One common denominator across Australia’s financial advice fraternity is the driving factor behind those that make the industry what it is. No matter their journey or background, all have an innate passion for making a real difference to lives of everyday Australians. Victoria’s Jarrod Bailey is no different. With a lifelong passion for finance and involvement in financial markets since 2000, Bailey’s entrepreneurial spirt led him to create his own business with a close friend. Right Path focused on providing investment strategy advice primarily to ‘do it yourselfers’ – SMSF trustees and investors who wanted to be more active in their investment and retirement planning implementation. During his time at the helm from 2015 to 2018, Bailey was focused on providing education to investors. In the often-confusing world of economics and markets, he strived to provide context for the everyday investor by identifying investment opportunities he saw as having a solid risk and reward prospect for clients to further investigate and consider on their own. At its peak, Right Path had over 300 clients. Although Bailey enjoyed this, he began to find over time it lacked true fulfilment to what he could provide as a service offering. “The advice I could give was constrained to be general in nature only,” he says. “I couldn’t discuss in any way how opportunities might relate specifically to clients on an individual basis or what might be best for them. I also found it became difficult to be focused on the only investment aspects, given this is but one of the facets of comprehensive planning that ought to be looked at.” Ultimately, Bailey’s passion for helping people to truly change their lives drove his decision to change his approach. Coming to the realisation he couldn’t serve clients in the holistic and thorough way he wanted to, he made the decision to leave the firm to pursue his passion in personal advice. “It was the right decision for me, so I was comfortable to negotiate a suitable deal for me to exit, while ensuring a smooth transition for my partners and clients,” he reflects. Upon finalising the sale, Bailey was able to get stuck into his studies with Kaplan Professional and focus on transitioning to the next exciting phase of his career. Having a young family and eager to immerse himself in the technical aspects of financial advice, Kaplan Professional’s flexible online model, proactive support and focus on practical and relevant content was particularly appealing for Bailey. In addition, he wanted to be an early adopter and work towards meeting the new education requirements as quickly as possible. “With the introduction of FAS standards, it was imperative for me to choose a provider that was well-regarded in the industry to gain the necessary qualifications to become a licensed financial adviser,” Bailey says. While acknowledging formal education for experienced advisers may be time-consuming and will add to an already busy workload, Bailey believes it’s an important step to raise the industry standard across the board. “The industry will move forward, continuing to professionalise and raise the bar,” he laments. Change creates opportunity, it always has and always will, those who embrace the change and adapt, benefit, it’s as simple as that – adapt or perish.” In regard to his study with Kaplan Professional, Bailey has completed his Master of Financial Planning. He’s particularly fond of the way the course and content is structured, referencing its direct application to professional practice. “It’s presented in a way that’s easily digestible and understandable, relying more on practical and relevant learning than just a lot of theory,” he says. Throughout my learning, I always find myself being able to relate it back to previous, current or future experiences.” For those with experience who are returning to study and about to embark on more formal education, Bailey’s advice is to utilise what you’ve learned throughout your professional experience. “All the concepts you’re learning, it’s likely you cover this in your day-to-day professional practice,” he says. “Therefore, you need to apply what you already know into an academic context. Before I attempt any assessment or task, I look closely at the marking criteria. This highlights exactly what the marker is looking forward, providing you insight into how you can specifically demonstrate your knowledge of a concept.” Bailey was also proactive in completing two of Kaplan Professional’s FAS-approved bridging courses – FPC001B Economic and Legal Context for Financial Planning and FPC002B Professionalism and Ethics in Financial Advice – as soon as they became available, and was particularly impressed with the enhanced subject model they were delivered under. “The practise exams were fantastic,” he says. “In particular, the answer guide that provided direct reference to the unit note sections to review further for any questions answered incorrectly; this recent addition is extremely helpful. They were the seventh and eight subjects I completed for my Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning. I’ve found as each evolution has been rolled out, the quality, which was already quite good, has continued to improve. I think Kaplan Professional is doing a great job of helping to raise the industry standard through its rigorous education coursework. When I’m building my next business after selling my last, I’ll look to Kaplan Professional graduates when finding new staff.” … and that’s exactly where you should expect to see Jarrod Bailey in the future. Channelling his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for helping others to build an advice practice that empowers the everyday Australian to achieve their financial and life goals.