Financial Adviser Working Model Explorer
Answer five practical questions about income, client relationships, support, independence and business responsibility. The result will suggest a working model that may be worth exploring further.
The explorer does not ask for your client assets, revenue, name, telephone number or email address. Your answers remain within this page and are not submitted or stored.
Choose one answer before continuing.
Why it may fit
Questions to confirm
Use this result as a starting point. Confirm the employment model, contract, costs, client arrangements, support, proposition and responsibilities for any specific opportunity.
Understanding the main financial adviser models
Employed Financial Adviser
An employed role normally provides a salary and employee benefits, often with performance-related earnings. Client source, targets, support, office attendance and the advice proposition vary between firms.
Supported Self-Employed Adviser
This model may provide paraplanning, administration, compliance, technology or business-development support while the adviser accepts more variable earnings and commercial responsibility.
Appointed Representative or Partner Model
An Appointed Representative operates under the responsibility and oversight of an authorised principal firm. Fees, support, branding, client arrangements and contractual expectations vary between structures.
Practice Owner or Direct Authorisation Route
Operating a financial-planning practice involves wider responsibility for governance, compliance, systems, finances, staffing and client servicing. It is more than a route to a different earnings split.
What should financial advisers compare?
- Salary, variable earnings, fees, costs and realistic expectations.
- Client source, ownership, servicing and relationship arrangements.
- Paraplanning, administration, compliance and technology support.
- The scope and structure of the advice proposition.
- Office attendance, home working and travel expectations.
- Performance measures, targets and recurring-income expectations.
- Qualifications, competency requirements and development support.
- Contractual responsibilities and what happens when leaving.
- Whether succession or ownership discussions are confirmed and documented.
Open to a confidential conversation?
You do not need to be actively job hunting. AR Recruitment can help you compare financial adviser opportunities and understand the confirmed differences between working models.