Financial Planner Life Podcast
Welcome to The Financial Planner Life Podcast. We cover an intimate and honest account of what it’s really like to work in the financial planning profession.
Our guests share their stories of success, failures, and learnings, as well as what to expect from a career in the financial planning profession! We host guests at various stages in their careers, as well as multiple roles, to ensure that our audience has a variety each week.
Financial planners, business owners, paraplanners, and back-office staff all have their own stories to share, and The Financial Planner Life podcast serves as a platform for them to discuss their personal and professional journeys. The podcast covers a multitude of topics, from mindset and motivation, health and wellbeing, all the way to diversity and inclusion.
We approach each episode with the idea that it will educate and spark a conversation within the industry on topics that may not be openly discussed. If you're considering a career as a financial adviser or are curious about learning more about this exciting sector, we encourage you to give the podcast a listen.
The Host: Sam Oakes is the host of The Financial Planner Life Podcast. since 2008 Sam has been supporting leading national and global financial planning firms in finding the best talent, he was the director of Recruit UK, a 7 figure turnover financial planning recruitment company that he successfully exited in 2024, Sam then worked as the Head of Creative for Hoxton Wealth in Dubai, building out podcasts, YouTube and social content for this fast growing fee based international financial planning firm before leaving Hoxton Wealth in 2025 to focus purely on financial planner life podcast and the financial planner life creative studio helping product/service providers and financial planning firms build podcasts and video content into their social marketing strategies.
Sam Oakes has always had a passion for financial services, starting as a trainer for a leading product provider in the UK, and he has been in the industry for over 20 years.
He sees himself as a partner to the financial planning profession and wants to contribute useful resources, such as this podcast, to educate those who are further seeking advice and help about how to push their careers forward in this amazing profession.
Please reach out to sam oakes directly on sam@financialplannerlife.com if you would like to be a guest on this podcast or build a strategic advertising partnership. We welcome product and service providers that want to promote their product, services or tech to financial planners as well as companies who want to attract talent (recruitment ) to their financial planning company.
Episodes
287 episodes
I Switched From Investment Managment to Financial Planning £0 - £40m AUM in 3 years!
What does it take to leave a secure career, become self-employed and build a financial planning business managing close to £40 million in just three years?In this episode of the Financial Planner Life podcast, Sam Oakes speaks with Sama...
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How the UK's Youngest Financial Adviser Built a £10 Million AUM Business Before 24 | Romany Youell
Romany Youell, Founder of The Finance Woman, qualified as the UK's youngest ever financial adviser at 18 after dropping out of college at 16. By 24 she had built a £10 million financial planning business. But the journey between those two momen...
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Aycan Richards on Building and Exiting a Financial Planning Career in the Middle East | Titan Wealth
Aycan Richards, Chartered Financial Planner at Titan Wealth, spent 13 years building a financial planning career across Qatar and Dubai before making the decision to sell her business and hand her clients over to Titan Wealth.In this epi...
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How Financial Advisers Are Booking 3 to 5 Client Appointments a Week on LinkedIn | Louis Adkins
Most financial advisers already know they should be more active on LinkedIn. What they don't know is why what they're doing isn't working.Free LinkedIn Webinar - book here - http://w...
LIBF Level 4 Qualification Deep Dive | John Somerville & David Tait
Why 30 to 39 Is the Best Age to Become a Financial Adviser Is 30 too old to start a career in financial planning?A lot of people would say yes. The reality is the opposite.The 30 to 39 age group is the fastest growing ...
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Mother and Daughter Financial Planners: Building a £100M AUM Partner Practice! Adele and Victoria Cable
What's the best age to become a financial planner?Adele Cable changed career at 53, convinced she was nearly on the ‘scrapheap’. Victoria Cable started at 23, convinced nobody would trust someone her age with their finances. Together the...
The Care Conversation Financial Planners Are Missing with Stephanie Leung of KareHero
Care costs up to £100,000 a year. 1 in 4 people in the UK sell their home to pay for it. And most financial planners are having the conversation far too late.Click here for the KareHero Website ...
