Personal Financial Advisor

What a Personal Financial Advisor Does

Personal financial advisors work with individuals to help them organize and maximize their finances. Filing taxes, setting up smart investments, making sure a person's financial situation is completely legal, picking out insurance, and advising for or against major purchases are all part of a financial advisor's job. They work with several different clients and must have a very solid understanding of current and projected rates, laws, regulations and strategies for retirement, taxes, real estate, insurance and more. Managing wealth, buying and selling stocks, and communicating with lawyers, financial examiners, the IRS and other officials are also part of a financial advisor's job description. Financial advisors may meet a few times a year or once a month with their clients, and because they are responsible for finding their own clients, they also hold seminars and travel to market their business.

How to Become a Personal Financial Advisor

If you want to become a personal financial advisor, you must first earn a bachelor's degree. Business majors can choose to specialize in finance, accounting, business policy, or economics to give them an edge and added training in understanding laws, regulations, investments, tax law and related subjects that they will need to manage as a personal advisor. Graduate degrees aren't typically required, but some form of continuing education resulting in a master's degree or a certificate in a more specialized area like financial planning or tax law can really help train an advisor and serve as a valuable marketing tool when looking for clients. And if you want to be able to sell stocks and bonds, you will need to find out which kind of state license you need to make these transactions on behalf of your clients. While you may not be able to become a financial advisor right after graduating -- it takes time to build up your business -- you can work at a securities firm, a wealth management firm, financial planning and services company -- or similar business until you gain enough experience to branch out on your own.

Career Outlook for Personal Financial Advisors

Nearly a third of all personal financial advisors are self-employed, and advisors can find work all over the country. The highest concentration of jobs are in New York, California and Florida, where population is high, many businesses have their headquarters, and where retirement communities flourish. The competition for the best jobs is high, but job growth is also projected for this industry: in fact, the BLS expects a job growth of 30% through 2018 at least. Because of an increase in the retiring population is expected, many of the personal financial advisor jobs will deal with retirement, savings and related investments. Nearly 63,000 jobs should be added through 2018, making projected employment for this feel just over 271,000. In May 2008, the BLS estimated that the median annual wage for personal financial advisors is $69,050, while the middle 50% earned between $46,390 and $119,290. Bonuses and benefits packages are common for this group of professionals, although advisors who are self-employed may find that it takes time to earn this kind of high salary.