Personal Financial Advisors

Career, Salary and Education Information

 What They Do: Personal financial advisors provide advice to help individuals manage their finances and plan for their financial future.

 Work Environment: Most personal financial advisors work in the finance and insurance industry or are self-employed. They typically work full time and may meet with clients in the evenings or on weekends.

 How to Become One: Personal financial advisors typically need a bachelor’s degree. A master’s degree and certification can improve one’s chances for advancement in the occupation.

 Salary: The median annual wage for personal financial advisors is $89,330.

 Job Outlook: Employment of personal financial advisors is projected to grow 4 percent over the next ten years, about as fast as the average for all occupations. As the population ages and life expectancies rise, demand for financial planning services should increase.

 Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of personal financial advisors with similar occupations.

Following is everything you need to know about a career as a personal financial advisor with lots of details. As a first step, take a look at some of the following jobs, which are real jobs with real employers. You will be able to see the very real job career requirements for employers who are actively hiring. The link will open in a new tab so that you can come back to this page to continue reading about the career:

Top 3 Personal Financial Advisor Jobs

• Financial Advisor - Ameriprise Financial - Los Angeles, CA

  Do you want the stability of an industry-leading organization with entrepreneurial freedom to advance based on your personal results? As a Financial Advisor with Ameriprise, you'll help shape your ...

• Financial Advisor - Telos Capital Management, Inc. - Orange, CA

  We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic FINANCIAL ADVISOR in the Orange County area with ... between professional and personal lives. We foster an inclusive environment that offers ...

• Financial Advisor - First Tech Fed Credit Union - Seattle, WA

  ... personal investment products and services, with a proven track record in production and growing ... financial advisor in the sale, consultation and delivery of personal investment products and ...

See all Personal Financial Advisor jobs

 What Personal Financial Advisors Do[About this section] [To Top]

Personal financial advisors provide advice on investments, insurance, mortgages, college savings, estate planning, taxes, and retirement to help individuals manage their finances.

Duties of Personal Financial Advisors

Personal financial advisors typically do the following:

• Meet with clients in person to discuss their financial goals
• Explain the types of financial services they provide to potential clients
• Educate clients and answer questions about investment options and potential risks
• Recommend investments to clients or select investments on their behalf
• Help clients plan for specific circumstances, such as education expenses or retirement
• Monitor clients' accounts and determine if changes are needed to improve financial performance or to accommodate life changes, such as getting married or having children
• Research investment opportunities

Personal financial advisors assess the financial needs of individuals and help them with decisions on investments (such as stocks and bonds), tax laws, and insurance. Advisors help clients plan for short- and long-term goals, such as meeting education expenses and saving for retirement through investments. They invest clients' money based on the clients' decisions. Many advisors also provide tax advice or sell insurance.

Although most planners offer advice on a wide range of topics, some specialize in areas such as retirement or risk management (evaluating how willing the investor is to take chances and adjusting investments accordingly).

Many personal financial advisors spend a lot of time marketing their services, and they meet potential clients by giving seminars or participating in business and social networking. Networking is the process of meeting and exchanging information with people, or groups of people, who have similar interests.

After financial advisors have invested funds for a client, they and the client receive regular investment reports. Advisors monitor the client's investments and usually meet with each client at least once a year to update the client on potential investments and to adjust the financial plan based on the client's circumstances or because investment options may have changed.

Many personal financial advisors are licensed to directly buy and sell financial products, such as stocks, bonds, annuities, and insurance. Depending on the agreement they have with their clients, personal financial advisors may have the client's permission to make decisions about buying and selling stocks and bonds.

Private bankers or wealth managers are personal financial advisors who work for people who have a lot of money to invest. These clients are similar to institutional investors (commonly, companies or organizations), and they approach investing differently than the general public does. Private bankers manage a collection of investments, called a portfolio, for these clients by using the resources of the bank, including teams of financial analysts, accountants, and other professionals.

 Work Environment for Personal Financial Advisors[About this section] [To Top]

Personal financial advisors hold about 263,000 jobs. The largest employers of personal financial advisors are as follows:

Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities58%Self-employed workers19%Credit intermediation and related activities13%Insurance carriers and related activities4%Management of companies and enterprises2%

Personal financial advisors typically work in offices. Some also travel to attend conferences, teach finance seminars in the evening, and attend networking events to bring in more clients.

Personal Financial Advisor Work Schedules

Most personal financial advisors work full time and some work more than 40 hours per week. They often go to meetings on evenings and weekends to meet with prospective or existing clients.

 How to Become a Personal Financial Advisor[About this section] [To Top]

Get the education you need: Find schools for Personal Financial Advisors near you!

Personal financial advisors typically need a bachelor's degree. A master's degree and certification can improve one's chances for advancement in the occupation.

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Education for Personal Financial Advisors

Personal financial advisors typically need a bachelor's degree. Although employers usually do not require personal financial advisors to have completed a specific course of study, a degree in finance, economics, accounting, business, mathematics, or law is good preparation for this occupation. Courses in investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management are also helpful. Programs in financial planning are becoming more available in colleges and universities.

