Love Island returned to our screens this week, providing a dose of escapism from the cold winter and unreliable trains most of us are grappling with. Aside from this, there may appear to be little relevant to the wealth management industry.

However, two contestants in particular caught my eye this year – Ron Hall and David Salako. This has nothing to do with how they appear on the show, but all to do with their occupations. Ron describes himself as a financial adviser, while David calls himself a money adviser.

The pair are not the first contestants to be relevant to the wealth management sector. Last season, Jay Younger – an investment analyst at Aubrey Capital Management – appeared on the show. Following his appearance, he has since returned to his job while maintaining his significant social media presence.

Does this matter?

Countless pieces of research and statistics show the profile of the average adviser is a white man aged between 55 and 60. The adviser population is also diminishing while demand increases as more and more advisers reach retirement age.

All three of these individuals on Love Island may not do much to change the gender makeup of advisers, although a female contestant - Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown – also said she used to be a paraplanner.

They do still challenge the stereotypical image of advisers. They are younger, more diverse – both in terms of ethnicity and disabilities. And they certainly look a little different to what most people think advisers look like.

However, what is most important, is they are creating more awareness about the profession and a whole new audience is becoming aware of financial advice.

Unless they are very wealthy, many young people are not even aware of what advisers do. Yes, Love Island does not go into the intricacies of regulation, cash flow modelling and investment strategies. But, it might just sow a seed in viewers’ minds and they may be interested in finding out more.

Advisers are appearing alongside the semi-professional footballers, social media influencers and models we have all become used to seeing on the show.

Presenting the profession in this light may encourage more young people to at least consider advice as a career, in turn helping create a more diverse and dynamic workforce which better represents those in need of advice.

Who knows, perhaps Love Island could prove part of the answer to the advice gap…