What do cancer care and financial advice have in common? More than you’d think. Kirra Sharrock joins The Priority Lane Podcast to discuss her unexpected path into advice, the importance of soft skills in client relationships, and why the future of the profession depends on trust, empathy, and accessibility. From volunteering and advocacy to reshaping perceptions around financial advice, this episode is packed with honest insights about the profession behind the numbers.
What do cancer care and financial advice have in common?
More than you’d think.
Kirra Sharrock joins The Priority Lane Podcast to discuss her unexpected path into advice, the importance of soft skills in client relationships, and why the future of the profession depends on trust, empathy, and accessibility.
From volunteering and advocacy to reshaping perceptions around financial advice, this episode is packed with honest insights about the profession behind the numbers.
Reach out to Kirra:
Website - bravium.com.au
Linkedin - linkedin.com/in/kirrasharrock
Key topics
Unconventional career transition from radiation therapy to finance.
Importance of soft skills and client trust in advice.
Industry shift from product focus to values-based advice.
Role of industry associations and advocacy for new professionals.
Impact of regulatory changes and levies on advice industry.
The significance of giving back through pro bono work.
Career development pathways in financial advice.
Future industry challenges and opportunities.
Sound Bites
"Empathy and soft skills are essential in advice"
"Advice is about trust, not just products"
"Giving back is part of who I am"
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Kirra Sharrock and Her Journey
02:02 Transition from Radiation Therapy to Financial Advice
06:00 The Importance of Soft Skills in Financial Advice
11:58 The Shift from Product-Centric to Client-Centric Advice
15:00 Involvement in FAAA and Advocacy for the Profession
20:02 Educating the Public on Financial Advice Careers
21:59 Pro Bono Financial Advice Network Overview
23:46 The Value of Financial Advice
24:30 Getting Involved with Pro Bono Financial Advice Network
26:37 Lessons Learned from Pro Bono Work
30:46 Challenges in the Financial Advice Industry
36:49 Positive Aspects of the Financial Industry
39:41 The Importance of Giving Back
42:52 Balancing Professional and Personal Life
45:09 Inspiration Behind Giving Back
The Priority Lane (00:06)
Welcome to the Priority Lane podcast, the show where we learn how to work smarter, not faster. I'm your host, Nigel Catt and today I'm joined by Kirra Sharrock from Bravium, an advisor who took a refreshingly non-traditional path into financial advice. After studying radiation therapy, Kirra transitioned into the advice world through admin, client services, and para-planning, building a deep client-first foundation.
She's also passionate about giving back through PFAN and help shape the profession via FAAA's emerging professional community. Welcome to the podcast, Kirra.
Kirra Sharrock (00:45)
Thanks for having me, Nigel. It's great to be here.
The Priority Lane (00:48)
Fantastic and how are you today? You're in Canberra. A busy week? well it's all happening in Canberra this week isn't it with the budget.
Kirra Sharrock (00:51)
Doing very well, thank you.
It certainly
is. I went to a budget related dinner last night at Parliament House, which is always a good event. I've been to that the last few years.
The Priority Lane (01:05)
Okay.
Okay, okay, and what does that entail? Do you get food, drink a whole lot or is it not as exciting as all of that?
Kirra Sharrock (01:18)
No, food and drinks are involved, but ⁓ the more exciting part is getting to hear directly from some politicians and people who've been involved in putting together the policy and hearing directly from them. And they also run a panel session discussing the budget.
partially through a gendered lens. So the event is run by future women. Ellen McCabe and Jamila Rizvi ⁓ run those events and yeah, looking at the budget and what it means for the broader community, but for women specifically.
The Priority Lane (01:46)
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
Okay, okay, so a good night had by all, I hope. Very good, very good. Well, I'm glad that you're in a state to join us this afternoon. Wasn't that big of night, which is good. Okay, okay. Now, back to your background. So you didn't take the most direct path into financial advice. Can you walk us through your journey of becoming an advisor?
Kirra Sharrock (02:07)
Definitely.
No, at home in bed by 10.
Yeah, so I guess going going back to the fact that I studied radiation therapy in high school, I knew I really enjoyed maths and science and I knew that I wanted some kind of job and career pathway that involved helping people. That's something that's always been important to me. It's a personal value.
