Financial Advisor Degree

Im thinking of changing careers into Finance.
But I am wondering if you really need a university Degree in Financial services to do well?
any other programs or courses that you might recommend in Canada?

any suggestions would be Awesome!

Possibly not, but it wouldn't hurt! :)

2010-01-16 13:06:16 by Mateusz

A. Scott White, Certified Financial Planner and President of Scott White Advisors, presents questions you should ask when interviewing financial ...

asking for the starting AND the average salaries..thanks :)

Financial advisors generally do not get paid all that well straight out of school. They make a low salary (~$30k) and then they receive additional compensation based on the number of clients and value of assets that they have under management. If you are coming directly out of engineering, you will probably not have any financial certifications, CFP, FRM, etc. so that may effect how easy it is for you to get new clients. As someone who uses a financial advisor, I would not invest with someone straight out of engineering program.

Engineering is one of the highest paying careers directly out of business school ($55-60k). If you are a good financial advisor, you will most likely make more money then an engineer in the long run but that takes time. You will be paid well further along in your career.

Also, financial advisors have a very high turnover rate. Many people enter financial advising, but do not have the sales ability to bring in many clients. Taking the engineering position is a safer route, but really you should make the decision based on what you want to do and your skill set. Later on in your career you will be compensated more on performance.

2009-08-25 20:36:21 by ray ray

Its a sales position. I was a summer student to two stock brokers (financial advisors) and though they were brothers they both had a very different approach to sales

Older Brother had a undergrad degree in psychology and ran a relationship selling model.

Younger brother had a science undergrad and a MSC in biology. He took a very scientific weighted approach with clients. A lot of his clients were scientific researchers and inventors, trailblazers of innovation so to speak.

Both went after entirely different client segments and were successful in both.

2007-12-15 23:53:26 by I pity the fool!

If a person was to complete a business degree program in Ontario, is it possible to get into the profession immediately after graduation, or will that person have to have a junior role in a company/firm and work their way up the ladder? Is the mean salary for a person with a university degree significantly more than one with a college diploma in finance? And lastly, for current IAs and/or financial planners, is there a high turnover in the field? And are there any organizations to whom being affiliated with enhance the profession (other than CFP)?

Most financial service companies do not require a college degree, but it is preferred. Before starting they usually require you to hold the proper licenses. Also most firms start you with a salary, but are eventually paid via commissions. There is a high turnover since it takes a special individual. You have to be highly self motivated, a people person, not afraid to call people you do not know and not afraid to ask them personal questions, also sadly you need to be able to sell people.

2007-10-17 19:06:49 by gabrielle0803

i am currentl studying a bachelor of commerce (general) degree in south africa, which is where i would like to pursue my career as a financial advisor, i am not sure if the degree im am studying will beteer my chances of becoming a financial advisor. if anyone knows of any extra modules i can take to enhance my degree so that i will be able to pursue my desired career please dont be hesitat to let me know. thank you,

The best source for this type of information would be your actual counselors or proffesors at your school. They will help you mold and guide your studies in the direction that you want to move. Also, find someone who already does financial Advising for a living who is willing to give you an idea of what the job requires.
Good Luck!!!!

Just for added knowledge:

Growing Concerns
"Leadership Thinking" Is Needed to Be a True Valued Business Advisor
Part I
By: Mark N. Clemente



June 2002 — Consider the proverbial business advisor.


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Most professional service providers -- accountants, attorneys, finance and investment specialists -- claim to serve as such. Few truly do. Yet more than ever, clients demand that their high-priced counselors and senior managers not just be "technicians," but rather broad-based, forward-thinking confidantes who can help them better manage and grow their business.

Any professional who strives to be a true business advisor faces a challenge. It is in understanding what specific skills define the role, and then working continually to cultivate the capabilities that are needed to maximize client satisfaction and development.

So what does it take to be a bonafide business advisor? The answer lies in the increasingly systematized professional discipline and art of executive leadership.

Being an effective advisor requires understanding the strategic, operational and human resource challenges that corporate leaders struggle with daily. The problems facing CEOs, CFOs and COOs are leadership problems. Therefore, to advise a C-level leader you have to think like a C-level leader. What’s more, you have to focus acutely on the problems that -- as they say -- keep those executives up at night.

Herein lies a key insight for professionals who want to enhance their business advisory skills: By embracing leadership thinking, professionals can better anticipate and act upon the accounting- and finance-related imperatives that support their clients’ efforts to achieve growth and profitability.

Let’s consider the concept of leadership for a moment. First off, are leaders born or made? This is the age-old question that’s been answered quite decisively in recent years. By all accounts, the people who we view today as great leaders developed the skills that make them such.

The fact is, everyone is born with the intrinsic ability to cultivate leadership skills. But only the people who actively hone those traits can actualize their potential to become genuine leaders.

Why is all this important for accounting and finance professionals? It’s because that, by developing leadership skills -- and hence, leadership thinking -- you can improve your ability to deliver valuable advisory insights from the perspective that is your particular area of functional expertise. Leadership thinking becomes an analytical orientation -- a new frame of reference for evaluating recurring business challenges.

Executive leadership encompasses a broad range of skill sets and personal characteristics. But the analytical lens that is leadership thinking emphasizes these four areas:
Focusing the corporate vision and mission
Managing organizational change
Developing employees to effect retention and productivity
Fostering collaboration, teamwork and operational coordination
Some may pose the question: "I work with controllers and CFOs. Why would I have to worry about such non-financial things ... ‘soft issues’ that my clients would only tangentially consider in their daily business activities?"

Such is the query of a technician, not of a business advisor.

Serving as a strategically oriented counselor requires considering the financial ramifications of clients’ non-financial initiatives. For instance, a company may be seeking to expand in overseas markets. Or open a new production facility. Or geographically re-deploy a significant portion of their employee base. None of these are financial issues per se. But they all have distinct fiscal ramifications. Thus, it’s necessary to look at broad strategic and organizational issues, then explore the accounting- and finance-specific critical success factors relative to those issues.

Clearly, many audit and financial professionals do indeed "think beyond the numbers" while never losing sight of them. But to provide true added value as advisors, it’s necessary to continually consider the essential inter-relationship of seemingly "soft issues" that have "hard-dollar" consequences.

This is a multifaceted subject. Next month we'll focus on the aforementioned components of leadership thinking. We’ll look at how to address the core business issues in each area to help advise on common organizational and strategic problems. And, for public accountants and consultants, we'll address using leadership thinking to better identify client needs and cross-sell services.

MARK N. CLEMENTE provides personal coaching in leadership, sales, and career management to professional clients nationwide. A former director of marketing and communications for Coopers & Lybrand, he is the author of four books and dozens of journal articles on management development and corporate growth. His clients have included professionals from Big Five and middle-market accounting and management consultancies, as well as Fortune 500 companies. Mark speaks worldwide before professional and academic groups, and holds a masters degree in strategic communication and leadership. He can be reached at mark@clementeonline.com or by calling 201-444-9830. Visit his Web site at www.clementeonline.com
© 2002 Smartpros Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

2006-09-12 08:11:47 by miss dust