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Personal Financial Advisors
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. May also buy and sell financial assets for clients.
Also Known As:
Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
Financial Advisor
Financial Consultant
Financial Counselor
Financial Life Planner
Financial Planner
Investment Advisor
Portfolio Manager
Wealth Advisor
Wealth Manager
Wages
Annual wages for Personal Financial Advisors in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
357,200
10% Change From 2024
Explore Personal Financial Advisors video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Interview clients to determine their current income, expenses, insurance coverage, tax status, financial objectives, risk tolerance, or other information needed to develop a financial plan.
- Recruit and maintain client bases.
- Investigate available investment opportunities to determine compatibility with client financial plans.
- Recommend to clients strategies in cash management, insurance coverage, investment planning, or other areas to help them achieve their financial goals.
- Review clients' accounts and plans regularly to determine whether life changes, economic changes, environmental concerns, or financial performance indicate a need for plan reassessment.
- Inform clients about tax benefits, government rebates, or other financial benefits of alternative-fuel vehicle purchases or energy-efficient home construction, improvements, or remodeling.
- Manage client portfolios, keeping client plans up-to-date.
- Answer clients' questions about the purposes and details of financial plans and strategies.
- Prepare or interpret for clients information, such as investment performance reports, financial document summaries, or income projections.
- Meet with clients' other advisors, such as attorneys, accountants, trust officers, or investment bankers, to fully understand clients' financial goals and circumstances.
- Open accounts for clients, and disburse funds from accounts to creditors as agent for clients.
- Monitor financial market trends to ensure that client plans are responsive.
- Explain to clients the personal financial advisor's responsibilities and the types of services to be provided.
- Conduct seminars or workshops on financial planning topics, such as retirement planning, estate planning, or the evaluation of severance packages.
- Devise debt liquidation plans that include payoff priorities and timelines.
- 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.
- Implement financial planning recommendations, or refer clients to someone who can assist them with plan implementation.
- Guide clients in the gathering of information, such as bank account records, income tax returns, life and disability insurance records, pension plans, or wills.
- Analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives.
- Contact clients periodically to determine any changes in their financial status.
- Prepare or interpret for clients information, such as investment performance reports, financial document summaries, or income projections.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")