Once I had done that job for a few years, I realised it wasn't where I wanted to be long term and that I needed to make a change.
I was fortunate enough when I started job hunting to meet with a recruiter that put the idea of a financial advice admin role in front of me. And he said to me, know, based on what we've talked about, about your skillset and talking to different people at a bunch of different levels.
So, you know, nursing staff, the oncologists, other doctors, the radiology department to follow up test results and that sort of thing.
That sounded like there was actually a good amount of transferable skills to what a financial advice ⁓ admin assistant would have done at that point in time. know, lots of following up product providers, talking to the clients, talking to the para planners, helping get everything in order to be able to deliver the plan.
The Priority Lane (03:48)
I don't like that.
Okay.
Kirra Sharrock (04:10)
which was part of what radiation therapy, you know, people have to work together to deliver that treatment plan for a person.
The Priority Lane (04:10)
Okay.
Wow, that's interesting. mean, I wouldn't have thought radiation therapy, financial advisor, it's a natural fit.
Kirra Sharrock (04:27)
wouldn't have either and it's certainly not a
natural fit. When the recruiter said it to me, it sounded like a really big stretch. ⁓ But, you know, I went in, I had the interview and that particular business was happy to have me and it all started from there.
The Priority Lane (04:34)
You
Well guess both of them as well are very important and very crucial areas for the individual isn't it? You don't want to get your medical side wrong and you don't want to get your financial side wrong.
Kirra Sharrock (05:00)
Absolutely. That's definitely another element where there's a bit of overlap. You know, helping people with their physical health, getting through a really difficult situation in terms of a cancer diagnosis in radiation therapy. And in advice, people often ⁓
The Priority Lane (05:07)
Yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (05:23)
seeking clarity and confidence. They are looking for advice because they don't know what to do next often or what they could be doing better. So they come with questions. Sometimes it's simply that, what can I do better?
The Priority Lane (05:32)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Kirra Sharrock (05:42)
Other times there's a specific circumstance that occurs that prompts people to seek advice, some sort of significant change in their situation.
The Priority Lane (05:53)
Right, okay.
Okay, so you had, well, I'm guessing about three or four years of study on the radiation therapy side and then working in the industry. So how many years have you been
Kirra Sharrock (06:05)
Yeah, at the time
that I studied it, it ⁓ was a three-year degree. It is a four-year degree now, but it was three when I did it. ⁓ And then it was just over three years actually doing the job.
The Priority Lane (06:20)
So you'd invested six years into the industry. How difficult was that decision to think, I've come a fair way down this path. I'm going to check back.
Kirra Sharrock (06:23)
My hat.
Yeah,
look, it was a really difficult decision. It was something I thought about long and hard before I made the call, but I did feel pretty strongly that it wasn't where I wanted to be long term, doing that job, when you're...
implementing the radiation therapy treatment, you're on your feet all day. And it's a lot of tough, emotionally tolling conversations with people. ⁓ And I had a situation where I'd experienced my own health challenge and came out of that just fine. But at the time,
The Priority Lane (07:05)
Yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (07:19)
it was too hard for me being around ⁓ really sick people at a really challenging time and I needed to find something new. I needed to take a break and step back from that.
The Priority Lane (07:30)
Right, okay, okay, so the decision was made, you moved across to the finance industry and followed the common path, starting in admin, then client services, para-planning. That, as I said, the common path, do you think that's the best path to become an advisor, or what are your thoughts on that?
Kirra Sharrock (07:49)
Yeah, that's a great question. I do think it's important to have some level of grounding in the admin or the para planning side. ⁓ I think having that background ⁓ for me was important to build
technical competence and also my confidence to do the role. ⁓
Obviously, I had no training or education in that space when I first started in that admin role. But I think with the education pathways now, people are very well prepared in terms of their textbook learning and qualifications to do the job of being a financial advisor. But day to day, having
conversations with clients and the soft skills that are involved in that. That's very different. And I think that's a difficult skill to teach through universities, through pure education pathways. So I wouldn't say that everybody has to take the very long and slow road that I did. ⁓ That's certainly not the recommendation.
