How to become a Financial Advisor – The complete guide

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A financial advisor assists clients in being prudent while handling money to meet their financial goals.

Financial advisor’s nature of work:

Financial advisors work with individuals or organizations. They interact with them to understand their financial goals and current investment strategies, assess their financial situation, and provide necessary recommendations to achieve their goals. They address their queries and concerns and handle their overall financial portfolio. BLS states the financial advisor’s duties involve the following:

• Meet clients to get to know their financial goals and explain the types of financial services you provide
• Educate your clients and answer their queries about investment options and potential risks.
• Recommend investments and financial planning solutions for clients, individuals, and organizations.
• Assist clients plan for their retirement
• Monitor customer accounts and make necessary changes to improve performance 

As per BLS reports, the 2021 median annual salary for an experienced personal financial advisor was $94,170, forecasting a 15% increase in jobs. When it comes to becoming a financial advisor, then follow these steps to get yourself prepped for a successful career:

1) Evaluate your skills: 

The first step before you take the plunge is to prepare a checklist. Take stock of your existing skillets and add the skills required for the role. 

Let’s explore some of the critical skills crucial for financial advisors:

Financial skills:

 BLS reports state that the following skills are vital to excel in your advisor roles:

• Research and recommend investments for clients, both individuals, and organizations.
• Offer financial planning solutions for education or retirement and tax advice.
• Develop short-term and long-term financial goals to fulfill client objectives; buy and sell financial instruments like stocks, bonds, insurance, etc.

It will be great if you have the mastery to spend, save and invest money intrinsically. There is nothing to fret about even if you don’t have these skills, as pursuing a bachelor of science in Finance and Accounting will help you develop these skills.

Interpersonal skills: 

In addition to the technical know-how, you should possess interpersonal skills as you need to assist clients in dealing with their finances and provide solutions to their financial queries. To be effective, you should build trust and long-lasting relationships by connecting with them. Patience is another essential skill because clients initially come up with different views and opinions before they implement your solutions. So being confident with your advice and practicing patience is crucial in the field.

Entrepreneurial skills: 

Whether you are building a start-up or working for big firms, you need to forecast, convey strategies, and sell your vision for the best way to optimize finances for your potential clients. You should be able to convince them to trust your mastery of finance and make them invest based on your strategies. Entrepreneurial and communication skills are the most important skills you should possess as an advisor.

Empathy:

To taste success as a financial advisor, you should be able to connect and understand people, their motivations, anxieties, and desires, in addition, to understanding numbers. Understanding your client’s perspective, outlook, qualities, and ability to cope with risk enables you to support them and foster a long-lasting relationship. Your ability to understand will help you provide appropriate solutions to meet their needs, assist them in handling finances and making the right decisions and deal with them when they are stressed, concerned, or excited. Your role will involve working with customers from different economic levels, financial literacy, etc.

Ability to think big:

Finance roles often handle large data volumes, and it would be best if you could think of the big-picture rather than focus on small details, which are insignificant to growth. You need to focus on the main drivers and aspects that enable you to flourish.

2) Pursue finance and accounting program:

Texila American University offers the best bachelor’s program in finance and accounting. It provides a strong foundation with the necessary skills and expertise to become industry-ready.

3) Acquire knowledge by working in finance:

New hires learn on the job and work with established advisors to gain necessary insights on performing their job duties and building a network of clients.

4) Certifications in finance:

Learning is a continuous process for financial advisors. Depending on your interest, you can pursue series 7, certified financial planner, series 66, or series 63 certifications. Relevant training, work experience, and sponsorships will qualify you for taking up these certification programs.

Let’s look at the top certification programs for financial advisors:

Ø Series 7 license allows finance professionals to sell securities. Passing the Securities Industry Essentials exam qualifies you for the General Securities Registered Representative Exam (GSRE), which covers financial industry regulations, client communications, the types of securities, and associated risks.

Ø Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professionals should possess a bachelor’s degree and clear the CFP certification exam, with considerable experience in financial planning and adhere to the CFP Board Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and the Financial Planning Practice Standards.

Ø Series 66 certification allows finance professionals to sell stocks, bonds, and investments as securities agents and should clear the GSRE exam to be eligible to take up the series 66 certification. It covers regulations, client relations, investment vehicles, and economic factors.

The financial advisor role offers the following benefits:

• The work can be challenging as you devise strategies to meet your client’s financial goals.
• It enables you to build trust and long-lasting relationships with your customers and can be a rewarding experience.

Challenges in the field:

• The general public presumes that financial advisors only aim at selling their products for a commission to make money. It’s mainly because many of them have negative experiences with commission-based salespeople.
• Financial advisors are finding ways to provide value-added services beyond the services offered by personal finance apps. Many people feel skeptical due to the 2008 economic crisis and the feeling that financial advisors are inaccessible or not updated on emerging trends. All these factors led people to use mobile apps to plan financial growth.
• Most financial planners are above 55 years, increasing the need for young advisors with a comprehensive approach that covers all aspects of financial well-being. 

Studying a bachelor of science in Finance and Accounting with Texila enables you to gain a broader perspective and meet the increasing demand for young minds in the field. With a holistic approach, it lays the perfect foundation for your financial advisor role, where you can help people manage their finances with appropriate solutions.

Skills required for financial advisors:

Financial advising is about building a trusting and productive relationship with clients and requires technical acumen, software fluency, and interpersonal skills. Technical skills include:

• Wealth management
• Customer service
• Sales
• Securities
• Client prospecting
• Investment strategy
• Business development
• Retirement planning
• Client base retention
• Budgeting

The bachelor of science in Finance and Accounting program with TAU enables you to gain deep insights in: 

• Management functions, business processes, emerging technologies, IT management techniques, and best practices for effective resource management
• Exposure to business law and global business environment, international finance management, and project & infrastructure finance
• Exposure to entrepreneurship, mergers, and acquisitions models 
• Gain knowledge in security analysis, portfolio management, cost management, accounting principles, financial risk, and investment management policies
• Exposure to research methods and statistics essential for business research

Eligibility for finance and accounting program:

4-year program:

• Grade 12 certificate / GCE with 5 Credits or better in any five subjects

2-year program:

• 3-year diploma in relevant specialty from an accredited university (or) 
• 2-year diploma in a relevant specialty from an accredited university with three years of work experience (or)
• Certificate (6 months) + diploma (1.5 Years) in relevant specialty from an accredited university with three years in management roles 

Key Takeaways:

Financial advisor roles can be challenging and require excellent communication skills, critical thinking, digital fluency, and the competence to work with diverse people, in addition to the technical know-how in portfolio management and financial planning.

You can start your career off right with TAU’s bachelor of science in finance and accounting. Finance offers several rewarding opportunities for the numerically inclined. It prepares you with the relevant skills to be industry-ready and become competitive.