How Much Will a Trainee Financial Planner Be Paid in 2026? | Insight Associates

How do you become a financial adviser on a salary, without the financial risk of going self-employed? Jason Howard, Founder & CEO of Insight Associates, and Greg Ryan, Performance Director at Insight Associates, join Sam Oakes on Financial Planner Life to explain how they train, pay and mentor new financial advisers and financial planners, and why 37% of their advisers are under 30. Find out more about Insight Associates Jason started in financial planning in 1989, commission only, and ended up in hospital. When he went it alone in 2001, the man he had joined turned out to be a fraudster who took £1.7 million from the public. Jason's team paid everybody back through hard work, not one member of staff left, and they spent the next two decades quietly building Insight Associates. Today Insight Associates has financial advisers in the 60s, has acquired 33 businesses and is aiming for 100 financial advisers by January 2028. Its employed advisers are paid so they can focus on clients rather than bills, are mentored in small groups of three to four, and are handed clients by senior financial planners who "give up to grow". QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE How can you become a financial adviser without going self-employed? Insight Associates uses an employed route. Jason says nobody can do proper planning with a client while worrying about paying their own bills, so the firm covers what he calls the hygiene factors and expects effort and activity in return. How many financial advisers at Insight Associates are under 30? 37% of the advisory business, and in the employed part of the firm Jason puts it at more like 50%. Some of their young advisers look after clients old enough to be their grandparents. Where do new financial advisers get clients from? Senior financial planners pass clients down. Advisers are paid on the value of their book, so when one gives up a client paying £6,000 a year in fees, the adviser who receives it gets a pay rise. Is Insight Associates recruiting financial advisers? Yes. The target is 100 financial advisers by January 2028, with a head office in Norwich and offices in Westerham and north London. ALSO IN THIS EPISODE • Why mentors at Insight Associates get no pay rise, and queue up to do it anyway • The 15 minutes after a live client meeting where Greg says the real learning happens • BASS: what comes after competent adviser status • The 90-day development programme and why discipline beats motivation • Why Jason encourages his advisers to take 153 free days a year This episode is for anyone thinking about how to become a financial adviser or financial planner, paraplanners ready to step up, career changers, and financial planning firm owners building their next generation. KEY MOMENTS 02:51 Starting in financial planning in 1989, commission only 09:23 How Insight Associates paid back £1.7 million 13:23 Why 37% of Insight Associates's advisers are under 30 19:01 Why trainee financial advisers need financial security 24:33 Why mentors get no pay increase 29:33 BASS: business adviser status 34:27 The 90-day development programme 39:56 Where new financial advisers get clients 45:18 100 financial advisers by 2028 49:52 Free days, focus days and buffer days 54:24 From support role to financial planner: Johnny's story Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://fpl.partners/insight-ifa-pod-ep Connect with Jason Howard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-howard-insight/ Want to feature on Financial Planner Life, or work with FPL Productions? https://fpl.partners/work-pod Financial Planner Life is the UK podcast for financial planners, financial advisers and paraplanners, hosted by Sam Oakes. 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.  Want to appear on the Financial Planner Life podcast? Reach out to [email protected] Reach out to [email protected] in regards to sponsorship, partnerships, videography or podcast production.