Financial planners help individuals plan their financial futures. How are you going to cover your retirement needs? What do you have to do today to put your children through college? This work can be personally and financially rewarding and requires excellent interpersonal skills. A good financial planner understands investments, taxes, estate planning issues and knows how to listen. This work can be done within a company such as IDS Financial Services or by yourself, as a sole proprietorship. Most planners go solo or work within smaller practices. It's essential then that you have a certain amount of entrepreneurship given that you will be running your own business. The work pays well and is rewarding if you like to help people. Increasingly, it pays to obtain the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.

Get Information on How University of Phoenix Online Can Help You Succeed With This Career DeVry offers career-oriented degrees at campuses nationwide or online A Day in the Life of a Financial Planner Financial planners determine how their clients can meet lifelong financial goals through management of resources. They examine the financial history-past and current-of their client's assets and suggest exactly what steps the client needs to take in the future to meet her goals. Although other professional financial advisors usually focus on one area of a client's financial life, the broad-based approach to financial advice that financial planners offer distinguishes them from the rest of the profession. In this sense, financial planners are jacks of all trades, but they do not work alone. Financial planners will inevitably meet with their client's other advisors-attorneys, accountants, trust officers, investment bankers-in order to fully understand their client's financial goals. The last thing a financial planner wants to do is map out a plan that conflicts with investments that their client has already made with their bankers. It is a research-heavy profession, as well as a stressful one: You are suggesting how to use other people's money, which can make those people touchy. It is a very corporate profession as well, and you will be expected to look and play the part. Although many financial planners are asked to devise comprehensive plans for their clients, some people hire planners to handle a specific interest and financial goal, such as planning for retirement, buying a home, or investing an inheritance. A financial planner will conduct questionnaires and personal interviews to put together a client profile detailing financial objectives, current income, investments, risk tolerance, expenses, tax returns, insurance coverage, retirement programs, estate plans, and other pertinent information to put together a plan that meets the client's overall, or specific, financial agenda. The plan itself is a set of recommendations and strategies for the client to use, or to ignore, and financial planners should be ready to answer hard questions about the integrity of the plan they map out. Because of this, financial planners must constantly be updating their plan and watching the all-important market for trends that will affect the plan they have offered. According to the Institute of Certified Financial Planners, planners spend the majority of their time, in descending order, advising clients on the following: investment planning, retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, and risk management. All of these areas require different types of financial knowledge and planners are generally expected to be extremely competent in the disciplines of asset management, employee benefits, estate planning, insurance, investments, and retirement. On top of all of this required knowledge, a financial planner must also have good interpersonal skills since establishing a client-planner relationship is essential to a planner's professional success. It also helps the planner to be a great presenter since even the best financial plan, if presented poorly to a client, can destroy the client's trust.

Paying Your Dues

Earning a bachelor's degree in any discipline can put hopefuls on the track to be financial planners, but it will help if your degree indicates skill with numbers, be it in science or business. However, education alone is not going to give potential clients the peace of mind they need to turn over their finances. On the issue of trust, it is prudent to note that no federal agency regulates financial planners. There is some regulation on the state level, but only in some states. Because of this, most financial planners choose to become certified by the Certified Financial Planners (CFP) Board. The CFP Board is an independent professional regulatory organization that extends licenses to those planners who pass the CFP certification examination. Most clients will look for financial planners who are certified and are bound to the CFP Board's ethical and educational standards (which include a bachelor's degree, three years of financial planning-related experience, and completion of college-level courses in financial planning).

Associated Careers

Financial planning is a corporate career track, even for those who run their own financial planning business and are not associated with a bank or investment firm. Because financial planners have so much contact with other professionals in different aspects of the financial profession, career changes can be common. Experienced financial planners can find satisfying careers in investment banking, financial consulting, and financial analysis. Because people skills are also an integral part of being a financial planner, financial consulting--on both personal and corporate levels--are also options. Many financial planners, like many in financial professions, will find themselves attending business school, either to achieve a higher income or switch to one of the aforementioned professions.

Additional Schools For Financial Planning

Keller Graduate School of Business Management  (Online Program)
Keller programs are practitioner-oriented. We believe when ambitious adult students are taught by working professionals — instructors who practice what they teach — a dynamic real-world learning environment is created. At Keller, we're committed to our students' professional and academic success. Our approach to distance learning integrates today’s high-tech capabilities with proven instructional methodologies. The result is solid education enhanced by the latest in interactive information technology – online class discussion groups, CDs, e-mail, online classroom lectures, additional internet resources, as well as traditional textbooks – that enables students to send and receive feedback from instructors, as well as to participate in various group and team activities with fellow online students. Programs: Business Administration - Human Resource Management - Information Systems Management - Network - Communication Management - Project Management - Public Administration - Telecommunications Management. Locations: Online.