The Priority Lane (09:04)
Yeah, yeah. ⁓
Thank
Kirra Sharrock (09:15)
But I think ⁓ for younger people considering advice as a career and who are undertaking a degree, I think it's important to get some face time in what working in an advice business actually looks like.
The Priority Lane (09:32)
Right, okay, because you mentioned about the soft skills that are required. That's something that comes up quite a lot speaking to financial advisors is that it's not just, hey, here's a plan, let's go implement it. There is a lot of empathy involved. There is a lot of human behavior, a lot of human element, you could say, getting to know the client and that softer side as opposed to straight out figures.
Kirra Sharrock (09:41)
Yes.
Absolutely. My personal opinion, the best advisors have to be able to do both. People can be a very strong advisor with a technical focus.
But the technical side of things doesn't mean much if you can't get the client on board with that. You can give the best advice and the best strategies, but if they don't take that advice and trust the advice to go ahead and then implement it, then all the value is lost.
The Priority Lane (10:26)
Yep.
And then I guess also as well, if that relationship isn't there with the advisor, they may not divulge all the necessary information you require to set out a plan.
Kirra Sharrock (10:56)
Absolutely, definitely agree with that as well. Something that's important to me as an advisor and I often talk about in early meetings with clients, open and honest communication is really important. For me personally, I've had...
times in the past where I've made decisions that potentially weren't the right decision for me personally, because I had a fear of judgment and I let that hold me back. I made decisions because I thought that was the easier path or ⁓ I would avoid people judging my choices. But
The Priority Lane (11:28)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Kirra Sharrock (11:45)
you learn and you grow and ⁓ in my conversations with clients now, I talk about that because I don't want them to feel like they're going to get any judgment from me. I want them to be able to...
The Priority Lane (11:58)
Yeah, yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (12:03)
Tell me all of the things that I need to know. All cards on the table. We don't want any elephants in the room. If they have questions or concerns, know, no question is too silly. Bring it up. Let's talk about it. Because if I don't know about it, I can't help.
The Priority Lane (12:25)
Yeah, now that you speak about it, very similar to the medical industry.
Kirra Sharrock (12:32)
Yeah, I guess so. You've to disclose
all of the symptoms or you can't get the right diagnosis.
The Priority Lane (12:39)
Yeah, yeah. Now we were talking the other day and you mentioned that a previous business here with ⁓ were very product centric. They were very much well,
They pushed a lot of products and had sales trading. ⁓ Bravium is ⁓ different to that. Do you see that there's a shift in the industry away from the product-based and more into the strategic planning and implementation?
Kirra Sharrock (13:09)
Absolutely.
I think I'm really proud to be part of business, part of here at Bravium. Scott Farmer founded Bravium with the idea of doing things differently way back in 2007. Quite a number of years pre-royal commission when all of the concerns came out around vertical integration and businesses that were
The Priority Lane (13:31)
Mm-hmm.
Kirra Sharrock (13:40)
you
know, the advisors had an approved product list that they needed to work from that was quite narrow in terms of recommending a lot of products aligned with the broader institution that they were employed by. I think
The Priority Lane (13:57)
Yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (14:01)
Advice has come a long way since then, since 2014 and the Royal Commission. And there are more and more businesses that are doing things in the way that we do it here at Bravium. It's fee for service. It's not about particular products. Products are a part.
The Priority Lane (14:14)
Right.
Kirra Sharrock (14:24)
of advice that they are necessary tools that we use to implement strategies.
they are not the reason or the primary value of advice. The primary value to me is having that trusted relationship with an advisor where you can pick up the phone or send an email to ask a question and know that you're getting an answer or even just able to bounce ideas with somebody who knows you and the things that are important to you in your life.
The Priority Lane (15:02)
So client first obviously and then products if need be.
Kirra Sharrock (15:04)
Absolutely. Yep, exactly right.
And a lot of people might refer to that as values-based advice.
The Priority Lane (15:14)
Now also, I mentioned you're involved with the FAAA. You were on two committees but you're on one at the moment. Now, how did you get involved with the FAAA?
Kirra Sharrock (15:27)
That's right.
So Nigel, I was fortunate enough ⁓ to be selected as a sponsored student while I was still studying my qualification to attend the FAAA Congress. It was in Sydney back in, I'm going to say 2022. ⁓
The Priority Lane (15:45)
Cool. I can.
Yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (15:58)
That was my first time attending a big conference like that in the financial advice space. Such a great experience. Met so many amazing, passionate people working in and around advice and learnt so much. Fantastic content in terms of the speakers and the presentations. And I just felt really inspired and
everybody who was part of that student group who were invited to attend Congress or applied to were invited to apply to be part of the Emerging Professionals Committee. So that's where it started and you know it was selected from a whole bunch of people that applied for that opportunity.
The Priority Lane (16:43)
okay. Yep.
Kirra Sharrock (16:55)
And being part of that committee was the starting point of me using my voice to advocate for what I think financial advice should look like and how do we get more people into the profession.
The Priority Lane (17:15)
I cut.
Kirra Sharrock (17:15)
because
I don't know if you've seen the numbers Nigel, but the education standards officially changed. That change came into effect in 2019. At that time there were over 28,000 financial advisors in Australia. Now there are just over 15,000.
The Priority Lane (17:39)
Wow, okay, okay.
Kirra Sharrock (17:41)
We need
more advisors. The Australian public need more advisors.
The Priority Lane (17:47)
Well, yeah, yeah, so a couple of things. First of all, if we can go back to the Congress you went to, you seemed pretty impressed with that. A lot of inspiring people. How did that, was that different, what you're feeling and what you experienced there? Did you have preconceived ideas of the finance industry, what it was gonna be like, and how was that different to what you experienced at Congress?
Kirra Sharrock (17:54)
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a great question. ⁓ Yeah, my first experience at Congress was I honestly didn't know what to expect at all. I hadn't been to anything like that ⁓ in financial advice related. So, yeah, I guess I didn't.
have many expectations going into it. ⁓ But even if I'd had high expectations, I think that experience would have exceeded them.
The Priority Lane (18:46)
So
with, you're talking about, was it, as we discussed earlier, a lot of the soft skills are very important in the industry. Did you realize that before you got into the industry? Or did you think it was more numbers and, okay, a bit of one-on-one, but not to the extent as to what it is?
Kirra Sharrock (19:10)
I think the second option. So absolutely, know, financial advice, I had no idea what it was before I started working in it. ⁓ You still have people ask, you know, that like being an accountant? What does a financial advisor actually do? ⁓ And as I'm sure you know, it's
The Priority Lane (19:12)
Right, okay.
Kirra Sharrock (19:35)
Accounting, there is some tax planning that's involved in accounting, but accounting is more often looking back at what has happened and accounting for that. Whereas financial advice is we look at all the facts and figures and the numbers, we take into account what are our clients' personal values and what are their goals and hopes and dreams.
The Priority Lane (19:48)
Yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (20:06)
How do we make those two things work together? How do we translate what they want to get out of life and the things that they value into a plan that makes the most of the financial circumstances that they have to build towards that future?
The Priority Lane (20:09)
you.
⁓ So you mentioned there you get asked what does a financial advisor actually do. Is that part of what the Emerging Professionals Committee is dealing with about educating the public about what financial advice is all about to try to encourage more people into the industry?
Kirra Sharrock (20:45)
Definitely. So when I was part of the Emerging Professionals Committee, so we mentioned two committees, Emerging Professionals was first and then the FAAA GenNext committee was second and I'm still part of that particular committee today.
The Priority Lane (21:02)
You're part of the GenNext next, okay.
Kirra Sharrock (21:06)
When I was part of Emerging Professionals, we did a short YouTube video series that we called Fireside Chats, which was about talking to people who work in and around advice about what their job is day to day, and not just financial advisors, but if...
you study financial advice, if you do a degree in that area, and then for some reason you decide that being a client facing advisor is not necessarily for you, what else can you do? There are so many options in and around advice and helping educate people around all of those things, not just what does a financial advisor do, but what other types of roles are available.
The Priority Lane (22:03)
Okay.
Kirra Sharrock (22:04)
Because
we also, there's a lot of people who choose to be a paraplanner through their career. We need really good long-term career paraplanners to support the advice strategies and people who want to have that focus on the technical side of advice, but not necessarily have the client conversations.
The Priority Lane (22:30)
Right, okay. Yeah, I've been told that a number of times. Financial advisors really aren't as good as the para planner that they're working with.
