All About Personal Financial Advisors
Job Description: Advise clients on financial plans using knowledge of tax and investment strategies, securities, insurance, pension plans, and real estate. Duties include assessing clients’ assets, liabilities, cash flow, insurance coverage, tax status, and financial objectives.
List of Personal Financial Advisor Job Duties
- Recruit and maintain client bases.
- Recommend environmentally responsible investments, such as cleantech, alternative energy, or conservation technologies, companies, or funds.
- Recommend financial products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or insurance.
- Open accounts for clients and disburse funds from accounts to creditors as agent for clients.
- Guide clients in the gathering of information, such as bank account records, income tax returns, life and disability insurance records, pension plans, or wills.
- Review clients’ accounts and plans regularly to determine whether life changes, economic changes, environmental concerns, or financial performance indicate a need for plan reassessment.
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Things a Personal Financial Advisor Should Know How to Do
Personal Financial Advisors state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Related Job Titles
- Account Executive
- Pension Consultant
- Investment Consultant
- Strategist
- Financial Solutions Advisor
Job Opportunities for Personal Financial Advisors
In the United States, there were 271,900 jobs for Personal Financial Advisor in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 14.9% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 40,400 new jobs for Personal Financial Advisor by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 25,500 job openings in this field each year.
The states with the most job growth for Personal Financial Advisor are Colorado, Delaware, and Arizona. Watch out if you plan on working in Maine, New Jersey, or Massachusetts. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Personal Financial Advisor Average Salary
Personal Financial Advisors make between $41,590 and $208,000 a year.
Personal Financial Advisors who work in New York, District of Columbia, or New Jersey, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Personal Financial Advisors in different U.S. states.
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $117,350 |
| Alaska | $93,530 |
| Arizona | $107,160 |
| Arkansas | $96,600 |
| California | $128,730 |
| Colorado | $103,540 |
| Connecticut | $131,280 |
| Delaware | $126,880 |
| District of Columbia | $158,460 |
| Florida | $122,840 |
| Georgia | $121,420 |
| Hawaii | $81,700 |
| Idaho | $104,640 |
| Illinois | $126,640 |
| Indiana | $111,330 |
| Iowa | $105,540 |
| Kansas | $93,720 |
| Kentucky | $85,470 |
| Louisiana | $92,300 |
| Maine | $135,170 |
| Maryland | $110,080 |
| Massachusetts | $128,140 |
| Michigan | $102,010 |
| Minnesota | $99,490 |
| Mississippi | $102,820 |
| Missouri | $85,830 |
| Montana | $102,730 |
| Nebraska | $85,890 |
| Nevada | $108,540 |
| New Hampshire | $105,010 |
| New Jersey | $127,150 |
| New Mexico | $133,500 |
| New York | $164,260 |
| North Carolina | $134,860 |
| North Dakota | $100,360 |
| Ohio | $102,300 |
| Oklahoma | $74,340 |
| Oregon | $117,730 |
| Pennsylvania | $109,250 |
| Rhode Island | $112,430 |
| South Carolina | $89,830 |
| South Dakota | $77,490 |
| Tennessee | $89,960 |
| Texas | $110,820 |
| Utah | $88,440 |
| Vermont | $85,150 |
| Virginia | $121,250 |
| Washington | $109,870 |
| West Virginia | $95,210 |
| Wisconsin | $115,820 |
| Wyoming | $135,340 |
What Tools do Personal Financial Advisors Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Personal Financial Advisors:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Web browser software
- Microsoft Access
- Structured query language SQL
- Microsoft Dynamics
- FileMaker Pro
- Salesforce software
- Oracle E-Business Suite Financials
- Oracle Hyperion
- Sage 50 Accounting
- IBM Domino
- Oracle PeopleSoft Financials
- Fund accounting software
- IBM Lotus 1-2-3
- Swift
- Practice management software PMS
- Intuit Quicken
How to Become a Personal Financial Advisor
Learn what Personal Financial Advisor education requirements there are.
How Long Does it Take to Become a Personal Financial Advisor?
Where do Personal Financial Advisors Work?
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Related Careers
Those interested in being a Personal Financial Advisor may also be interested in:
Career changers with experience as a Personal Financial Advisor sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
Image Credit: Dave Dugdale via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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