Written by Amanda Newman Smith, Features Writer for Money Marketing

People without knowledge or experience of financial advice may think being an adviser is all about interpreting financial data in graphs and charts, calculating investment returns and so on.

Although advisers do perform these tasks, building and maintaining relationships with clients has become a bigger part of the role in recent years.

Financial advice used to be an industry in which financial products were sold as solutions to clients’ needs. However, due to regulatory change and the move towards lifestyle financial planning, it has become a profession that helps clients use their money to achieve their life goals and objectives.

It's far more beneficial, when you're starting out in financial advice, just to really understand what makes people tick

Arguably, this means mathematical ability is less important than it was. But do aspiring advisers still need to be good at maths?

Defining the standard

Industry commentators say that being comfortable with how money works is more important than being academically gifted at maths.

“Maths is important – everybody should be able to do simple maths,” says Succession Wealth chief operating officer Dawn Buckingham. “But I don’t think you need to have advanced maths – you don’t need an A-level or degree in it.”

Buckingham feels a “general appreciation of how money works and understanding of numbers” is enough for aspiring advisers.

That moment when the 'maths' becomes a 'plan' is where the real skill lies

“I think the skills that you really need to be a financial adviser are much more about emotional intelligence, empathy and connecting with people because of the way that the industry is shifting towards life planning - helping people reach their life goals,” she says.

“It's not just about investment returns and understanding percentages. It’s more about how you engage with your clients, understand what they want to do and make sure their money works for them.”

Simplifying data

Although making sense of numbers is still important, that should not discourage people who do not consider maths their strong point.

“A lot of people don't like looking at numbers - they kind of glaze over,” says Buckingham. “But you just need to be able to understand what's being presented to you and turn it into something simpler for your client to understand.”

That is not necessarily a mathematical skill, she explains.

“It's more about your ability to understand concepts and translate those into a simpler picture,” she says.

This resonates with accountant Birute Sutkiene, who also has experience as a financial adviser.

“While a grasp of numbers is essential, it is the ability to interpret them for a client's life that truly matters,” she says.

It's more about your ability to understand concepts and translate those into a simpler picture

“In my experience, you do not need to be a pure mathematician, but you must have a natural comfort with data to build the trust necessary for long-term relationships.”

Sutkiene recalls how one of her clients felt overwhelmed by a "series of high-level financial assumptions" until Sutkiene broke down the information into a "simple, visual story" for that client. “That moment when the 'maths' becomes a 'plan' is where the real skill lies,” she says.

Developments in technology and artificial intelligence are changing the way financial advice firms operate. This is another reason why aspiring advisers should not be overly concerned about their mathematical ability.

“We're going to have this environment of being able to type into search engines that will pop up with the things you need to know,” says Buckingham.

Everybody should be able to do simple maths. But you don’t need an A-level or degree in it

She points out that other roles that used to require a strong mathematical background, such as programming, can now be achieved using natural language with ChatGPT.

"You don’t need to be competent in coding to do it. So, again, there is less need for advanced mathematical skills," she says.

Understanding people

Buckingham thinks people should not be put off the advice profession simply because they don't think they're good enough at maths or numbers.

“It's far more beneficial, when you're starting out in financial advice, just to really understand what makes people tick," she says.

This is because individuals are usually motivated to seek advice because they need help during a life event or emotional issue. It’s rarely about recognising they have a financial issue.

“People don’t get advice because they suddenly wake up and go, ‘Oh, I need to consolidate my pension.’ They'll come to a financial adviser because something's going on,” says Buckingham.

It’s more about how you engage with your clients, understand what they want to do and make sure their money works for them

“It might be, 'I hate my job – can I go and do something different?' Or, 'I want to make sure I’ve got a good retirement – what does that look like and how can I make it work better for me?'”

Clients are all different and some may be more mathematically minded than others.

“They will want to go into every single investment and understand it all to the nth degree,” says Buckingham. “But they don’t have to be everybody's client.”