Katie Brown and Dan Lock have achieved prestigious titles, with Dan achieving Chartered Financial Planner status and Katie achieving Chartered Fellow status. Both are also celebrating five years with us this month.

Katie and Dan were Strategic’s first placement students from the Future of Advice programme; an initiative established to attract young talent into the financial services profession and raise awareness of this rewarding career path.

Katie and Dan have shown exceptional dedication and hard work and the firm is immensely proud of their achievements, having joined the firm from Bournemouth University.

Reflecting on the journey, Katie said “My experience at Strategic Solutions has been fantastic. The willingness to train, teach and guide me has been outstanding. I’m not sure I would have entered the industry at this early stage without this opportunity”.  Katie joined the business in 2019 after gaining a Diploma of Higher Education in Business Studies.

Dan graduated with a first-class honours degree in Accounting and Finance.  He enthused “The support I’ve received from the whole team at Strategic Solutions has been incredible, with special thanks to Giles Wellington and Pete Richinson for their support and guidance along the way. I’m really proud of what I have achieved over the past five years and look forward to a long career as an adviser at Strategic Solutions.”

Nathan Harris, Partner & Chartered Financial Planner at Strategic Solutions, commented on their success: “We are incredibly proud of Katie and Dan. Their five-year journey with us highlights our commitment to nurturing talent and promoting succession planning across the firm. Bringing in new talent is part of our DNA and we’re excited about their future contributions. We are grateful to the Future of Advice team for all the efforts they put into helping us and other progressive firms like ours”

The Future of Advice initiative seeks to change the future of financial services and is a collaborative effort involving Bournemouth University, The Personal Finance Society, FP Wealth Management, Ward Goodman, Simplify Consulting and Strategic Solutions.

The goal is to attract young talent into the financial services profession and build a sustainable, repeatable and scalable framework for an Undergraduate Financial Services Student Placement Scheme.

The placement programme is supported by access to a comprehensive suite of documentation and ongoing training throughout the placement year.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the programme and becoming involved in the undergraduate placement schemes can visit:  https://www.simplifyconsulting.co.uk/future-of-advice-adviser for more information.