Should technical professionals go freelance immediately or start as employed advisers? Alwyn Van Staden's journey offers a fresh perspective on entering financial planning from a technical background.

In this episode of Financial Planner Life, we chat to Alwyn about his strategic career path from investment management to financial advice. Despite having deep technical knowledge and years of experience at major firms, Alwyn made a choice to join St. James's Place as an employed adviser instead of going independent immediately.

The result? He's now managing over £150 million in client assets as an independent adviser with Pinnacle Wealth Management.

Alwyn shares his perspective on why employment first worked better than jumping straight into freelance life, how technical skills transfer to client success, and why building confidence matters more than rushing into independence.

Sam and Alwyn discuss the real pressures of starting a financial planning career, the benefits of structured training programmes, and how employment can actually be more liberating than restrictive for career changers.

The episode’s key takeaways 🔥

• Why technical professionals often fear client-facing roles and the strategic benefits of being employed
• How St. James's Place's training programme builds real confidence and removes business pressure
• Why are technical skills becoming a competitive advantage in client relationships
• The power of life planning through Voyant software to create visual client stories
• Building a referral based practice through exceptional client delivery
• The transition from employed adviser to successful independent practice
• Why employment and independence are complementary career phases, not competing paths

If you're considering a move into financial planning, especially from a technical background, this episode offers a practical blueprint for making the transition successfully.

⏱️Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction and Alwyn's background 

5:15 - The decision to leave technical roles for financial planning 

12:30 - Why he chose St. James's Place over going independent 

18:45 - The power of structured training programmes 

25:10 - How technical skills translate to client success 

32:20 - Building confidence through the employed route 

40:15 - The transition to independence with Pinnacle Wealth 

47:30 - Life planning and the Voyant software approach 

55:45 - Building a referral-based practice 

62:10 - Future plans and inheritance tax focus

Financial Planner Life is sponsored by Redmill Advance

Whether you're starting out, already qualified, or building a training academy, Redmill Advance delivers expert-led learning, exam support and CPD from Level 4 to Chartered.

✅ Trusted by top UK firms

👉 www.redmilladvance.com/fpl

Be sure to follow Financial Planner Life on YouTube for extra content about  career development within Financial Planning. 

Reach out to [email protected] in regards to sponsorship, partnerships, videography or podcast production. 

Want to appear on the Financial Planner Life podcast? Drop Sam a message.