Certified Financial Planner Job Description, Skills and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a certified financial planner. Feel free to use our certified financial planner job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a certified financial planner.
Certified Financial Planner
Certified Financial planners examine a company’s or an individual’s financial statements to identify risks, rewards, and opportunities. These qualified experts, also known as wealth management advisers, are in charge of examining financial situations, setting budgets, and providing analysis reports.
A Certified Financial Planner, also known as a Wealth Management Advisor, examines a company’s or an individual’s financial accounts for potential dangers or growth prospects. Their key responsibilities include devising strategies to assist clients in achieving their financial objectives, reviewing corporate papers such as spending, obligations, and income, and offering advice and expertise in insurance and investment planning.
While the major responsibility of a Certified Financial Planner is to devise ways for their employer’s financial goals to be met, there are various other jobs and responsibilities that must be fulfilled as well.
They are professionals with substantial financial planning expertise and training who are held to high ethical standards. They must pass the four E’s: education, examination, experience, and ethics, as well as the CFP Board’s standards. The requirement of a code of ethics ensures that they act as fiduciaries, which means that they always make decisions and recommendations that are in the best interests of their clients.
Certified Financial Planner Job Description
Below are the certified financial planner job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a certified financial planner job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
- Examining financial documents for clients, including income, expenses, and liabilities.
- Providing financial, insurance, and investment planning assistance and guidance.
- Creating financial plans and budgets for clients that are strategic in nature.
- Monitoring Clients’ requirements closely and their financial plans should be adjusted as necessary.
- Preparing reports on financial and business analysis.
- Presenting and selling financial services and goods.
- Developing long-term ties with future clients.
- Maintaining a current understanding of the most recent legislation, procedures, and financial products.
- Helping clients achieve their goals, providing planning, advice, insurance, and investment services.
- Keeping track of records and file updates with the help of a team of employees.
- Assisting insurance providers and other financial experts by acting as a first point of contact.
Qualifications
- A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a closely related subject is required.
- At least three years of experience in a similar position is required.
- The ability to examine enormous amounts of financial data while yet adhering to laws.
- Communication and presenting skills are exceptional.
- Must be able to pay close attention to detail and solve problems quickly.
- Ability to assess financial data and adhere to regulatory requirements.
- MS Office and CRM systems know-how is a must.
- Strong math skills and an eye for detail are required.
- Strong ethical principles combined with a customer-centric mindset.
- A professional license that is in good standing
Essential Skills
- Thinking analytically
Certified Financial planners can use critical thinking to adapt to changes in conditions and find a way out of challenges. A client, for example, declares a financial goal but has limited financial resources to attain it. Advisors examine a client’s financial situation and give recommendations that will result in a beneficial outcome without squandering money. Advisors utilize this skill to discern which items would be most important for a client to acquire as new products enter the market.
- Management of wealth
Certified financial advisers should know how to build and retain wealth, and they utilize this knowledge to advise customers on how to earn and manage their money. Wealth management is a type of industry expertise in which advisors are aware of which assets might generate higher returns and where they can be found on the market. They also know how to make sensible investments based on the money clients have and the wealth they wish to build.
- Communication skills
Financial advisers can work one-on-one with their clients and alter their communication style dependent on their conversation partner or the occasion using interpersonal communication. There are several sub-categories within it:
Verbal communication: Advisors use verbal communication to deliver their study findings and financial advice to their clients in a way that they can comprehend. They might speak in a more layman’s language and give straightforward guidance.
Nonverbal communication: The advisor’s body language, such as nodding and making direct eye contact with the client, might reflect their concentration on the session. Maintaining a neutral facial expression while the client expresses their demands could also be part of it.
Active listening: Active listening tactics demonstrate to the customer that the adviser is paying attention during their discussions. They could rephrase the client’s statement or say something like “I see” and “I understand.”
- Ability to analyze the risks
Before giving their clients advice, financial advisors must evaluate and manage risks. Risk assessment is usually done during the research phase when advisors anticipate potential problems that clients may experience as they work to build wealth. A volatile market, which can affect investment success, or a lack of employment security, which can create financial stress and potentially limit income for the customer in the future, are two examples of hazards.
- Research
When a customer asks for financial help, the advisor does comprehensive research on the client’s financial history. They look at how the client’s earlier financial decisions influenced their current condition. Advisors also look into strategies to help clients reach their financial goals, which could involve making strategic investments in stocks or real estate, as well as investing in products like life insurance or retirement accounts. Advisors can also use research to stay up to date on new goods that hit the market.
- Attention to details
Financial advisers can stay organized while performing their job tasks by paying close attention to the smallest details. They listen to the customer’s requests in order to get insight into the investments that the client is likely to make. Advisors go into great depth when establishing investing strategies to ensure that their customers understand what steps they should take. When recording statistics on financial reports, advisors are also meticulous.
- Empathy
Empathy is a valuable asset for financial advisers who want to build genuine relationships with their clients. Clients may be private about their financial situation, and advisors have access to a great deal of personal information. Advisors with high emotional intelligence can provide recommendations and offer support that is tailored to the client’s needs.