International Career Advice from a Number 1 Financial Planner at Titan Wealth
Should UK financial planners be looking at the international advice market? Andreas Hollas has spent 13 years in Dubai building expertise that has no textbook, and the career it's given him is unlike anything available in the UK.In this ...
39% of people don't trust financial planners, take 'Adviser Advantage' test for free! | Chris Larkin, BigRock
Take the Adviser Advantage test here! 👈Only 39% of UK adults trust financial services. For a profession built entirely on trust, that num...
Training to Become a Financial Planner - Exams, Client Meetings & Building in Public
Hannah Wooldridge isn't only the person keeping Financial Planner Life running behind the scenes. She's also training to become a financial planner, and sharing every step of the journey in real time.In this episode, Sam sits down with H...
How Tim Brienza Built a £50M Client Base Through Financial Planning
For most financial planners, the point of entry into the industry is either from an adjacent field or by working up from admin through paraplanning roles.But not Tim. His route stands out as unconventional, but it's far from hindering hi...
Financial Planners Will Lose Millions, this £10 Tech can solve the Wealth Transfer Problem!
75% of financial advisers lose their AUM when a client passes away. Not because of bad performance. Not because of high fees. Simply because nobody built a relationship with the next generation.
How Financial Planners and Investment Managers Serve Wealthy Families
Most financial planning firms have both a financial planner and an investment manager. Far fewer have a team that operates as a single unit, with a shared philosophy, clearly defined roles, and a consistent client experience regardless of who's...
I left St James's Place for an IFA and Instantly Regretted it!
Should technical professionals go freelance immediately or start as employed advisers? Alwyn Van Staden's journey offers a fresh perspective on entering financial planning from a technical background.In this episode of Financial P...
Are these the Best Paid Jobs and Benefits in Financial Planning? Frazer James, The best should be paid more!!!!
Frazer James aren't looking for every candidate. They're looking for A++ people.Check out the jobs and book a meeting with James Mackay today!!And if...
The Truth About Selling an International Financial Planning Business
What actually determines whether a financial advice firm can be successfully sold?In this episode of Financial Planner Life, we sit down with Dan Dickinson to explore the reality behind selling a business and why most advisers are thinki...
Are These AI Agents for Financial Planners the best in 2026?
What if financial advisers could spend 70%… or even 100% of their time with clients?Book a demo - here In this episode of Financial Planner Life, we sit down with Alan Gurung, foun...
Inside Titan Wealth: James Kaberry & Andrew Fearon on Consolidation, Private Equity and the Future of Financial Advice
Consolidation is rapidly reshaping the financial planning profession.But what’s really driving it? And what does it actually mean for advisers, firm owners, and the future of advice businesses?In this episode of Financial Planner ...
Building a Financial Planning Career in Public: Lessons, Risks & Opportunities
What happens when you realise your relationship with money needs to change, and it ends up changing your entire life?In this episode of Financial Planner Life, Sam Oakes speaks with Hannah Wooldridge about her journey from living with £1...
From Rugby Player to Financial Adviser: How Titan Wealth’s Sports Academy Supports Career Change
What happens when a professional athlete’s career comes to an end… and what comes next? In this episode of Financial Planner Life, Sam Oakes sits down with Ethan Waller, a former professional rugby player turned financial pla...
Employed Financial Planner Academy - The Openwork & Redmill Advance Partnership
In this episode of the Financial Planner Life Podcast, Sam Oakes is joined by Helen Longland from Openwork and David Tait from
A Financial Adviser Built AI That Replaced His Job for £149 a Month
How can financial advisers use AI to grow their business without hiring more staff?Book Free Demo of Wealth Space - HereIn this episode of Financial Planner Life, Sam Oakes si...
Investment Banker to Self Employed IFA - Caroline Laudren
In this episode of the Financial Planner Life Podcast, Sam Oakes speaks with Caroline Laudren-Quillet, who transitioned from investment banking at Deutsche Bank to becoming a self-employed IFA and financial planner.Just two...