What does a financial advisor actually do and is being “good with numbers” really the most important part?
In this episode of How To Become A…, Grace speaks to Eliana about a career that she describes as being surprisingly close to counselling: understanding what people actually want from their lives, challenging their decisions and helping them use money to make those goals possible.
Eliana’s route into finance was anything but conventional. She originally wanted to be an actress, studied English, spent nearly 18 years in tech and initially walked away from financial services because she hated its sales-driven culture.
Years later, she retrained completing an incredible 18 exams in just 21 months only to discover that despite all those qualifications, nobody wanted to employ her. So she started her own business instead.
We get into:
- What financial advisors actually do
- Whether AI could replace financial advice
- Why money is really about what you want from life
- Starting a financial advice business with no clients
- Why Eliana deliberately built her business around helping women
- Risk, investing and why knowledge can change how risky something feels
- Supporting people through divorce, illness, dementia and bereavement
Eliana also shares how her husband becoming seriously ill and unable to work changed her own relationship with money and ultimately shaped the type of financial advisor she wanted to become.
This episode is a brilliant reminder that financial planning isn't just about becoming richer. Sometimes, it's about giving someone the freedom to spend their remaining time on what actually matters.
Note from Eliana:
Client Stories: References to client cases are shared for illustrative purposes. Financial advisers don't provide legal representation or legal advice - in complex situations like divorce, Eliana works hand-in-hand with her clients' legal teams every step of the way.
Industry Stats: During our chat, Eliana mentions 2009–2010 estimates that only around 12% of UK financial advisers were women. According to FCA and Personal Finance Society (PFS) data, female advisers have made up just 12–18% of the profession since the mid-2000s, remaining underrepresented today at around 16–18%.
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