Getting to Know: Aaron Bowkett

Who are you and what do you do?

I was born and raised in Canterbury, but both my parents come from the West Coast - Dad from Blackball and Mum from Stillwater. I had a heavy dose of politics growing up, and topical issues were never far away from the dinner table. I did an OE in my late twenties, and met my wife in Ireland while on a working holiday visa there. We have two top notch girls, 13 and 11 years old. Both are very bright - much more so than I was at the same age! I’m a Business Development Manager at Consilium, primarily promoting the Synergy model portfolio offering, but also our other adviser support services. As a BDM you’re a coach, mentor and problem-solver to advisers in the industry. My relationships vary with advisers and you have to be willing to accept a very diverse range of personalities. I also travel frequently; for example, I’m in Auckland every week and Wellington every other week, as I’m based in Christchurch. I have this down to a fine art - if you don’t do the travel, you don’t get your numbers. It’s that simple. You have to be continually developing your skills, and as a CFP and AFA this is a requirement, but I also like to take in a wider range of information sources. Advisers are often interested in discussing more fringe topics from other fields that they feel could add value to their businesses. It’s a totally absorbing role, albeit one I still can’t explain to my kids!

If there was one thing you would like to change about the financial advice industry, what would it be?

I would like to see a clearer path to becoming an investment adviser, preferably to professional level. At this stage, we have AFA and CFP and further changes on the horizon, but it is about more than qualifications. It's about a pathway to ownership. While the larger institutions are doing a pretty good job training up advisers, they can't provide the mentoring and knowledge you need to run your own business. At the end of the day, if we want an independent adviser force, we need to pave the way for the next generation.