Through the lens of the media you often just see one side of finance, Wall Street traders and stock charts make up most of the images that grace your screens. At How To Money, we know there’s a lot more to finance than that, and there are countless individuals working in the industry across a wide variety of roles.

Whether you’re looking to work in finance or are just interested in what they do all day, this series focuses on people working in the industry and their stories. Welcome to the Faces of Finance…

In the fifth instalment of Faces of Finance, we interviewed Paul Benson, the Financial Planner — Practice Principal at Guidance Financial Services. We’d love your feedback and suggestions on who we should interview next! Get in touch via the comments section below or send us an email at howtomoneyaus@gmail.com.

Introducing Paul Benson from Guidance Financial Advice

I grew up in Melbourne, the oldest of 3 kids. Pretty standard suburban upbringing. When I finished high school I got a job at the Commonwealth Bank (CBA). In my head, it was to be a summer job before I went to uni, but I ended up spending 16 years there, the final 7 as a financial planner.

The bank sponsored me through my degree — Economics & Finance. It meant it took 6 years to complete, working full time and studying part-time, but I got paid all the way through, and they even paid for my HECS.

In 2006 I made the decision to go out on my own as a financial planner. In 2008 I bought another financial planning practice from a retiring planner, and have been growing that ever since. My primary role at the moment is Financial Planner — Practice Principal at Guidance Financial Services.

Over the journey, I’ve experimented with lots of different things business-wise. I wrote a textbook on SMSF’s. I got registered as a licensed business broker and did that for a couple of years in parallel with financial planning. The planning business grew to the point where I could no longer do both roles and so I gave the broking away, but I learnt a tonne doing that role.

My most successful experiment has been the Financial Autonomy podcast, which I launched in 2018. We’re now over 150 episodes in and it’s been great fun. I’ve met amazing people (like Kate from HTM) and have learnt plenty. It’s introduced new financial planning clients into our practice, given me a book deal and we’ve been rolling out online courses which have been really popular.

What do you enjoy about working in the financial services industry?

The best thing about financial planning is the client relationships that you build. I have clients today that I’ve known for 20 years. You get to know their passions, their struggles, and the little unique things we all do that make us who we are.

Do you see any downsides to working in this industry?

There is pressure. I’m advising on people’s life savings — we can’t get it wrong. Particularly when markets are in turmoil, your clients turn to you for wisdom. Fortunately having survived the GFC, and plenty of other bumps along the way, I have some wisdom to share, but it’s never easy when you see sharp drops on share markets. You know some clients will be worried, and you need to decide what the right course of action is in a situation where things are unfolding rapidly.

What is the most common misconception you think others have about the industry?

That to succeed as a financial planner you need to be a salesman. Perhaps that was the case 10 years ago, but today financial planners are service providers — your expertise, empathy, and communications skills are what is important.

If you received $1000 extra to spend to ‘increase your happiness’ right now, what would you use it on?

Probably give it to the kids — I have 2 teenage sons and I’m sure they’d find plenty of things they could put that sort of cash towards. My oldest might even invest some of it!

What are your tips for young Australians considering a career/job in finance?

Go for it! There’s a massive range of different roles and it’s a large industry in Australia so plenty of employers in the space. Try to do some study though. Working as a bank teller the rest of your life might not be super fun.

Here’s a sneak peek of the cover art for my book — lookout for it in September 2020.

That brings our fifth instalment of Faces to Finance to an end. If you have any questions or suggestions please get in touch.

Kate — HTM Editor & Host

Want to learn more about money and personal finance? Check out our article archive, the How To Money Podcast and the Australian Finance Podcast. Catch us on Twitter @HowToMoneyAUS and Instagram on @HowToMoneyAUS.

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