Caleb Brown, MBA, CFP®

Finding your Path will teach you everything you need to know to transition from financial planning student to professional so you can become the financial planner you were destined to be.

From understanding the various channels of entry, different firm structures, and career paths available to how to properly vet hiring firms, negotiate compensation, pass your licensing exams, and develop the skills you need to excel, Finding your Path: The Roadmap from Student to Successful Financial… Show more

Finding your Path will teach you everything you need to know to transition from financial planning student to professional so you can become the financial planner you were destined to be.

From understanding the various channels of entry, different firm structures, and career paths available to how to properly vet hiring firms, negotiate compensation, pass your licensing exams, and develop the skills you need to excel, Finding your Path: The Roadmap from Student to Successful Financial Planner is a practical guide packed with resources, examples, ready to use scripts, and tips so you can stand out from the crowd and secure your dream job to enjoy massive success over the course of your career in financial planning. Show less

This new resource assists financial planning firm owners in multiple aspects from determining your hiring needs, to crafting an effective job description, identifying and vetting top talent, to making the right compensation offer, this straightforward guide provides practical wisdom and real-world experience to help you effectively execute the hiring process for your first (or next) financial planning hire in your growing advisory firm.

Setting goals is an important part of any client's financial plan, but the benefits aren't unique to clients. They’re equally relevant for an advisor's own career development plan.

Our recruiting firm reviews the job descriptions and career tracks of hundreds of firms each year, and one thing that continuously stands out is how often firms emphasize tenure as the primary driver for upward mobility.

When contemplating staffing decisions for your firm, things such as timing, interest, philosophy, expectations, compensation, personality and skill set all have to align for you to make a good hire.

In my last article, I shared the stories of two graduates from financial planning programs who chose to pursue a different career path. These stories shed light on the current dearth of talent in the profession. The question to be considered is what we should be doing now to make financial planning a career of choice.

Last month, I visited four CFP Board-registered programs across three states. I was scheduled to visit a fifth school as well, but the administration was not keen on the idea of their students joining an RIA, preferring banks and insurance companies.

Excerpt: "Personality assessment tools don't guarantee a right-fit hire, but they do increase the likelihood of a good fit as part of a thorough recruiting process."

Excerpt: "Lots of energetic and passionate new planners around the country will start their careers this summer after graduation or the July CFP certification exam."

Excerpt: "As part of our recruiting process, we periodically check in with candidates to gauge how they are acclimating to their new position."

Excerpt: "Many well-intentioned firm owners cut corners in the hiring process. Big mistake."

Excerpt:"Many financial planning firms have found hiring a resident financial planner alleviates some of their pain points and assists with growth."

Excerpt: "Earlier this spring, I visited four CFP Board-registered university programs to ensure we are sourcing the best available talent for the firms we represent. I was scheduled to visit a fifth school as well, but the talent pool was so severely picked over I had to cancel my visit."

Excerpt: "You’re a bright, energetic, and well-educated recent grad from a financial planning degree program, but you lack experience working with clients. You’re ready to work, but finding a firm owner to “take a chance” on you proves difficult—firm owners prefer you have some experience. As a result, you and many young grads who would have grown into wonderful planners can’t find jobs that are the “right fit,” and you end up leaving the financial planning profession."

Excerpt: "As financial planning firms grow, eventually they need to hire a new planner. The question firm owners face is this: hire someone new to the industry, or hire an advisor who's more experienced?"

Excerpt: "It has been interesting to watch the change in perspective as my next-gen peers who once described senior management in their firms as “incapable” now struggle with the same issues when they become responsible for managing people."

Excerpt: "In my conversations with next-gen advisors throughout the country, many express frustration that they are stuck in an associate advisor role when their desire is to move into a full lead advisor role."

Excerpt: "Financial planning firms are constantly under pressure to do more with less to keep up with client demands, industry developments, and economic circumstances. This requires top performance from everyone in the firm especially new hires, but this can be difficult due to the combination of unclear expectations, lack of structured training, and limited formal mentoring."

Excerpt: "The year is 2032. Three hundred seventy-five million people live in the United States. Personal savings rates are at an all-time high, and personal bankruptcy filings are at an all-time low. My name is Millennial, and I am a CFP® practitioner. Let me tell you how I became a planner at an early age."

Excerpt: "It is estimated that by the year 2020,Generation Y (born 1978-2000) will make up 50% of the workforce or approximately 75 million workers. Undoubtedly you have, at some point, been exposed to someone from Gen Y."

Excerpt: "When firm owners make the decision to invest in their business by hiring financial advisers, there is risk in that investment just as with any other decision."

Excerpt: "It may not feel like it, but we have made some great strides as an industry over the last few years."

Excerpt: "New college graduates and career changers who dream of becoming financial planners must first climb what is arguably the biggest hurdle of their fledgling career—obtaining employment within the industry. Securing a first job is certainly a chore no matter what industry is chosen, but with financial planning’s infancy, lack of a professional career track, and even a dearth of internal career tracks, the challenge for new planners is monumental."

Excerpt: "The current economic conditions have caused many financial planning firm owners to re-evaluate their advice model, add services and even improve their planning skills to set themselves apart. New graduates from financial planning programs are not immune to this downturn and should follow the firm owner's lead. Since jobs are not as plentiful as they once were, graduating students need to focus on augmenting their skills to improve their chances for securing a position and being… Show more

Excerpt: "The current economic conditions have caused many financial planning firm owners to re-evaluate their advice model, add services and even improve their planning skills to set themselves apart. New graduates from financial planning programs are not immune to this downturn and should follow the firm owner's lead. Since jobs are not as plentiful as they once were, graduating students need to focus on augmenting their skills to improve their chances for securing a position and being successful in the financial planning industry." Show less

Excerpt: "Newer planners question the lack of jobs and seem unsure about why they haven't been snatched up yet. The established practitioners wonder where the new talent is and they are frustrated with the seeming shortage of quality applicants."