Kirra Sharrock (22:40)
Absolutely.
The Priority Lane (22:42)
Great team. ⁓ Now, with also moving away from FAAA, ⁓ you're also involved with the Pro Bono Financial Advice Network, ⁓ which I, to tell the truth, I hadn't heard about until I was chatting to you. Can you give us a quick overview of what that is?
Kirra Sharrock (23:01)
Yeah, yeah,
absolutely. So the Pro Bono Financial Advice Network, before I became involved, I guess I hadn't heard of them prior to that either. But ⁓ for me, ⁓
how I learnt about them was a LinkedIn post from Nicola Besswick who runs, she's the chair of the Pro Bono Financial Advice Network. The goal of that network is to try and help more people, usually following a significant medical diagnosis, people who really
The Priority Lane (23:25)
Mm-hmm.
Kirra Sharrock (23:50)
would get huge value out of financial advice. But there are financial criteria that need to be met where they could not otherwise afford to seek out the services of a financial advisor.
The Priority Lane (24:06)
Okay, okay. Yeah, I was reading about them. That's an incredible organization. How long have you been involved with them?
Kirra Sharrock (24:15)
So after I saw Nicola's LinkedIn post ⁓ way back in 2021, while I was still studying and completing my qualifications, I saw her post and you know...
The Priority Lane (24:25)
Yes, you were still studying at that stage.
Kirra Sharrock (24:34)
Finding ways to give back is it's just built in. ⁓ It's something that's really important to me. It's a personal value. And when I heard about the Pro Bono Financial Advice Network and what they do, I reached out to Nicola. I sent her a message on LinkedIn and I said, look, I'm not qualified yet, but is there another way that I can help? Do you need para planning services? Because I could do that.
I'm not doing a para planning role right now, but I've had years of experience in that. How can I help? How can I get involved in this? ⁓ The way that PFAN works is the individual advisors who volunteer their time. They're effectively also volunteering the services of the business that they work for.
and any power planning that needs to be done is done generally in-house by that advisor's existing team. And Nicola explained that to me and said, but look, we would love to have you once you're qualified. Let me know. It'd be really great if we can keep in touch. And yeah.
The Priority Lane (25:37)
on the business. Right.
Kirra Sharrock (25:53)
look forward to having you as part of the network down the track. And that's what happened. Very soon after I was officially qualified and completed my professional year, my name was added to that list.
The Priority Lane (25:59)
Great.
Okay, great.
So your employer also has to approve this as well? Right, okay. Okay, and they were obviously on board with this.
Kirra Sharrock (26:15)
Correct. Yes.
very supportive of it. They know how important it is to me. But in addition to that, it's something that they're very happy to support as a volunteering or I guess charitable kind of endeavour for the business as well.
The Priority Lane (26:23)
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean going to a great cause as well, helping people out in probably some of the most toughest times of their lives. ⁓ So great initiative. So what's one thing that you've learned, or it could be more than one, through your work with PFAN that you've transferred across to your normal pay client worker?
Kirra Sharrock (26:53)
slowly.
Yeah, really good question. I would say, so the people that I've worked with through the Pro Bono Financial Advice Network have been people who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. So a big thing that I have learned is how challenging it is for them to
Firstly, come to terms with their own diagnosis. But second, navigate the systems that are designed to support people. ⁓ learning where the gaps are, I suppose. Because in both of those cases, those people who I've helped.
were not eligible to a Centrelink Disability Support Pension because their condition had not progressed far enough yet for them to be eligible for that. Likely would be the case in future. But I suppose I didn't have an understanding of the...
the detail in terms of medical information and diagnosis data that is required as part of a disability support pension application.
The Priority Lane (28:36)
And I guess your previous ⁓ career probably held you in good stead to have a lot of these conversations with people as well.
Kirra Sharrock (28:47)
I would say so, yes. Part of, you know, when you... Radiation therapy, you are helping people implementing treatment for cancer. That's the primary thing. Part of the degree is around having that...
the importance of, I guess, good psychosocial supports and people having that network of support of friends and family around them. ⁓
helping to point them in the right direction for appropriate services so that they can get that support if they don't already have a strong network. Or sometimes even if they do, honestly. The Cancer Council is one that provides a really good service. So having that kind of knowledge and background, I suppose, and being able to apply
when people are going through these challenging circumstances, they are not going to be able to process information properly. We all have a certain level of mental bandwidth and if your brain is too busy processing or can't process a challenging thing that you've been told about yourself and your circumstances,
The Priority Lane (30:06)
Yep.