Personal Financial Advisor Training

Once they are hired, personal financial advisors often enter an on-the-job training period. During this time, new advisors work under the supervision of senior advisors and learn how to perform their duties, including building a client network and developing investment portfolios. This training usually lasts for more than a year.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations for Personal Financial Advisors

Personal financial advisors who directly buy or sell stocks, bonds, or insurance policies, or who provide specific investment advice, need a combination of licenses that varies with the products they sell. In addition to being required to have those licenses, advisors in smaller firms that manage clients' investments must be registered with state regulators and those in larger firms must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Personal financial advisors who choose to sell insurance need licenses issued by state boards. Information on state licensing board requirements for registered investment advisors is available from the North American Securities Administrators Association.

Certifications can enhance a personal financial advisor's reputation and can help bring in new clients. The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards offers the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification. For this certification, advisors must have a bachelor's degree, complete at least 3 years of relevant work experience, pass an exam, and agree to adhere to a code of ethics. The CFP exam covers the general principles of financial planning, insurance planning, risk management, employee benefits planning, income taxes and retirement planning, investment and real estate planning, debt management, planning liability, emergency fund reserves, and statistical modeling.

Advancement for Personal Financial Advisors

A master's degree in an area such as finance or business administration can improve a personal financial advisor's chances of moving into a management position and attracting new clients.

Important Qualities for Personal Financial Advisors

Analytical skills. In determining an investment portfolio for a client, personal financial advisors must be able to take into account a range of information, including economic trends, regulatory changes, and the client's comfort with risky decisions.

Interpersonal skills. A major part of a personal financial advisor's job is making clients feel comfortable. Advisors must establish trust with clients and respond well to their questions and concerns.

Math skills. Personal financial advisors should be good at mathematics because they constantly work with numbers. They determine the amount invested, how that amount has grown or decreased over time, and how a portfolio is distributed among different investments.

Sales skills. To expand their base of clients, personal financial advisors must be convincing and persistent in selling their services.

Speaking skills. Personal financial advisors interact with clients every day. They must explain complex financial concepts in understandable language.

 Personal Financial Advisor Salaries[About this section] [More salary/earnings info] [To Top]

The median annual wage for personal financial advisors is $89,330. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $44,100, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $208,000.

The median annual wages for personal financial advisors in the top industries in which they work are as follows:

Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities$97,020Management of companies and enterprises$88,780Insurance carriers and related activities$76,760Credit intermediation and related activities$75,730

Personal financial advisors who work for financial services firms are often paid a salary plus bonuses. Bonuses are not included in the wage data here.

Advisors who work for financial investment firms or financial planning firms, or who are self-employed, typically earn their money by charging a percentage of the clients' assets that they manage. They also may earn money by charging an hourly fee or by getting fees on stock and insurance purchases. In addition to their fees, advisors generally get commissions for financial products that they sell.

Most personal financial advisors work full time and some work more than 40 hours per week. They often go to meetings on evenings and weekends to meet with existing clients or to try to bring in new ones.

 Job Outlook for Personal Financial Advisors[About this section] [To Top]

Employment of personal financial advisors is projected to grow 4 percent over the next ten years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

The primary driver of employment growth will be the aging population. As large numbers of baby boomers approach retirement, more are likely to seek planning advice from personal financial advisors. Also, longer lifespans will lead to longer retirement periods, further increasing demand for financial planning services.

In addition, the replacement of traditional pension plans with individual retirement accounts is expected to continue. Many people used to receive defined pension payments in retirement, but most companies no longer offer these plans. Therefore, individuals must save and invest for their own retirement, increasing the demand for personal financial advisors.

The emergence of "robo-advisors," computer programs that provide automated investment advice based on user inputs, will partially temper demand for personal financial advisors. However, the impact of this technology should be limited as consumers continue turning to human advisors for more complex and specialized investment advice over the next 10 years.

Job Prospects for Personal Financial Advisors

About 19,200 openings for personal financial advisors are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Those who obtain certification will likely have the best prospects.

Employment projections data for Personal Financial Advisors, 2019-29

Occupational TitleEmployment, 2019Projected Employment, 2029Change, 2019-29PercentNumericPersonal financial advisors263,000274,600411,600

 Careers Related to Personal Financial Advisors[About this section] [To Top]

Budget Analysts

Budget analysts help public and private institutions organize their finances. They prepare budget reports and monitor institutional spending.

Financial Analysts

Financial analysts provide guidance to businesses and individuals making investment decisions. They assess the performance of stocks, bonds, and other types of investments.

Financial Managers

Financial managers are responsible for the financial health of an organization. They produce financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.

Insurance Sales Agents

Insurance sales agents contact potential customers and sell one or more types of insurance. Insurance sales agents explain various insurance policies and help clients choose plans that suit them.

Insurance Underwriters

Insurance underwriters decide whether to provide insurance, and under what terms. They evaluate insurance applications and determine coverage amounts and premiums.

Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents

Real estate brokers and sales agents help clients buy, sell, and rent properties. Although brokers and agents do similar work, brokers are licensed to manage their own real estate businesses. Sales agents must work with a real estate broker.

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents connect buyers and sellers in financial markets. They sell securities to individuals, advise companies in search of investors, and conduct trades.

 More Personal Financial Advisor Information[About this section] [To Top]

For more information about personal financial advisors, visit

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) 

North American Securities Administrators Association 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards 

Global Academy of Finance & Management 

A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.