Financial Advisors. Simply put, these are people who are equipped with knowledge and expertise to help you plan out your financial resources. You’ll learn how to spend, save and invest wisely if you seek assistance from them or if you become one yourself. It’s a ticket to a worry-free future and the attainment of all your dreams.
One does not become a financial advisor overnight. Even though different states have their regulations with regards to financial advisors and firms, they still have a common denominator which will be discussed in this article. For now, our focus will on the Lone Star State – Texas.
The ten most trusted financial advisors firm in Texas is featured in this article of SmartAsset. If you’re looking to start your journey as a financial advisor yourself or if you wonder how good your budget allotment is skills are, definitely they are more than willing to help you out.
What does it mean to become a financial advisor?
Financial advisors provide guidance and assistance to people when it comes to decision making involving money and financial resources. Aside from these, some of what they do includes investment management, tax planning, and estate planning. How cool is that? Not only will they make sure that you are financially secured in the future, but they’ll also make sure that your assets and liabilities are all up-to-date.
A combination of proper education, numerous credentials, and great experiences could make or break a person’s career when venturing into the finance sector.
How do you become a financial advisor?
Educational Requirement
It is important that if you’re going to venture into this field, you have the proper background. Some degrees that one can take are but not limited to:
- Finance
- Accounting
- Economics
- Business
- Mathematics
You must acquire a degree that prepares you well as the educational background of financial advisors is readily available to the public through the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database.
Professional Requirement
Aside from getting the right background, another way to prove your credibility as a financial advisor is by undergoing professional certifications. You may choose your specialty and designation as any of the following:
- Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC)
- Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)
- Certified Fund Specialist (CFS)
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
- Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC)
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
There are, of course, requirements before taking the certifications for these which include either the proper educational background or an acceptable level of experience in the industry.
According to the CFP Board, 86% of consumers prefer an advisor who has passed a certification exam and rigorous education program.
Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
CFP professionals take a holistic, personalized approach to bring all the pieces of your financial life together. They provide a customer-centric approach in executing their work and representing their profession. In becoming part of the CFP professionals, they have vowed to act as an authority when providing financial advice to a client.
Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)
Personal Financial Specialist is a combination of the accounting and finance field in which you are both a certified public accountant (CPA) and a financial advisor.
To become a PFS, you need to be a CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It is also required to have at least 75 hours of personal financial planning education to qualify, as well as either 3,000 hours of full-time business experience or 2 years of teaching experience in personal financial planning.
For CPAs who already passed the CFP Certification, they do not need the PFS Exam to qualify.
Certified Fund Specialist
Certified Fund Specialists (CFS) are financial advisors who specialize in Mutual Funds. They are being regulated and certified by the Institute of Business and Finance (IBF) and you’ll be required to have either a bachelor’s degree or 2000 hours of experience working in the finance industry just to qualify for the course and its exam. After this, you have a year to complete the course at your own pace.
If you won’t have the resources or the time to take any of the above-mentioned certifications, you would be required to take the Series 65, Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination OR the Series 7, General Securities Representative Examination (requires FINRA-member firm sponsorship) and the Series 66, Uniform Combined State Law Examination.
How much can you make?
According to Indeed, a financial advisor can make an average of $55,000.00 per year in the industry. That’s just the basic salary and if we’re going to add the commission and other allowances that can fall somewhere around $24,000.00, it’s the reason why a lot of people are beginning to venture this opportunity.
Again, the road to becoming an established financial advisor is no joke. It takes guts, commitment, time and money (of course) to start your career. It’s a tall order. But imagine a person coming up to you and thanking you for the breath of life that you gave them. Sounds good right?
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