What It’s Like to Work as a Financial Planner

Financial planners work with clients to help them set and pursue financial goals. You may consider becoming a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) if you’d like to help individuals, families or business owners develop and implement financial plans. What does a financial planner job actually involve? Let’s consider what it means to be a financial planner and what they do.

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What Is a Financial Planner?

Financial planners are professionals who help their clients create financial strategies for both the short and longterm. A financial planner may hold a specific professional credential, such as the CFP® mark or designation as a chartered financial analyst (CFA).

A financial planner typically relies on a holistic strategy to help clients achieve their goals. That strategy can include budgeting and saving, debt management, retirement planning and tax or insurance planning. Financial planners consider the entirety of their client’s financial situation to propose solutions for reaching their goals.

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Financial Planner vs. Financial Advisor

The terms financial planner and financial advisor are often used interchangeably but they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Both are used to refer to professionals who offer financial advice to clients, but they can perform their duties differently. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of financial planners vs. financial advisors:

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Financial Planner Job Duties

What does a day in the life of a financial planner look like? It can depend on whether you’re already certified as a financial planner or if you’re still working toward certification. Here’s an example of what a financial planner’s daily routine might include:

Prospecting

If you’re working on growing your business, you may spend a sizable chunk of each day generating new leads. You might do that by cold calling or emailing, reaching out to current clients to ask for referrals or drafting direct mail marketing campaigns. Seminars and lunch-and-learn events afford additional opportunities to connect with prospects, while sharing your expertise and knowledge.

Client Metings

Of course, being a financial planner means meeting with clients or at a minimum, checking in on them with phone calls and emails. You may schedule in-person meetings with clients three days a week and reserve one day for virtual meetings, leaving the fifth day free to handle administrative and back-end tasks. Creating meeting agendas can help you stay on task so that you and your client make the most of the time you have together.

Marketing

Marketing is a little different from prospecting since it usually involves a distinct set of activities. For example, your marketing plan might include creating content for social media, writing blog posts or being a guest on a financial planning podcast. You may work on your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) or flesh out your Google Business profile to increase your visibility in local searches. Some financial planners also invest in building digital ad campaigns to promote their brand.

Networking

Networking is important for growing your financial planning business and you might spend part of your day emailing contacts or attending networking events. These types of activities can help you cultivate centers of influence, which may become an important source of referrals for your business. You could also include PR outreach or community outreach here.

Administrative Tasks

If you’re running your financial planning business solo or with a limited staff, you may spend part of your day handling back-office duties such as replying to emails, organizing new client onboarding paperwork or handling accounting. Outsourcing to a paraplanner or back-office services company can save you time so you can focus on growth activities for your business.

Professional Development

You may need to block off some time in your day for study if you’re preparing for the CFP® exam, another professional credential or a securities license. The CFP Board recommends at least 250 hours of study to help prepare for the exam. If you already hold a professional credential, part of your day or week may be devoted to completing continuing education (CE) requirements to retain your designation.

How to Find a Financial Planner Job and Get Hired

There are several ways to find financial planning jobs, whether you’re just getting started in your career or changing employers. Here are five common resources to find a job as a financial planner:

• CFP Board Career Center: The CFP Board’s Career Center features financial planner job listings. You can filter jobs by role, location, salary range, experience level or employer type.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn can be a great option for finding a financial planning job. You may find job opportunities through people in your network or by browsing the Jobs board. You can also indicate in your profile whether you’re open to receiving job offers or invitations to apply.
• Online job boards: Online job boards are another place you might look for in-house or remote financial planning job openings. Some of the most frequently used job boards include Indeed.com, Monster.com and Simply Hired. Simply Paraplanner features listings for remote and virtual or remote financial planning jobs.
• Financial planning firm websites: If there’s a particular company you’re interested in working for, you might check its website for job openings. They might be listed on a Careers page where you can view details of the role and learn how to apply.
• Word of mouth: Your network is another source you might tap for leads on a financial planning job. Someone in your network may know of an opportunity that fits your background and be willing to provide a referral.

Finding a job opening for financial planners is the first step; applying for it is where the real challenge may begin. The financial services industry is competitive, so you’ll need to make a great impression.

Read through the job listing thoroughly to understand what the hiring firm is looking for. The goal is to see how well your experience and education line up. Remember, though, that you don’t need to be a 100% match to apply if you believe that you might be suited for the role.

Polish your resume, highlighting your previous experience if you have it. If you’ve only recently graduated, you may need to highlight other skills or achievements to wow hiring managers. The goal is to find the points that you can use to sell yourself, and then play them up as much as possible.

If you’re selected for an interview, learn as much as possible about the company beforehand. You want to show that you’re knowledgeable and know how to take the initiative, as well as enthusiastic about working there should you be hired.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Bottom Line

If you’re truly passionate about helping people figure out their finances, then a career in financial planning might be right for you. Learning more about what the job involves can help you determine whether it’s a good fit for what you want to achieve professionally.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

• SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
• If you’re launching a new financial planning business, you’ll need a solid strategy for marketing and promotion. Some of the ways you might market yourself as a financial planner include building a following on social media, setting up a professional website and starting an email newsletter. You might also consider investing money in digital ads or doing PR outreach to establish your credibility as a financial planning expert.

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