The firm is stepping up work to encourage former military men and women to think about a career in finance. This publication has noticed quite a marked trend of such people entering the wealth industry around the world.

UK-based wealth manager Quilter is helping serving and former military personnel to embrace the idea of a financial services career, a move that chimes with the trend of ex-armed forces men and women going into the sector.

Quilter has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, a government-supported initiative.  The covenant acts as a formal pledge by Quilter to demonstrate its support for the armed forces community by recognising the value veterans can bring to organisations.

Quilter’s chief executive officer Paul Feeney and Brigadier Andy Wright signed the covenant with the support from HR Director Paul Hucknall and numerous employees in its London headquarters.

A number of banks and wealth houses, such as St James’s Place, Schroders and Quilter make a point of helping such personnel transition into a financial services career. As this publication recently chronicled, a number of ex-army, navy and air force personnel have moved into the sector, as is also the case in countries such as the US. In wealth management hubs such as Switzerland and Singapore, where citizens must perform military service, a military background is a matter of course for locals working in banking and finance. 

Advocates of transitioning from military to finance say such people bring self-discipline, teamwork and a professional ethic to the field that cannot always be replicated elsewhere.

Quilter said its support for people coming out of the services has been done so far through the Financial Adviser School by increasing awareness of careers in financial advice and the subsequent opportunities for people leaving the forces. Quilter has also mapped veteran competencies with its own roles, enabling the business to directly recruit from this pool of talent, it said. 

The firm added that it is developing an internal military connections network to unite the advocates and act as a support network for veterans joining Quilter.

“Veterans exhibit many of the capabilities and values we as a business look for in our people and this initiative aims to support these people as they transition into their new careers,” Rick Eling, investment director at the firm and a former member of the Royal Navy, said. 

“The armed forces developed my organisation, persistence, planning, communication, and resilience, which have all been put into use during my career with Quilter,” he added.