Kirra Sharrock (30:25)
then we have limited capacity to then understand the other stuff. So a lot of it is about taking the time, giving people the space to talk through things and process in their own time and being there to have the conversations when they're ready to have them.
The Priority Lane (30:30)
idea.
Again, the soft skills coming through again. So you've been in the industry for a few years now. Had a good look around. Yeah, yeah. What's something you think in the industry that's going on today that we'll look back on in say 10, 20, 30 years time and think, don't know if we've got that right or we could have done this better.
Kirra Sharrock (30:54)
Absolutely.
Just a second.
that is such a great question, Nigel. And the main thing that comes to mind for me right now is CSLR, the compensation scheme of last resort, which is something the government put in place. It exists for a very good reason to help people have some sort of
The Priority Lane (31:21)
Okay.
Kirra Sharrock (31:46)
recourse ⁓ and ability to get some money back when things go drastically wrong if they've received poor advice.
It's a very well-intentioned scheme, but it's financial advisors who are bearing the brunt of the majority of the cost of that scheme. There's a specific levy, the CSLR levy, that every financial advice business, ⁓ every financial advisor has to pay to help support this government scheme.
The Priority Lane (32:30)
⁓ okay, so government scheme but funded by the advisors.
Kirra Sharrock (32:35)
Partially. The levies support the scheme. At the end of the day though, what that means is that the current financial advice clients of these businesses are the people who are paying the levy. Because businesses need to remain profitable and
The Priority Lane (32:59)
Yep.
Kirra Sharrock (33:00)
they need to pass on those costs. There's plenty of evidence that has shown how much financial advice fees have increased in the past few years as a result of the CSLR levy ⁓ or other factors as well, inflation being one of them, but it's been a contributor.
The Priority Lane (33:17)
Yeah. Yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (33:24)
The scheme exists for a reason. I'm not suggesting that there shouldn't be some sort of compensation scheme available, but how that scheme is funded needs to be rethought.
The Priority Lane (33:39)
So, it all would it be, I'm guessing, unless it's like product related, if it's advice, is it a bit of a quagmire to say, well no, this advice is sort of okay, and it doesn't fall under this scheme, and when this one, no, that's no good. Where do they draw that line, how is that covered?
Kirra Sharrock (34:02)
makes those assessments ⁓ or the Financial Complaints Authority. ⁓ So, you know, people have to make a complaint and then their advice is assessed as to the circumstances of it and whether that advice was appropriate or not and whether people are entitled to any compensation via the scheme.
The Priority Lane (34:04)
they can.
Kirra Sharrock (34:27)
The tricky part is that the levies that we financial advisors are paying at the moment are funding things that were as a result of a small number of specific businesses. And there has been ability for businesses to shut down. That business no longer exists. ⁓
restart elsewhere. ⁓ It has been referred to as phoenixing. ⁓ And that new business entity, because technically it's unrelated to the old one, ⁓ there is no ability for the clients of that first business to seek compensation from the new version.
The Priority Lane (35:01)
in.
Okay, okay.
Kirra Sharrock (35:19)
And the CSLR
has had to fund a lot of compensation for clients of those businesses.
The Priority Lane (35:28)
Hmm. Okay, so basically ⁓
putting the cost of that onto advisors that are just trying to do the best they can, essentially, funding the roads.
Kirra Sharrock (35:40)
Exactly right. Exactly right.
And those advisors to keep running sustainable businesses need to increase the costs that they charge their clients as a result.
The Priority Lane (35:55)
Yep, yep. And then with the supply and demand that you sort of referred to earlier about the, a 50 % drop in advisor numbers, yeah, it's restricting advice to a lot of Australians.
Kirra Sharrock (36:10)
Absolutely. And because of the reduced number of advisors, that means the levy, the way that the government works out the total that is required across the pool of financial advisors for financial advisors to contribute to that scheme. Less advisors means a higher amount of that levy per advisor.
