<p>Earlier in my teen years, I always aspired to be an investment banker in either corporate finance or M&A, and later, I always wanted to be in Sales and Trading, but being that I have health problems, I thought the stress of S&T would be too much to handle. </p>
<p>So lately, I've been considering pursuing a career as a financial planner. A financial planner is essentialy a retail broker, who provides full-service financial advice. In other words, a full-service stock broker. </p>
<p>I do have some concerns however. Here's a list of my pros and cons:</p>
<p>Pros:
stress<institutional sales and trading or I-banking,
regular hours
potential to be your own boss and work independently or start your own practice
commision based income - therefore unlimited earning potential</p>
<p>Cons:
less competition, less interaction with other employees, lack of corporate environment
commission based income - less financial security than a salary job
majority of brokers go out of business after first 4 years</p>
<p>So, is this a good career? If so, why? If not, why not? And what other business career would you recommend?</p>
<p>If your good at sales, financial planning could be a terrific career. There was one guest speaker at my finance class and one of his employees (he owns his own firm) made 26 million last year as a financial advisor (although this is definently the exception, not the rule). However, it is a fact that 97% of financial planners fail, so its a high risk-high reward kind of career.</p>
<p>The guest speaker told the class. So assuming that what he told is true, its 97%. I mean its a sales job, any sales job has a very high failure rate; 60% is too low if you ask me.</p>
<p>97% is far to high a failure rate, and I know a number of financial planners. Yes, it does involve sales and marketing. If you are not good at it and are not a people person, you will probably fail.</p>
<p>However, if you are good at it, the financial planners that I know make a LOT of money and don't have a lot of stress.</p>
<p>you dont need a degree for financial planning lol, its like selling insurance, overhyped career. Unless of course you manage families that earn more than 3 million a year</p>
<p>
[quote]
97% is far to high a failure rate, and I know a number of financial planners. Yes, it does involve sales and marketing. If you are not good at it and are not a people person, you will probably fail.
[/quote]
You have to remember that anyone could become a financial planner. 97% is pretty decent considering the fact that 9 out of 10 small business owners fail in their first 5 years in business and another 9 out of 10 fail in the next 5. That means 99% of small business owners fail in the first 10 yrs of business.</p>
<p>Well, to become a good financial planner, you should seek to get a CFP designation. Believe it or not, the best majors for financial planning is either accounting or finance. The good planners prepare yearly financial statements for their clients. The key is to give superlative service and be honest!</p>
<p>You could get an undergrad degree in accounting and get a graduate degree in financial planning,which will both meet the requirements for the CFP exam and give you a heck of a lot of knowledge in financial planning. There are only several schools that have grad programs in financial planning that are recommended by the Society of Financial Planners:</p>
<ol>
<li>Bentley College</li>
<li>Texas Tech</li>
<li>I think Georgia State</li>
<li>Univ California San Diego</li>
</ol>
<p>and a few more.</p>
<p>There are also accredited on-line masters programs through the American College of Financial Services in Bryn Mawr or the College of Financial Planning in Colorado</p>
<p>Trust me on this: a successful financial planner will make as much money as many investment bankers and can even make more! I know of one planner who personally manages over 500 million of assets. It is also a lot easier than trying to become an investment banker and is a LOT less stressful and has less hours.</p>
<p>
[quote]
do you think becoming a CPA will help much for financial planning career?
[/quote]
Yes. I think any designation that shows your competence in the fields of finance + accounting would be a plus in financial planning. At the end of the day, financial planning is marketing, so if you have something like a CPA or a CFA next to your name on your card, it builds instant credibility and people are more likely to trust you with your financial advice.</p>
<p>TaxGuy, I have some questions. Have you yourself considered a career in financial planning? The low-stress, reasonable hours, and potentially high compensation are all attractive factors for me, but I wonder if there's any excitement in this career. It sounds about as boring and monotonous as the career of a real estate agent or insurance salesman.</p>
<p>WallstreetJosh, I have met MANY financial planners as having lectured to them though my continuing education courses. </p>
<p>No, I have never considered financial planning because I don't have the patience to deal with clients or to sell one on one which is required of financial planning. I am a mass communicator. I write books and lecture to large numbers of folks. One on one communication isn't my forte.</p>
<p>If you are good at sales - yes.
If you have a good network or friends and family - yes</p>
<p>If you are going to do FP, it shouldn't be straight cold calling. My friend is a planner who has all his business done through referrals. Yes he knows a lot of people and they are mostly upper mid/middle class in the income bracket.</p>
<p>Referrals come usually after you are in the business for a while. Initially,planners need to do some cold calling/mailings and try to meet as many folks as possible. If they do a particularly good job, geting a referral shouldn't be too tough to do.</p>
<p>i interned for a financial planner, and all i did was make cold calls.
it was quite a boring experience and i don't think i'd want to become an FP in the future.</p>