Hi, my name is Matthew Ings and I'm the head of Academy at M&G Wealth Advice. The M&G Wealth Advice Academy can offer you a flexible and accessible way to start your career as a financial adviser, even if you have no experience in the financial services industry. We established the M&G Wealth Advice Academy in September 2021 to meet the increasing demand for advice. The UK's population continues to grow and personal finances get more complex with each budget, and so the need and demand for advice continues to increase. At the same time, the number of financial advisers in the UK has been reducing for a number of years now, as many retire from the profession. This has created the perfect opportunity for us to leverage our brand and heritage to create the Academy, in order to train and develop the next generation of financial advisers to make advice more accessible for as many people as possible. Our academy is structured to train and develop both individuals who wish to set up and run their own financial advice business, as well as those who wish to work for an existing M&G Wealth Advice practice. And we have over 250 of these currently. The academy training programme has four stages. The first stage is for candidates who have not yet completed the Chartered Insurance Institute's Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning, but they will need to have passed the CII's RO1 exam first. Stage one is approximately a year long and is part time around 7 to 10 hours per week, which means candidates can remain in their existing job should they want to. There are a number of days through the 12 months where training is provided by the Academy in order to support candidates in passing CII's RO2 to RO6 exams. Once an individual has completed their exam journey or if they join us already qualified, they will start stage two. This stage is full time and lasts approximately five weeks. The training is conducted remotely and covers in detail all aspects of a financial adviser's role. Our advisers create financial recommendations to help their clients achieve their goals, like planning for a comfortable retirement, making sure their savings are working hard and in the most tax efficient way. Protecting a young family or arranging their estates so that they can protect and pass on their wealth in the best way. The foundations of our client adviser relationship is created through regular meetings, where our advisers continually review their client circumstances and adjust their financial plans. If things have changed, or to reassure and confirm to the client that they are on track To their clients, our financial advisers are more than just the person who helps them with financial planning. They're a trusted friend who, through building a strong relationship, understands the client's personal circumstances, future plans and objectives, and is there to act as a guiding light through life. There are a number of reasons why our candidates want to become a financial adviser, primarily driven by a keen desire to help people, closely followed by wanting to be in charge of their own destiny as owners of their own business. Some are returning to work after a career break and looking for a more fulfilling career. Others want to take control of their future while making a difference to people's lives. And then there's the more entrepreneurial individuals who are looking for a new challenge. So whatever your reason, our academy could be right for you. The Academy has been carefully designed to be as flexible as possible, catering for candidates who already have some experience in our sector as well as those with the right skills, but no background in financial services at all. But all will need to have passed RO1 before starting with us. We're looking for candidates wherever they are in life, and there are no barriers to a new career as a financial advisor within M&G Wealth Advice. Our initial assessment process will identify if we think you've got the capabilities to be a successful financial adviser. We'll then give you all the training and development needed to become a qualified adviser, and will support you through all stages of your journey. The attributes of a successful adviser include, but are not limited to, a focus on putting the client at the heart of everything and a desire to help people. Active listening, empathy, and an ability to deeply understand a client situation. Plans and motivations. Confidence to ask challenging questions for your client's benefit. An ability to build trusted relationships. The skills to articulate technical information in a way clients understand how it impacts them and their circumstances and adaptability and a desire to constantly improve. Building deep and meaningful relationships with your clients and helping them achieve their financial goals and objectives is very rewarding. It is also a career that is financially beneficial whilst giving you the opportunity to work flexibly. The M&G Wealth Advice Academy is an excellent opportunity if you're looking to pursue a career in financial advice, and we really look forward to hearing from you.