The Priority Lane (36:36)
Okay, okay, well that's, well that definitely needs to be fixed up. Let's move to something a bit more positive. Okay, so what's something in the industry that when you start it out...
Kirra Sharrock (36:43)
Yes, yes.
The Priority Lane (36:53)
you had these ideas about the industry, but now have really solidified and go, yeah, okay, I was pretty happy with the industry. Now I'm a big advocate for it. What's something that's really grown on you that you love about the industry?
Kirra Sharrock (37:09)
Gosh, you've got so many good questions. ⁓ What's something that's really grown on me? I guess...
The Priority Lane (37:12)
I do my best.
Kirra Sharrock (37:21)
Going back to that wanting advice to not be about a product focus, ⁓ something that has grown on me is the idea of investment bonds. When I was studying that,
The Priority Lane (37:26)
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Kirra Sharrock (37:37)
And in the past, working in businesses where it was a much higher proportion of retired clients. So we were dealing with a lot of superannuation pensions and sometimes SMSFs or family trusts. In those businesses, I didn't see a lot of investment bonds in practice and I didn't understand the value of them.
Now I work in a different business where we work with families, ⁓ a lot of people who are wanting to set up their children for long term financial success and potentially fund private school fees and that sort of thing. And investment bonds, I can really see the value of those as a structure for those specific purposes.
The Priority Lane (38:29)
Okay, okay great. And what's something outside of, so we've had a chat about obviously your previous career, ⁓ outside of that, what's something outside of work that actually makes you a better advisor or you believe makes you a better advisor?
Kirra Sharrock (38:49)
Yeah, look, just, that aspect of giving back just in general is something that's really important to me. ⁓ And a lot of people that meet me wouldn't realize it, but I'm actually very introverted. Speaking with, ⁓
The Priority Lane (38:56)
Thank you.
Okay.
Kirra Sharrock (39:12)
groups of people or presenting at Congress, which I did a couple of years ago, is so far out of my comfort zone, it's not funny. ⁓ But when I care enough about something, I feel like it's important to put myself out there. And also it's an opportunity for learning and growth. So I would say,
The Priority Lane (39:36)
Yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (39:39)
As an introvert, it's important for me to be really clear about where I want to spend my energy. And I need to be intentional about those choices.
opportunities to give back, whether that's in advice or ⁓ volunteering at my kids school. It takes energy, but it also gives me energy back, if that makes sense, because it's something that's so strongly aligned with my values that, yeah, it's not just about helping people.
The Priority Lane (40:09)
year.
Kirra Sharrock (40:20)
there is a weirdly selfish element to it as well of, you know, I just genuinely enjoy this. So it gives me something as well.
The Priority Lane (40:23)
Thank
Well, I mean every profession should, shouldn't it really? If you're not enjoying it, if it's not helping you grow as a person and giving you what you need, you're probably in the wrong career. yeah, yeah. And I wouldn't have picked you for an introvert. coming onto a podcast, is that something that you're comfortable with or was it a, no?
Kirra Sharrock (40:41)
Yep, that is very true.
Yeah.
No, definitely out of my comfort zone. The idea of ⁓ having zero control over who hears all of these things I've just been speaking about freaks me out. ⁓ But I also think there's value in it. If anybody hears any of what I've had to say about the pro bono financial advice network or
The Priority Lane (40:57)
really?
Yeah.
Kirra Sharrock (41:21)
how desperate our profession is for more advisors ⁓ and decides to do something or make a change about that, then that's time well spent in my opinion.
The Priority Lane (41:35)
Fantastic, well said. And just to follow up on that, since chatting with you, you've put me in contact with Nicola from the ProBerner Financial Advice and she'll be our guest next week to go into detail a bit more about the organisation and what great work it's doing. So thank you for the introduction, and yeah, we'll get more people to know about it. Now, yeah, what was it?
Kirra Sharrock (41:52)
wanted.
Excellent. That's very good news.
The Priority Lane (42:00)
Yeah,
yeah, no, she's, we had a chat. seems like a lovely person. So looking forward to that one. And yeah, I just want to make the comment that if you're out of your comfort zone at the moment doing this, wow, you must really be on fire when you're in your comfort zone. I because you're doing an incredible job at the moment.
Kirra Sharrock (42:20)
Thank you, that's very kind.
