Financial advisors help clients manage their money and identify and achieve their financial goals

What will I be doing all day?

Financial advisors help clients manage their money and identify and achieve their financial goals. They guide clients in all aspects of their financial portfolio, including investing, estate planning, retirement planning, and saving for other major life events, such as education or weddings.

A financial advisor’s responsibilities include:

Determining the client’s financial goals

Developing a financial plan for short and long-term savings

Overseeing the client’s portfolio and keeping track of investments

Assessing a strategy’s success and changing it as necessary

Reaching out to new clients

Some are directly involved in managing investments, buying and selling stocks and funds for their clients.

The difference between a financial advisor and a financial planner:

A financial advisor is a more generalized term for someone who helps clients achieve their financial goals via a range of strategies. A financial planner is a more specific type of financial advisor, who is qualified to help a client with strategic investing and portfolio allocation.

Do I have the personality for it?

A good financial advisor needs to have strong analytical skills, be detail-oriented, and have a good sense of numbers and finance. But, most importantly, a financial advisor needs excellent interpersonal skills: patience, empathy, the ability to truly listen and understand their clients, to communicate effectively, and provide insight to help people make decisions.

What kind of career options do I have?

There are a range of specialties within the field, most of which require additional certification, but open greater opportunities and higher earning potential.

Some examples: Financial Planner, Investment Advisor, Portfolio Manager, Broker, Wealth Manager, or Financial Coach.

What kind of training do I need?

To become a financial advisor, one should have a bachelor’s degree in a finance-related field such as accounting, business, economics, or finance.

In order to be qualified to provide investment advice to clients, one must receive state licensure, which requires passing either one or both tests (Series 63 and Series 65) administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Financial advisors often go on to obtain additional professional certification, most commonly to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). This requires a certain number of years of work experience and passing specialized exams.

What can I expect to make?

The national average salary in the US is about $102,000. This is a field with high earning potential, and most financial advisors tend to jump to six figures quickly, with the potential to earn even seven figures. The sky’s the limit!