Golden State College (Visalia, CA 93277, Bakersfield, CA 93309)
You know what you need to advance your career and live a more comfortable life. With a little hard work and ambition on your part, Golden State College can give you the advantages necessary to earn more money and make yourself more marketable to employers. Programs: Administrative Medical , Dental Assistant , Full Charge Bookkeeper , Holistic Health Practitioner, Holistic Health Practitioner , Massage Therapy , Medical Assisting, Office Administration.

PCDI Professional Career Development Institute
Professional Career Development Institute is a nationally accredited distance learning school founded in 1987. Hundreds of thousands of smart people, from the U.S. and more than 100 countries around the world, have enrolled in our exciting career diploma, associate’s degree, and high school diploma programs. Now, it’s your turn! Programs: Adult & Continuing Education Programs, English As A Second Language, High School Diploma, Business Programs, Accounting, Financial Planning Specialist, Property Management, Real Estate Appraisal, Small Business Management, Tax Preparation , Computer & Information Technology Programs, Computer Repair, Personal Computer Training, Visual Basic Programming, Web Site Design, Creative & Design Technology Programs, Fashion Merchandising, Floral Design, Interior Decorating, Jewelry Design & Repair / Watch Repair, Landscape Design, Photography, Wedding Consultant, Web Site Design, Education Programs, Child Daycare, Teacher Assistant, Health & Social Development Programs, Child Daycare, Fitness, Medical Billing, Medical Transcription, Medical and Dental Assisting, Nutrition Specialist, Pharmacy Technician, Teacher Assistant, Legal Programs, Paralegal, Specialized Programs, Landscape Design, Wedding Consultant, Gourmet Cooking and Catering, Gunsmithing, Home Inspection, Hotel/Restaurant Management, Locksmith Training, Private Investigator, Travel , Veterinary Assistant, Writing Children's Books, Trades & Technical Programs , Auto Mechanics, Carpentry, Electrician, Electronics Specialist, HVAC Training , Motorcycle Repair, Plumbing, Associate Degree Programs, Accounting, Business Management, Computer Information Management, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Health Care Management, Human Resource Management, Paralegal Studies. Locations: Online.

CDI College
Programs:, Accounting and Computer Applications, Accounting and Payroll Administrator, Banking and Financial Services, Business Administration, Computer Business Applications Specialist, Executive Office Assistant, Hotel and Services Supervisor, Law Clerk, Legal Administrative Assistant, Marketing Assistant , Office Administrator, Police Foundations, Retail Manager, Small Business Manager, Travel and Tourism formerly Toronto School of Business TECHNOLOGY , Computer Programmer, Network Administrator, Network and Internet Security Specialist, Programmer Analyst / Internet Solutions Developer, Programmer Analyst / Web Developer, Programmer / Network Support Analyst, Web Designer formerly CDI College of Business & Technology HEALTH CARE, Addictions Worker , Dental Office and Chairside Assistant, Echocardiography Technician, Electrocardiography / Holter Monitoring Technician, Health Office Administration, Hospital Patient Registration Specialist, Intra-Oral Level II Dental Assistant, Massage Therapy , Medical Office and Laboratory Assistant, Medical Office Assistant, Orthopaedic Technician, Personal Support Worker, Physiotherapist Assistant / Occupational Therapist Assistant
Locations: Abbotsford , Barrie , Brampton , Burnaby , Calgary, North , Calgary Central , Edmonton Central , Edmonton North , Edmonton South , Halifax , Hamilton City, Centre, Hamilton Mountain, Kitchener , Laval, London, Mississauga Central , Mississauga South, Montreal , Nepean , Newmarket , North York , Ottawa City Centre, Ottawa East, Quebec , Saskatoon , Scarborough , Sudbury , Surrey, Thunder Bay , Toronto Central , Toronto South, Vancouver , - Victoria , Fort Street, Windsor , Winnipeg.

DeVry University - (Multiple Campuses)
Distance Learning Programs at DeVry University: Health Information Technology, Business Administration, Information Technology, Technical Management, and Computer Information Systems Programs. More Information on online programs that are offered as a flexible alternative if you are working and would like to get your degree while keeping a busy work schedule. Study these programs at a traditional DeVry University Campus: Electronics and Computer Technology, Health Information Technology, Network Systems Administration, Biomedical Engineering Technology, Biomedical Informatics, Business Administration, Computer Information Systems, Game and Simulation Programming, Information Technology, Network & Communications Mgmt, and Technical Management Programs.

University of Phoenix Campus - Campuses Nationwide
Since 1976, University of Phoenix has been a recognized leader in adult education. Their commitment to high educational standards and exceptional student service has made them the largest private accredited university in the United States. With campuses in over 140 locations, University of Phoenix has helped thousands of working professionals achieve their academic and career goals every year. Programs Browse all Programs. Campus Locations: Find a campus near you.