UK's Youngest Financial Advisor: Romany Youell's Story

Romany Youell became the UK's youngest financial advisor at 18. In this episode of Talk FS, she talks to Ryan Venner about the mentors, setbacks and one pivotal networking event that shaped her career. Romany grew up sitting in client meetings alongside her father, a mortgage adviser who built his business from his spare bedroom. She dropped out of college at 16, joined his firm, and became the UK's youngest ever financial adviser after an exception was made to Quilter's usual age requirements. Today she runs The Finance Woman, a business built around clients the traditional industry has often overlooked, including women, business owners and non-traditional professionals, and she's now mentoring the next generation of advisers herself. In this conversation with host Ryan Venner, Romany discusses: Growing up around the financial services industry, and the moment she knew it was her career The comment from a senior figure in the industry that nearly knocked her confidence for good Why clients never questioned her age, but the industry itself often did The single networking event that changed the entire trajectory of her career Building The Finance Woman around clients who've felt overlooked or patronised elsewhere What it's like mentoring her own 18 year old trainee, and the lessons that come with it Her advice for anyone looking for a mentor and starting out in financial services A candid, energising conversation about resilience, finding your own way in an industry that doesn't always make space for you, and turning doubt into direction. 🎧 Subscribe to Talk FS for more conversations with the people shaping the future of financial services. Chapters: 00:00 Hook 00:50 Welcome & Meet Romany Youell 01:55 Becoming the UK's Youngest Financial Advisor 04:19 Growing Up in a Family Business & Learning Resilience 06:55 The Moment She Knew Financial Advice Was Her Career 08:18 Finding Mentors Without a Blueprint to Follow 10:46 Facing Age & Gender Bias in the Industry 12:32 Turning a Painful Comment Into a Turning Point 16:09 Reframing Age as an Advantage 20:21 Nearly Leaving the Industry 21:56 The Networking Event That Changed Everything 23:02 Building The Finance Woman & Standing Out on Social Media 26:06 Mentoring the Next Generation 33:33 Advice for Anyone Looking for a Mentor Prefer to listen? Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7unl... Podbean: https://talkfs.podbean.com/e/uks-youn... #FinancialAdviser #WomenInFinance #FinancialServices #TalkFS #FinancialPlanning #Mentorship