Giving employees the opportunity to grow with the business - and paying them fairly - is a key part of retaining paraplanners in a competitive market, Tweed Wealth Management’s commercial director has said.
Callum Hamilton, the newly appointed commercial director of the Edinburgh-based senior partner practice of St. James’s Place, believes his career trajectory is one that should be seen as an option for all new entrants to the profession.
Hamilton started out in the industry six years ago as a trainee paraplanner, but quickly rose through the ranks of Tweed Wealth Management.
Speaking to FTAdviser, Hamilton said it was not all plain sailing however.
Having studied economics at university, he graduated with what he described as a “bit of a disadvantage” because he did not have any financial work experience.
At the time, Hamilton was working part-time in retail and was not in a position to give up his paid employment for an unpaid internship.
“I was really struggling to get a job,” Hamilton said.
“I kept all of the rejection emails I ever had, there were at least 100,” he added.
Hamilton hung on to the letters to serve as a reminder of how difficult it was.
It was a chance conversation with the father of one of his friends that led to the door being opened to his current role.
Hamilton landed a role as trainee paraplanner at Tweed Wealth Management back in 2017 and quickly progressed as the firm grew.
“I didn’t know too much about paraplanning at that stage. I knew my interests were analytical, mathematical, computer based and from the job description I was given I thought, you know what, this is quite an important role.
“As a young 18 year old at the time, my motivation was quite selfish. I wanted to make lots of money and drive a Ferrari, but since joining the business there has been a real shift.
“As the business has grown, I’ve grown and I want to actually help grow the business and those people around me,” he said.
Hamilton gained chartership in just two and a half years after joining Tweed Wealth Management and after three years in the job, Hamilton was given the option of switching to an adviser position or sticking with a technical role.
“Out of pure passion for the role, the technical role was where I wanted to stay," he explained.
“I’ve always found it an extremely challenging role. There’s absolutely nothing easy about being a paraplanner, it's a very difficult job,” Hamilton said.
“I had a point to prove. I always thought ‘I can do this’, and to be given that opportunity I made sure I was always first in the door and last to leave.
