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A year ago, six graduates joined the Skybound Academy. Last month, we welcomed the next intake through the same doors, at our graduate welcome day in London. Between those two moments, the first cohort has shown exactly why the Academy produces the kind of adviser this industry needs.
Rudy Brown joined the Academy straight into paraplanning and has just passed his third professional exam, completing the Level 4 Investment Advice Diploma. A business development rotation into Switzerland, working alongside myself, gave him his standout lesson of the year: watching a complex, international case unfold from first meeting to final recommendation, in real time, is not something a classroom can replicate.
Sitting down with his own parents to review their ISAs, and watching the penny drop, is the moment Rudy comes back to when asked why the job matters.
Each person within the cohort has been moving through the same structure: six-week blocks across business development, paraplanning, tech and operations, marketing and compliance.
On the Saudi Arabia desk, Thomas Aggleton has spent his current rotation prospecting across cultures and time zones, and rates the pace as what keeps him sharp. During his current rotation, James Lobley has been getting to grips with the Swiss pension system, helped by an open London office where senior advisers and managers are genuinely reachable. In his marketing rotation, Matthew Ellis found an unexpected home watching data turn into campaigns that move the business forward.
Joseph Lloyd came in from a finance background and says what struck him first was the scale of the business, large enough to reach clients across borders, small enough that senior leaders still know your name in a meeting. For him, that access has meant responsibility from day one rather than sitting on the side lines.
Jaden Coote has been talking to prospects across jurisdictions, and says the exposure has sharpened his grasp of international financial planning and pushed him further towards becoming an adviser himself.
Summing up his experience of business development, paraplanning, and compliance, George Riches simply says; "the client comes first. Always."
None of this happens by accident. The Academy’s eighteen-month rotation - alongside sponsored CISI qualifications and one-to-one mentorship, is built to turn ambition into competence, not just enthusiasm.
As Josh Watson, our Group Head of People, puts it: “We’re not just hiring graduates, we’re developing future partners.”
Last month’s welcome day brought that same promise to a new group of recruits. Between meeting current graduates over lunch, headshots, and an afternoon presentation from the leadership team, the day set the tone for what’s ahead: real client exposure from week one, structured feedback rather than annual reviews, and a rotation schedule that touches every part of how Skybound operates.
This year’s cohort includes Liam Kirk, Jai Bhatti, Jacob Mangoro, and Joshua Saunders, who now begin the same eighteen-month journey that the present cohort are eleven months into. They’ll rotate through the same six departments, work towards the same qualifications, and get the same access to senior advisers.
The track record speaks for itself. New advisers coming through the Academy in Europe consistently build substantial, fee-paying client books within their first few years. Bryan Bann, now leading Skybound’s European region, and Kieran Tween, Best New Adviser in 2022, both started exactly where this year’s intake is starting now.
The Academy isn’t a training scheme that runs alongside the business. It is how the business grows its next generation of advisers, one rotation, one exam, and one client conversation at a time. This year’s cohort has a lot to live up to. Given what we’ve seen from the last one, we like their chances.
Having helped establish new regional offices in both the Middle East and across Europe, Peter has first-hand experience of the hurdles a modern-day international worker must overcome. Expert advice, service driven and readily approachable at all times are some of the skills which are testament to Peter’s continued growth and success in the finance industry with Skybound Wealth Management.
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The Academy at Skybound takes ambitious graduates and turns them into fully qualified financial advisers. Applications for the next intake open soon, with places limited each year.
