CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Releases Career Guide for Students and Career Changers

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning (“Center”) today released a Guide to Careers in Financial Planning to provide students, career changers and financial services professionals with guidance on beginning and sustaining a successful and rewarding career in financial planning.

The new guide is based on research the Center commissioned from a team of academic scholars and industry experts. The research captured the workforce development practices of a broad variety of financial services companies as they recruit, train and develop the next generation of financial planning professionals. Informed by interviews with 77 company executives, talent recruiters and financial planners across 42 companies, the guide introduces readers to the financial planning profession and:

• Identifies typical career tracks in financial planning and different entry points into the profession.
• Explores the types of companies that employ financial planners, from small to large.
•  Highlights the personal and professional benefits of a career in financial planning.
• Includes details on where to find financial planning careers, including questions to ask in a job interview.

“One of the Center’s priority initiatives is to cultivate a quality workforce of diverse financial planners to ensure the profession can meet increasing and evolving financial planning needs of the American public,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “The new Career Guide outlines entry points and career paths in financial planning and provides practical guidance for students and career changers interested in getting started. We hope it helps inspire new entrants, especially those from underrepresented populations, to develop action plans to pursue a career in this highly fulfilling profession.”

The Center is grateful for the generous contributions of the guide’s Signature Sponsor, BNY Mellon Pershing; additional support provided by The Ensemble Practice; guide’s Supporting Sponsors, Merrill Lynch and Facet Wealth; and Center’s Founding Sponsors Northwestern Mutual, Envestnet and Charles Schwab Foundation, in partnership with Schwab
Advisor Services.

“Financial planning has evolved into a dynamic career path for new talent entering the field – as recent university graduates or as career changers. With so much strong potential out there, it can be challenging for financial advisory firms to match top talent with the firm culture and career path suited to help them thrive,” said Christina Townsend, Managing Director and Head of Relationship Management, Consulting and Platform Strategy for Wealth Solutions at BNY Mellon’s Pershing, “We have a real opportunity to increase awareness of the financial planning profession, and the different career paths available. We’re excited to support CFP Board in developing this valuable guide that introduces younger professionals and career changers pursuing new opportunities to match their strengths and interests.”

The Guide to Careers in Financial Planning can be accessed on CFP Board’s website. For information on available career opportunities and internships in financial planning, visit the CFP Board Career Center, the premier job website in financial planning that is free to job seekers.

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