Thinking about becoming a Financial Planner? Here's my advice.

I received three emails just this week from people interested in becoming Financial Planners. Most of them have been women (which is awesome since we're still only 25% of all CFPs) and many of them have a desire to help the underserved, the non-rich, their peers. They want to have a positive impact and a fulfilling career, they know how important finances are, and some of them want a more flexible work schedule. They want to know how I got to where I am and what I recommend for them. Here's a copy of the email I sent to one of them earlier today who was looking for a more meaningful career, more flexibility, and wanted to help middle income families...

Hi there!

I'm so excited to hear that you're interested in becoming a CFP! That's wonderful! I have found my career to be both incredibly meaningful and flexible. ;) 

Here's a quick snapshot of my fifteen year career... I started with Ameriprise Financial (then American Express) as an employee Financial Advisor, but quickly realized I wanted to be mentored by someone who had gone before me, whom I respected and could learn from - not just the financial stuff but the people side of money as well. I worked for Neal Littlejohn in a franchise of an Ameriprise practice for seven years doing just that. I started there as a paraplanner, then associate, then planner and was on a partnership track. I learned the ins and outs of asset management, budgeting, insurance products, REITs, real financial planning, estate planning, navigating trade-off decisions, etc., but I also learned about what clients wanted and needed, how to take care of them, how to listen, how to use the knowledge I was gaining to help them live the life they wanted rather than fitting their finances into my paradigm of good financial planning. I am so grateful for that season of my career.

And then my husband Ryan and I (along with our 7 month old Charlie) unexpectedly moved 150 miles north so my husband could pursue a role with Sonos. I left the practice and started working for a little startup called LearnVest. I worked part-time for LearnVest for three and a half years and full time for two more years. I learned how to translate my client communication knowledge to others, I helped write our financial advice methodology, I worked with marketing on content and videos and webinars, I got to serve as a product subject matter expert on everything from very tactical features and fixes to broader product strategy. I'm still not sure how I got so lucky! Working for LearnVest was an incredible experience, and gave me the added skillset I needed to step out on my own and find fulfilling and flexible work as a consultant and a speaker. There's my career in a nutshell!

As for advice for you, being a CFP is a wonderful career, and there are many different avenues to pursue. It used to be that starting in financial services meant you had to sell, sell, sell and make very little in the early years, but thankfully that isn't entirely the case anymore. If I were starting my career as a CFP today, I might start by looking for a role as a Client Service Manager or Client Associate with a local firm to see how a financial planning practice works from the inside, what kinds of things financial planners do for clients, what the service model looks like, how to attract new clients, how products work, etc. You could concurrently work on becoming a Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional (FPQP) or start coursework for your CFP designation. You could grow quickly into a paraplanner (akin to a paralegal) as a stepping stone to becoming a financial planner. Here's some info on what a paraplanner does and how much it pays . It would give you great experience going through client cases and finding solutions for them. 

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that you want to help middle income families! Me too! And it's possible! That's why I love consulting with fintech companies because many of them are trying to make financial education, guidance, products and advice available to the masses. What I will tell you, though, is that serving the middle income market as a 1:1 financial planner can be tough to do profitably. Their ability to pay planning fees is limited and they often don't need commission-based products or active asset management (which are the primary ways financial planners make money). And financial planning is time intensive when you do it right. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but if that's your demographic, I'd be thinking from the start about creative ways you can do things differently than the standard planning practice (leverage technology, different service models, etc.) so that you can serve middle income families and still make a living. It's totally possible and so important, but it takes creativity to make it work as a business. That's honestly why they've been so underserved, and why I'm so passionate about the fintech space, because I want to crack that nut!!!

Okay, I'll stop there because that was A LOT but I hope it's helpful to you! Keep me posted on your progress and let me know if I can help. 

Best, Natalie