The Priority Lane (42:22)
Not at all. ⁓ You wear a lot of hats, okay, so not just in your professional life, well in your professional life, what you've got obviously your main job, you're on the FAAA committee, you also do PFAN ⁓ and then you've obviously, well you've just learned you volunteer at the school as well. How do you prioritise to ensure that you're always moving in the right direction?
Kirra Sharrock (42:50)
Yep, it's, I guess, like I touched on before, it's about making decisions that are aligned with my own values. If I want to move in the right direction, I need to check in with myself and go, is this a valuable use of my time?
Is this something that ⁓ I get joy out of doing in some way, shape or form? Is this going to benefit my personal and professional growth? ⁓ Or is it going to benefit my family in some way? And if I can't tick any of those boxes, then that might be a good reason to take it off the to-do list.
The Priority Lane (43:31)
Okay.
Okay, okay. Well that makes sense. And also I feel honored that I've ticked one of those boxes along the line somewhere. So, yes, thank you. Now, ⁓
Kirra Sharrock (43:47)
I'm
pushing myself
out of my comfort zone, Nigel. ⁓
The Priority Lane (43:54)
out of the comfort zone and
I've ticked the box somewhere, it's yes, feeling good about myself so thank you. And look what you're saying there basically from what you were saying sort of sums up what you do, what the financial advice industry is all about. know, people making value decisions, what's good for them heading in the right direction on the finance side of things. So you look after that part of their life for them.
Kirra Sharrock (43:58)
Mm-hmm.
Absolutely. Yep,
I stumbled into this career, didn't know what it was, didn't know what I was getting into the first day I walked in the door of that ⁓ small business in Deakin, a suburb here in Canberra. ⁓ But it turned out to be the perfect fit for me.
The Priority Lane (44:37)
Well, it
sounds like it and I tell you what your client should be very proud to have you as their advisor Now just to finish up with Every superhero has an origin story. Okay, so story explains what they do and why they are who they are What's the moment that? Made you decide giving back which as we've heard all the way through the podcast giving back is central to what you do
Kirra Sharrock (44:44)
Thank you.
The Priority Lane (45:06)
Yeah, what made you decide that that had to be part of your career? So not just I'd like to give back, but no, it's essential that I give back.
Kirra Sharrock (45:15)
I don't think there was any single moment that I could pin down for that. I think it's inherently part of who I am. But I would say that my mum is a big inspiration for me on that. She, when I was a kid, worked tirelessly, volunteered her time for
The Priority Lane (45:33)
you
Kirra Sharrock (45:44)
anything that she could get involved in around sport that my sisters and I were involved in. She ran the school canteen at the primary school that I went to for ⁓ eight years and the first few years of that were in a pure volunteer capacity. So she would turn up there every single day and
The Priority Lane (46:11)
Every day,
wow.
Kirra Sharrock (46:12)
Yep,
every morning she would turn up to the canteen. They would have a roster of volunteer staff and different people that would be rostered on each day. But my mum was there to open every single morning. And, you know, we would go to school and we would sit in the canteen on the floor doing whatever until it was time to actually start the school day.
The Priority Lane (46:23)
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Kirra Sharrock (46:42)
because she had to be there early to get everything organised and prepped for the lunches that were going to be made for that day. ⁓ And I guess that, I don't know, I obviously take after her. That was an inspiration to me and also just, I grew up with it. So it's always been there for me.
The Priority Lane (47:09)
Well that's great. Look Kirra, our time's up I'm afraid. It's been fantastic having you on the podcast. Thank you very much for coming on.
Kirra Sharrock (47:21)
Thank you, Nigel.
The Priority Lane (47:22)
no problems at all. It's been a pleasure having you on. And I look forward to speaking with Nicholas. So thank you very much for the introduction and we'll continue the discussion about the Pro Bono Financial Advice Network on the next episode. So thank you very much for coming on board.
Kirra Sharrock (47:40)
No worries.
I look forward to listening to it.
The Priority Lane (47:44)
Yes,
yes, yes, it'll be available. It'll be available within 24 hours, I'd say. So thank you very much. Thank you, everyone, for listening, and we'll see you next time on the podcast.
Kirra Sharrock (47:55)
Thanks, Nigel.