The students who emerged with the best marks in the 2022 exams for the Higher Certificate in Wealth Management (HCWM) have given Moonstone Business School of Excellence (MBSE) the thumbs-up.
The three top students are financial adviser Kyle Alroy, medical scheme adviser Bianka Bennett, and financial planner Brian Parsons.
Alroy enrolled for the qualification so he could acquire a better understanding of certain aspects of his job, such as tax, estate planning, and retirement planning. Having completed his studies, he believes the qualification will benefit his career, particularly when it comes to financial and retirement planning.
Bennett’s aim was to improve her knowledge and serve her clients better.
She hopes the qualification will open doors for to be promoted up the corporate ladder. But the immediate benefit is that the HCWM has boosted her confidence and knowledge of the industry as a whole, “which will enable me to provide my clients with a more holistic level of advice and service”.
Parsons only joined the financial planning industry in February 2022, after working for Schindler Lifts for 28 years.
“As part of a management team, my key responsibilities were understanding the organisation’s strategic direction, with that the planning and execution of objectives. A big part of my work consisted of root-cause analysis, improving processes, developing teams, and planning for delivering results – this aligns to the philosophy of financial planning leading to financial independence,” he says.
While doing his Master’s in Business Leadership, Parsons studied investment and portfolio management. At the same time, he was a trustee of the company’s retirement fund, “where I learnt the dynamics of investing and discovered my passion for financial/investment planning and wealth creation, which I am now pursuing full time”.
His motivation for doing the HCWM was straightforward: “If you want to be good at something, you need to understand the fundamentals and then build on that.”
After completing product specific training and Class of Business training, Parsons started setting up meetings with potential clients. “The various subjects and course content complimented this effort 100%.”
Parsons says he found all the modules to be relevant to his career. However, he most enjoyed the investment and retirement planning modules.
Why our top students decided to study at MBSE
Alroy did his RE5 exam through Moonstone, and a former business executive recommended that he do the HCWM through MBSE.
Parsons said he also settled on MBSE because of a recommendation from friend who studied through MBSE.
Bennett chose MBSE because Moonstone Compliance has been her employer’s compliance officer “for years” and because MBSE is a reputable company that offers the most suitable qualifications at reasonable prices.
She described her experience of studying with MBSE as “amazing”.
“I felt supported throughout my entire time and knew if I had a concern, I could go to any of the amazing lecturers, and they had my back and wanted me to do my best. The structure of the study material and exam was easy to navigate and understand.”
Bennett particularly enjoyed the exam preparation sessions because they made her feel calmer and she knew exactly what to expect. “It was also wonderful getting to know all the students and lecturers.”
Alroy says he found studying for the qualification to be “pretty smooth sailing. Everything was very straightforward and well organised.”
He did not need to motivate himself to complete the qualification. As a financial adviser, he had to obtain the NQF 5 qualification within a certain time frame.
Getting the balance right
It can be a challenge to get the balance right when studying while working full-time. As Parsons put it, sometimes he wasn’t sure whether he was a part-time student or part-time employee.
His motivation for staying the course was to finish the theory so he can focus on growing his business. The HCWM has enabled him to do the Advanced Certificate in Financial Planning, whereafter he plans to do the Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning, so he is eligible to obtain the Certified Financial Planner designation.
Bennett also found managing her time to be a challenge. In addition to working full-time, she is a wife and the mother of a six-year-old boy.
Her family and her clients kept her motivated. She wanted to complete her studies despite the circumstances. Another motivation was to ensure her future in the industry.
Bennett now plans to tackle an NQF 7 qualification in wealth management.
Choose MBSE
All three top students say they would recommend MBSE to people who want to obtain the HCWM.
“The support, study material, exams and prices really make it worth it,” Bennett says.
Alroy says the material was easy to understand, the communication was very good, and he received help when he needed it.
Parsons says the study material is very relevant, MBSE’s distance learning model is “fantastic”, and staff and lecturers are very knowledgeable and helpful.
First-semester applications for the Higher Certificate in Wealth Management close on Monday, 30 January.
Click here for more information about the qualification and to apply.
