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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
2033 Projected Employment
375,900
17% Change From 2023
Explore Personal Financial Advisors video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Recommend environmentally responsible investments, such as cleantech, alternative energy, or conservation technologies, companies, or funds.
- Prepare or interpret for clients information, such as investment performance reports, financial document summaries, or income projections.
- Devise debt liquidation plans that include payoff priorities and timelines.
- Explain to clients the personal financial advisor's responsibilities and the types of services to be provided.
- Guide clients in the gathering of information, such as bank account records, income tax returns, life and disability insurance records, pension plans, or wills.
- Manage client portfolios, keeping client plans up-to-date.
- Recommend to clients strategies in cash management, insurance coverage, investment planning, or other areas to help them achieve their financial goals.
- Monitor financial market trends to ensure that client plans are responsive.
- Implement financial planning recommendations, or refer clients to someone who can assist them with plan implementation.
- Inform clients about tax benefits, government rebates, or other financial benefits of alternative-fuel vehicle purchases or energy-efficient home construction, improvements, or remodeling.
- Prepare or interpret for clients information, such as investment performance reports, financial document summaries, or income projections.
- Analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives.
- 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.
- Investigate available investment opportunities to determine compatibility with client financial plans.
- Recommend financial products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or insurance.
- Meet with clients' other advisors, such as attorneys, accountants, trust officers, or investment bankers, to fully understand clients' financial goals and circumstances.
- Answer clients' questions about the purposes and details of financial plans and strategies.
- Review clients' accounts and plans regularly to determine whether life changes, economic changes, environmental concerns, or financial performance indicate a need for plan reassessment.
- Open accounts for clients, and disburse funds from accounts to creditors as agent for clients.
- Conduct seminars or workshops on financial planning topics, such as retirement planning, estate planning, or the evaluation of severance packages.
- Recruit and maintain client bases.
- Contact clients periodically to determine any changes in their financial status.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- 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.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- 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.
- 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.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- 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.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- 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.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- 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.
- 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.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
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")