The 2017 AFP® Professional of the Year Award recipient, Patricia Garcia AFP® is on a quest for self-improvement, learning and sharing.

Name: Patricia Garcia AFP^®

Age: 31

Educational qualifications: Biotech (Hons), AFP^®, ADFP, DFP

Position: Director and Financial Adviser

Practice: Your Vision Financial Solutions (trading as WB Financial)

Licensee: Financial Wisdom

Years as a planner: 5 years

A lot’s been said and written about the average age of planners pushing close to 60. But rest assured, financial planning is in good hands if Gen Y planner, Patricia Garcia AFP^®, is any indication of the young guard of planners coming through.

As the winner of the 2017 FPA Financial Planner AFP^® Professional of the Year Award, Patricia’s energy and enthusiasm for the profession is infectious.

And it’s these qualities, along with her commitment to quality advice, improved business processes, pro bono work and client empowerment, that saw the 31-year-old Brisbane-based planner take out this year’s award.

But Patricia’s journey into financial planning was almost accidental. It was 13 years ago that Patricia moved from Brazil – her country of birth – to Australia to complete her biotechnology degree.

“It was always my intention to return to Brazil after completing my degree, but during my last year of completing my Honours, I came to the realisation that while I enjoyed the theory of what I was studying, I didn’t enjoy the day-to-day lab work.”

Career turning point

This realisation was a turning point for Patricia. Her partner was completing a degree in financial planning at the time, which also sparked Patricia’s interest. So, after she graduated with her honours degree, she opted for a career change and decided to try her hand with financial planning. This led her to accepting an admin role with a local practice firm and from there, her career in financial planning took off.

It was a fateful decision for the young Brazilian, who has spent the last seven years with WB Financial.

Self-belief

But one thing not lacking with Patricia is her confidence – she has it in spades. And it’s this confidence that spurred her to enter the FPA Awards. In fact, with Patricia expecting to complete the CFP^® Certification Program in mid 2018, she saw the AFP^® award as her last chance to nominate before stepping up to the big league.

“That was the first trigger for entering the awards,” she says. “But as the FPA Awards are quite high profile, even to be a finalist is an achievement. So, for me, these awards were all about self-belief and benchmarking myself against my peers. And to win this award… well, I’m still in shock!”

Improvement

Patricia attributes her success at winning the award to her continual drive to improve internal processes within the business, her comprehensive on-boarding approach with clients over four or five meetings, as well as her community involvement and pro bono work. The judges were also impressed by her SOA and the calibre of client testimonials.

“I’m actually quite active with the broader community outside of the business. So, winning this award is not only great recognition for the work I do with clients, but also for the work I do in the community,” she says.

With completion of the CFP^® Certification Program firmly in her sights this year, Patricia admits she is always looking for new challenges and learning opportunities, and doesn’t rule out going to either Oxford or Harvard University to complete further leadership and business management training.

“As an authorised representative of Financial Wisdom, there is a leaders’ program, where it sends aspiring leaders to well-known universities, such as Oxford or Harvard University (at the practice principal’s cost), for a week of study. I’m always looking for opportunities to learn more and develop as a professional.”

It’s this thirst for self-improvement that continues to motivate Patricia.

Motivation

“I’d love to be involved in providing more finance solutions within the business for our clients, like accounting and mortgage broking. And I’d like to make the planning process as efficient and seamless as possible, both for the business and clients.”

She also sees herself as a coach, as a well as a planner, responsible for taking her clients on a journey to financial independence. It’s an approach she also takes with younger team members.

“I do mentor younger team members and students considering financial planning as a career,” Patricia says. “I’ve been through mentoring programs in the past and I feel that one of the best ways of learning is ‘on the job’ and from experienced people.”

In fact, she is currently looking for a business coach to help fine-tune her skills.

Career change advice

Having changed careers herself, Patricia is well-placed to offer advice to aspiring professionals. She’s advised many students to put aside theory learnt in the classroom, because they won’t really know what the job is like until they actually do it.

“That’s why it’s so important for students to do an internship or voluntary work with a planning practice and seek a practitioner who can mentor them. Working with small practices is great, as they tend to provide students with a greater opportunity to see all facets of the business,” she says.

“I think it’s important for newcomers to connect with different practices and planners, because we all work differently. It’s important to find the type of practice and business model that fits your own criteria. That’s because you need to believe in the advice model you’re providing to clients, and that means finding the one that best suits you.”

The FPA congratulates the runners-up of the FPA Financial Planner AFP^® Professional of the Year Award:

Felicity Cooper AFP^® – Cooper Wealth Management

Nicholas Lloyd AFP^® – ITL Financial Planning