Master plan: how a new adviser is building an educated career

If you could get a black belt in financial planning Robert Hay would probably have it. The Brisbane-based adviser has applied a high level of discipline to his education, career and practice.

Robert Hay was lured into the world of financial planning while still in his teens, albeit as a client. Hay had saved his pennies through high school and wanted to make sure the hard-earned cash wasn’t squandered once he hit university. So at the tender age of 18 he engaged his first financial planner. Hay says that experience opened his eyes to financial planning as a potential career path, away from the more traditional options pushed by career guidance counselors. “Financial planning has been a fairly recent phenomenon; it hasn’t been like being told to go into law, medicine or accounting,” he says. Hay’s first degree was a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science. He says while he enjoyed the technical aspects of economics he knew he wanted a job which involved plenty of interaction with people. Not content with one degree, Hay continued with his studies after completing his BA. He gained an MBA mastering in Economics, Strategy and Finance, which he completed when he was just 21. When he wasn’t busy hitting the books, he was working out, managing to gain a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Doe and becoming a martial arts instructor. While he can no longer devote the time needed to instruct, he still practices martial arts in his more idle moments. Since completing his MBA, Hay has continued his studies, gaining his Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning through the Securities Institute (now called Finsia) and currently working towards his Juris Doctor, which he says is the equivalent of a law degree. He has been in the financial planning industry for three years now and plans a long-term career as an adviser. While retirement planning and superannuation issues are the bread and butter of the business, Hay is interested in creating tax efficient structures for portfolio construction and tax efficient business succession for small business owners. He says his focus is on building long-term relationships with clients, and he wants to avoid a those who only want transactional arrangements. “I have a very strong belief you should have the right client with the right adviser…I won’t necessarily work with everyone,” Hay says. He aims to review his clients’ portfolios twice a year. In February, he joined WB Financial in Wooloongabba, Brisbane, moving from Retire Well, which is also Brisbane-based. He says he likes the fact WB doesn’t operate like a large multi-national institution, and has an independent culture. Name: Robert Hay Business name and location: WB Financial, Wooloongabba, Brisbane Dealer name or self-licensed: WB Financial Management Area of specialty: tax efficient business succession for small businesses, tax efficient portfolio construction Relevant qualifications: BA, MBA, Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning Method of fee collection: Prefers fee for service Investment platforms: Colonial First State, Macquarie Wrap Investment research: Lonsec