With 20 years of industry experience behind her, Rachel Picker is a hugely valued and knowledgeable member of our financial advice team. In this article, we focus on her experience as a woman in a typically male-dominated industry, what’s changed over the past two decades, and what her job means to her on both a professional and a personal level.
Starting out
“I got into the financial advice industry at a point of real change,” Rachel remembers. “Higher qualifications were beginning to be expected of financial advisers starting out on their career journeys, new tech was shaping the advice process and the regulatory environment was getting tougher.”
Rachel feels that her early career prepared her for an industry that has transformed beyond all recognition, and greatly improved her resilience. “When I started out as a young woman in a male-dominated field, other advisers and my male clients didn’t take me seriously. Despite just having passed all my exams and having good, up-to-date financial knowledge that surpassed that of my clients, I remember feeling dismissed by them.”
Still, Rachel says that those more difficult times taught her resilience and gave her confidence in dealing with people of all genders, ages and walks of life. “I find that the trick is to overprepare,” she confides. “If you do your research and stay a few steps ahead, then half the battle is won already.”
What’s changed?
In her 20-year career, Rachel has witnessed a huge amount of change in the financial services industry. “The biggest change is definitely regulation,” she says. “And that’s no bad thing. We might jokingly moan about the paperwork but at the end of the day, the rules now in place are there to protect consumers. For example, transparency – clients are much more aware of fee structures and what they’re paying for. Things used to be very commission-based and clients weren’t aware of it.”
Rachel is a huge proponent of the digitalisation and new technologies taking the finance world by storm. With a new generation of clients expecting a certain level of tech-savviness from their advisers, she’s eager to embrace everything the digital era has to offer. “Financial advisers are now competing against apps, robo-advisers and AI,” she says. “I don’t think that anything will ever replace the need for a qualified professional adviser, but I’m all for working together with new technologies to improve efficiency, accuracy and, most importantly, the outcomes we are able to deliver our clients.”
Women in advice
One of Rachel’s favourite parts of her job is supporting female clients to feel more confident about their money. “There are lots of studies showing that women are less confident than men in their ability to manage their finances and are less willing to seek advice,” she says.
“Money is such an emotional topic and there’s still a real stigma attached to not understanding financial concepts. I’m there to be an unintimidating presence and offer practical advice to break down these big financial concepts and ensure that my clients have confidence in their finances going forwards. No question is too stupid – it’s all contributing towards better financial education and confidence.”
It’s an attitude that she brings home to her husband and children. “I’m very strategic with our family finances and the kids are involved every step of the way,” she says. “Having met so many clients with low confidence in their finances, I want to ensure my children grow up understanding how to manage money – it’s such an important life skill!”
Building relationships
No matter what the gender of her clients, Rachel always enjoys building relationships and watching trust form. “When you build those relationships with clients, their goals become your goals and you feel real joy in achieving them,” she says. “I love to watch that light bulb moment when a client suddenly realises that they actually do have the money and financial security to do something they’ve always wanted to do, or that they’re actually never going to run out of money in retirement. I’m not emotionally attached to my clients’ money in the same way they are, giving me a more objective outlook and the ability to see the bigger picture.”
Rachel’s biggest piece of advice
For those who are perhaps looking to take some financial advice but aren’t sure where to start, Rachel has some sound advice. “Just reach out,” she says. “Find somebody in your local area and get in touch. At the end of the day, the first initial meeting is generally free and will help you get a feel for whether this adviser will be a good fit for you. Finding somebody that you can relate to is really important – after all, you’re hopefully going to be working together for a long time.”
“Don’t be afraid to kiss a few frogs,” she laughs. “You’re going to be trusting this person with your money and you have to feel confident and comfortable with them.”
Words to live by, indeed.