryn Knowles, CURA insurance.

Kathryn is passionate about speaking to people about gaining access to financial services for those who have issues with physical and mental health.

Her own experience meant that limited access to insurance policies were offered, and those limited options were at a premium. This was a surprise and led to Kathryn striving to improve options for everyone.

In this episode we talk about accessibility of financial services and how we can create an inclusive environment, offering our clients the highest duty of care.

Never assume that you are accessible to all. There will always be somebody new. Everyone is unique. You must be adaptable and open to change.

This podcast series is about creating a safe place for discussion and ultimately enabling you, our listener, to be a Changemaker.

Let’s listen. Let’s Discuss. Let’s Learn. Let’s Implement Positive Change.

Welcome to the Financial Changemakers podcast with Gretchen Betts and Olivia Parnell.

In this fifth episode, hosts Gretchen and Olivia, discuss the topic of Age in the Financial Services Profession with their guests, Tom Henshaw, True Potential Wealth and Jane Gow, Clear Cut Financial Planning.

Jane and Tom discuss their experiences and wishes for diversity of Age within the Profession.

The job market can sometimes ‘accidentally’ discriminate against younger applicants. Jobs within Financial Services often require x number of years’ experience, and a ready-made established client base. This can make it a challenge for younger applicants and may discourage them from entering the profession.

From a client relationship perspective, a younger financial planner may be seen to not have the knowledge/life-experience to be trusted with their money.

The discussion in this episode is wide ranging, from findings in the Royal Society of Public Health Report – The Old Aged Question, to discussions about work place age discrimination and the importance of ensuring diversity within our social relationships, to enable us to understand other people’s points of view - enhancing our skills as financial planners and employers. 

The Key Takeaways from the subject of Age within the Financial Services Profession are:

Tom – leave our pre-conceptions and unconscious basis at the door. Try to understand how people have come to the conclusions they have come to and work together with an open dialogue.

Jane – with the average financial planners age being 53, Jane would love for every financial planning firm take on a young person. They are the future of the Financial Planning and we owe it to our clients to pass our knowledge on. For all to have a diverse work force, play to everyone’s strengths, and move away from social norms.

In this fourth episode, hosts Gretchen and Olivia, discuss the importance of Mental Health awareness in the Financial Services Profession with their guest Nick Elston, Speaker on the Lived Experience of Mental Health.

The discussion looks at the profession in relation to clients, employers, and employees Mental Health.

In the financial space there is a need to have conversations around mental health. It has a massive impact, but people do not want to talk about it.

Money can create anxiety. How we spend, how we work, how we live.

Generations vary. Some of us have been conditioned to suppress our feelings, and not show vulnerability.

Since it’s origin, Financial Services has been an industry which does not naturally discuss ‘feelings’.

In Financial Services as planners and advisors we take on the apprehensions and concerns of clients. This can include, bereavement, family trauma, financial worries.

As employers we take on the ups and downs of our employees.

All of this, alongside our own feelings. This creates a highly demanding job, emotionally.

We naturally want to help people. But this can mean taking on the burden of others.

How can we help people? How can we NOT help people?

Welcome to the Financial Changemakers podcast with Gretchen Betts – Managing Director at Magenta Financial Planning and Olivia Parnell – Trainee Financial Planner, Ascot Lloyd.

This podcast series is for you if you are interested in learning about diversity and inclusion and are keen to embrace and make positive change in your life, business, management style or company ethos.

In this third episode, hosts Gretchen and Olivia, discuss the importance of Race diversity in the Financial Services Profession with their guest:

• Tsitsi Mutiti, Charles Stanley and The Wealth Conversation.

Tsitsi discusses how over time we accept language, phrases, descriptions, and it becomes inherent. The history which we grew up with has been ingrained, it is part of our DNA.

We must be open and have the conversation. None of us are perfect. We are all human beings.

Tsitsi describes how the conversation about Race is a conversation about Humanity.

It is so important to have representation in the profession who is recognisable to you.

Looking at this commercially, there is a lot of money that is being left on the table, because we are not engaging with people from the ‘non-traditional’ financial services background.

The world is changing around us, and COVID-19 has bought many of these issues to the forefront.

We need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, so we can get to a place where we can create inclusion, and a level playfield for everyone.

The profession needs to ask several questions. What policies are in place? How can people access jobs? How can they gain knowledge in this industry?

