Our Cadet Program is a thoroughly designed pathway to rigorously train and develop the next generation of advisers from the ground up.
Unique to our program, Cadets work closely with our Board of Directors and established team of Advisers, benefiting from a mix and breadth of experience and mentoring.
This ensures they practice within a highly supervised and safely monitored space while being hands across all areas of financial planning.
Built around real client work, strong compliance foundations, and close collaboration with experienced advisers, our program blends University learning and theory with hands-on responsibility and intentional mentoring to ensure cadets don’t just learn the theory of advice, they learn how to practise it with care, accuracy, and professionalism.
From day one, Cadets are embedded within the operational heartbeat of the business across the Smart Financial offices in Warilla and Nowra.
They support Advisers with client servicing, administration, and paraplanning while also progressively building the people skills required to step confidently into an advising role.
This includes learning how to prepare Statements of Advice (SoAs) and Records of Advice (RoAs), implementing financial strategies, assisting with Centrelink administration, maintaining compliant client files, and contributing to the continuous improvement of service procedures and policies.
A strong emphasis is placed on compliance, organisation, and attention to detail.
Cadets are trained to understand not only what needs to be done, but why it matters for clients and for the integrity of advice.
They learn to maintain meticulous file notes, and support advisers and administrative staff to meet their obligations in a timely and diligent manner.
Equally important is the people and culture component of the program.
Cadets are encouraged to communicate openly, work collaboratively, and embody our values of being warm, honest, and caring.
Through daily interactions with advisers and staff, they develop the rapport, empathy, and professional confidence essential to becoming a trusted financial planner.
From its inception in 2007, our Cadetship program is more than an entry-level role. It’s a deliberate, supported progression into advisory, designed to shape capable, compliant, client-focused professionals ready to build long-term careers in financial planning.
If you would like to know more, email us at [email protected]
