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What is your name?
Clémence Chatelin
What is your occupation?
Sustainable Investing Specialist & Senior Financial Planner
Where do you live?
Bristol, UK
When did you start your career in finance? How did you get into it?
I started my career in October 2017 after graduating from my MSc Finance & Investment (University of Bristol). Bristol University is the hunting ground for firms to recruit engineers, mathematicians and scientists for investment banking and consulting. Unfortunately, I am neither of the above. Like many people I ‘fell’ into financial planning. I saw the Paradigm Norton Financial Planning Graduate Scheme advertised on the university job board and successfully applied. I was happy to find a career path marrying both technical knowledge and people management.
What would be your biggest piece of advice to someone coming into the financial planning profession?
Find a mentor. Ideally this would be your supervisor, but unfortunately you will need to be very lucky to find your mentor on day one. Therefore, network and take ownership of your development and career growth. Make use of the wonderful NextGen community to learn from and meet people. You may even find a mentor there!
As for your new employer, ask them how they make difficult decisions. In short, if they aren’t guided by values and principles, ask yourself whether they are purpose driven at all and whether you feel inspired by their purpose. Having your values aligned with those of your employer goes a long way towards feeling that your job is meaningful.
How would you define your personal mission?
My mission is to help people become financially independent while not taking away from the next generation from a sustainability perspective. You can grow your wealth and minimize the negative impact on the planet, so why not do it?
How would you define your personal vision?
Creating a more equitable and sustainable world.
How would you define your personal values?
My personal values start with ‘say as you do and do as you say’. Whatever you do consider the impact of your actions on wider society. I value being open minded because it uncovers many opportunities. Perseverance and discipline are key to succeeding and seeing results. Whatever vision you are working towards, lead by example, but keep in mind that doing something is better than doing nothing.
What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
My biggest achievement is my ability to make a home wherever I go. Whether it’s teaching in China, or making a life in the UK, I think I do a great job at adapting and learning the way of life of where I am. My way of life can be quite eclectic as I have taken on many different ways of doing things that one would consider typical to a specific country or culture. In many cases people can’t quite pin down where I am from when they meet me and over time forget that I am not from here (it is different if I live somewhere where my looks make me obviously stand out!).
What is the greatest book you have ever read that helped you in your career?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. Changed my life.
What is your most valuable asset of being a NextGen Planners member?
Positive Love. I always feel great exchanging ideas with the community. Out of this many great opportunities have emerged and it’s so great to see so much solidarity in the profession.
(Only answer this one if you truly want to…) Who is your favourite NextGen Planners member?
Marcus Farnfield. He’s my rock for exam revisions and we always have a blast when we work together!