The Financial Services Industry is so important for everyone’s wellbeing. We must look at it holistically, and inclusively.

Tsitsi describes viewing people in the same way as she would a portfolio. With a holistic view, considering client circumstances, the market etc. Bringing it down to the human level. ‘The more you can see of me, the more you see of me.’

We must make change. If you can put yourself into some else’s’ shoes and understand their journey, then you can understand how to be around them, how to work with them, how to advise them.

If we educate ourselves, we can start to feel more comfortable.

Tsitsi’s Key Take-Away for the subject of Race within the Financial Services Industry are:

Diversity is about being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.

She invites us all to think about how we are going to get people, of different ethnicities, to participate more in what we are creating in our firms. How is what you create going to impact society in general?

This podcast series is about creating a safe place for discussion and ultimately enabling you, our listener, to be a Changemaker.

Let’s listen. Let’s Discuss. Let’s Learn. Let’s Implement Positive Change.

Welcome to the Financial Changemakers podcast with Gretchen Betts – Managing Director at Magenta Financial Planning and Olivia Parnell – Trainee Financial Planner, Ascot Lloyd.

This podcast series is for you if you are interested in learning about diversity and inclusion and are keen to embrace and make positive change in your life, business, management style or company ethos.

In this second episode, hosts Gretchen and Olivia, discuss the importance of Gender diversity in the Financial Services Profession with their guest:

•  Anna Sofat, Associate Director, Progeny Wealth

Anna has been a passionate advocate and tireless campaigner for greater diversity and inclusion in the financial services sector.

Currently 15-17% Financial Advisors in the profession are women (2020).

This has not shifted significantly in the past 10 years. As an profession, there is a need to accept that the number has not changed and that something must be done. Research shows that diverse teams perform better.

Our conversation includes discussing how we can encourage more women into financial planning roles. In a profession which was originally designed for men, by men, a cultural shift is needed.

We discuss how we can retain women in the profession.

Anna describes her view of the ‘sticky-middle’. Where middle management culture quite often requires careful navigation and sometimes forces women to sacrifice their own values and often when this becomes too difficult, we see women choosing to ‘opt-out’ of the profession.

Measuring progress, having good data and holding businesses accountable can make a real shift and change.

Senior Management need to drive behavioural change, to lead cultural change.

Each business should re-assess their Business Model, Product Design, and Culture and Language.

Statistics and research show that women (who make up 50% of the population) will control more than 60% of the wealth within the next 5 years. If the profession wants that female wealth to manage, women need to be more represented in the profession.

Anna’s Key Take-Aways for the subject of Gender within the Financial Services Profession are:

• As individuals, within a team in a business, do not hide, do not follow the heard.
• If something is wrong, speak up.
• Be positive about what can be done to make change.
• Start to show up, speak up, and make those changes.

We forget how much we each have in us, to make change.

If we all commit to change, and make small changes, we can create a ripple, and hopefully the ripples will create waves.

This podcast series is about creating a safe place for discussion and ultimately enabling you, our listener, to be a Changemaker.

Let’s listen. Let’s Discuss. Let’s Learn. Let’s Implement Positive Change.

Welcome to the Financial Changemakers podcast with Gretchen Betts – Managing Director at Magenta Financial Planning and Olivia Parnell – Trainee Financial Planner, Ascot Lloyd.

This podcast series is for you if you are interested in learning about diversity and inclusion and are keen to embrace and make positive change in your life, business, management style or company ethos.

In this opening episode, hosts Gretchen and Olivia, discuss Diversity and Inclusion in the Financial Services Profession with their guests:

• Rohan Sivajoti, Director & Head of Innovation at NextGen Planners
• Amira Norris, Head of account management, Nucleus Financial Group

Our conversation speaks about the many strides still to take in the Financial Services Profession to open the conversation, to learn together and to embrace and influence change in the profession.

By having open conversations and being willing to learn new things, we can help to dismantle the system of discrimination, and give people insight.

This makes our ability to advise clients – better and this is vital to the future of advice.

We all agree that even small impact is good impact.

We are keen to discover little take-aways that can help people to make small changes, that eventually will become much larger changes for our community and profession.

This podcast series is about creating a safe place for discussion and ultimately enabling you, our listener, to be a Changemaker.

 Let’s listen. Let’s Discuss. Let’s Learn. Let’s Implement Positive Change.