How to become a Certified financial planner
- Get a Bachelor’s degree
One of the requirements for becoming a certified financial planner is a bachelor’s degree. Some businesses prefer candidates with finance, accounting, or business degrees, although many do not specify a specific program of study. Taxes, risk management, and investing courses prepare students for a career as a financial advisor. A bachelor’s degree is usually completed in four years.
A bachelor’s degree is required to acquire the certified financial planner designation. Students can take the CFP test after completing the formal finance and accounting curriculum. A master’s degree in finance, accounting, or business administration, though not required, can assist financial planners to progress their careers and earn greater wages.
- Gain a working experience
After earning a bachelor’s degree, a student can apply for entry-level financial planner positions. Most employers need young graduates to work for a year or longer with more experienced financial advisors.
Entry-level employment in financial planning does not usually require a specified amount of expertise. Recent graduates with relevant work experience, on the other hand, can stand out in the employment market. Internships and practicums are available in several bachelor’s degrees to help students gain experience before graduating.
On-the-job training under the supervision of more experienced advisors is common for entry-level personal financial advisor roles. Professional experience is usually required to qualify for financial planning certificates. 6,000 hours of relevant professional experience or 4,000 hours of apprenticeship experience are required to become a CFP.
- Acquire licenses.
State licenses or registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission are required for some financial planners (SEC). Professionals who give particular investment advice and buy or sell insurance policies, stocks, or bonds, for example, may require additional qualifications.
A license may be required for becoming a financial advisor, depending on the career level and job duties. Certifications aren’t required, but they can help you get a better job. Financial planner licensing requirements vary by state and profession.
One or more licenses may be required for financial advisors who provide specific forms of investment advice, as well as professionals who buy or sell stocks, bonds, or insurance products. Financial advisors who do not engage in these activities may not be required to obtain certification.
- Acquire financial planning certifications.
A CFP credential can help you develop your career. Each candidate must have a bachelor’s degree, three years of relevant work experience, pass the CFP exam, and agree to a professional code of conduct in order to receive the CFP designation.
To demonstrate their understanding of the area and grow professionally, financial planners can seek alternative degrees and certifications. Financial planners can qualify for advanced personal financial adviser employment with a greater salary by earning a master’s degree in business administration, accounting, or finance.
Optional financial planning qualifications, such as certified financial planner accreditation, can help a financial advisor’s credibility. Many firms prefer to hire financial advisors who have earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. Professionals are usually required to obtain continuing education credits in order to maintain their certifications.
The CFP Board is the organization that issues the certified financial planner credential. Applicants must have the necessary education and experience, pass an exam, and agree to a code of professional ethics.
- Apply and study for a Master’s Degree or a Ph.D.
By earning a master’s degree in business administration or finance, a financial advisor can have access to greater professional options, management positions, and higher income.
Where to Work
Healthcare institutions
In healthcare companies, a certified financial planner’s primary responsibility is to manage money and risk in a way that helps the business meet its financial objectives. When a healthcare organization’s certified financial planner’s ideas are solid and well-organized, it can deliver effective care to all of its patients. Long-term investment decisions, evaluation and planning, working capital management, financing decisions, financial risk management, and contract management, are only a few of the core actions involved in financial planning in healthcare companies.
Financial institutions
Responsibilities of a certified financial planner’s in a financial institution typically include maintaining sound client records, providing clients with investment and insurance services, staying up to date on their successes, regularly communicating relevant changes that may impact the clients’ financial situation, and establishing and maintaining relationships with clients.
Their responsibility also includes acting as a bridge between clients and other financial specialists, providing legal, estate, and personal tax planning advice.
Insurance companies
Certified Financial planners propose and sell financial products such as mutual funds, annuities, stock options, bonds, college savings plans, and insurance policies within an insurance business, using wealth management principles and insurance sector experience. To deal with customers and address their long-term insurance needs, these individuals need great analytical and interpersonal abilities.
A financial planner assists consumers in making financial plans for the future by discussing investment possibilities that can assist them in achieving personal and family objectives. They meet with clients on a regular basis to talk about their financial portfolio and make any necessary adjustments.
In order to evaluate their current income, expenses, tax status, and financial objectives as well as how much car, health, house, or other forms of insurance coverage they would like to obtain, insurance advisors conduct interviews with customers. Employees who work for a life insurance firm assist clients in determining how much insurance they can afford and how much coverage they require to ensure their loved ones are cared for after they pass away.
Certified Financial Planner Salary Scale
In Nigeria, a Financial Analyst earns about 427,000 NGN per month on average. The lowest salary is 205,000 NGN, and the highest is 670,000 NGN (highest).
This is the monthly average paid, which covers housing, transportation, and other perks. Financial Analyst pay depends on various factors such as your experience, talents, gender, and where you work.
Certified Financial Planner (CFP) salaries in the United States range from $39,300 to $187,200, with a median of $124,955. Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) in the middle earn between $110,336 and $124,870 a year, with the top 83 percent earning $187,200.
