Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Have you read any of John Bogle's books?

What motivates you to want to pursue a career as a Financial planner or Financial advisor?

Are you at a point where you can identify specific firms you respect and admire, and other firms you might want to avoid?

Know that in many ways, a career as a Financial advisor is in many ways a sales position.

Jennifer Polhemus ⋅ Santa Monica , CA Precision Research (self-employed) ⋅ 25 years experience

CFP is a private certification through College of Financial Planning in Denver. Keep in mind, it is not a state license (like a CPA). Having said that, the CFP credential has gained value in the eyes of the public & I think it is worthwhile. Whether you eventually become a fee-only planner, or instead you use the CFP to enhance a commission-based practice (e.g., insurance sales), remember to study hard and keep studying. Start now by reading WSJ daily, plus at least one weekly financial magazine & at least two monthlies, plus a minimum of 1 investing/business book every 3 weeks. Apprenticing to a CFP would be ideal, perhaps outside your own geographic area, so there will be no "poaching" issues; but that comes later. Join some online discussion groups now, stay behind the scenes, & read everything you can. You can participate in such discussions later, when you have expertise to share.

Ultimately, your success s a CFP will be at least partly due to your networking & people skills, so do all you can now to boost those skills, by volunteering for committees (PTA, Red Cross, etc.), mentoring youth, etc.

Being a CFP can be a great career if you love to study & read. Good luck, Jennifer

Charles (Chuck) Postma ⋅ Muskegon , MI Alcoa ⋅ 42 years experience

Alfonzo,
Thank you for your service, sir. Financial planning is a service offered by the insurance industry too. The financial rewards as an insurance professional are unlimited. Renewals are the backbone of the insurance professional's income. Once you sell a policy whether it is for a car or a life each year you get paid as long as the policy holder keeps paying the bill. An all-lines company with a full spread of financial services should be considered.

Good luck!

Chuck

Donald Marshall ⋅ Hingham , MA U.S.Treasury ⋅ 45 years experience

Hi Alfonzo,
Boston University offers a degree in financial planning. I'm not sure if the program is available for an on line degree.
My wife attended the program and found it a great experience.
Thanks for your service.
Hope this helps.
Don Marshall

Joshuah Chrisman ⋅ New York , NY NYC Department of Parks and Recreation ⋅ 1 years experience

Hi Alfonzo,

I wanted to let you know of a couple of ways that ACP can help you out here. First of all, we could put you in a formal, year-long mentorship with a Mentor from one of the large financial institutions that we partner with which include: Barclays, BlackRock, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Och-Ziff, PNC, Citi Group, UBS, and Wells Fargo, among others. With the guidance of a Mentor, you can learn more about the industry from the inside out and learn which degrees, certificates, and career paths to pursue so that you can advance in your own career. Your Mentor can also introduce you to other professionals in the industry to help you develop a larger network.

A second tool that ACP can provide you with is available through the community feature on this website. You will be able to search through hundreds of volunteer Mentors from a wide range of companies and backgrounds and reach out to as many as you like with individual questions. This is also a great networking tool so that you can build your contacts up and learn how to distinguish yourself among other applicants for new or advancement opportunities. You can narrow your search by industry and by location, but, with ACP AdvisorNet, I would cast as wide of a net as possible - try to find people who do Financial Planning, regardless of their location and reach out to as many as you can find for the best and most diverse advise.

I hope that this helps.

Thanks,
Josh