Becoming a Financial Planner

As is true with all finance fields, the basic requirement for becoming a financial planner is that you should be good with numbers. As you will be dealing with money, numbers, investments, and savings day in and day out, you should be quick in your calculations. Of course, this is just one of the basic things needed to enter the financial planning field. Scroll down to know in detail how to become a financial planner, but first, what exactly does a financial planner do?

Financial Planner Job Description

As the name suggests, a financial planner plans the finances for an individual. People these days earn a lot and have money at their disposal. However, in order to put good use to this money, they need someone to guide them on how much to save, where to invest, the amount of taxes to be paid and how tax money can be saved, insurance, their retirement planning, etc. This is where a financial planner comes in. A financial planner takes into consideration the current financial status of an individual - his salary, lifestyle, earnings, etc, discusses his financial priorities and goals, and then finally charts out a financial plan to reach that goal. He advises his clients on the various investment options available as well as how much they should save on a monthly and yearly basis. Thus, along with mastery over finances for a financial planner career, you should be good in dealing and handling people as well. Also, you should be a good sales person as you will be selling various investments to your clients if you plan to work for an investment firm in the future and make a career in financial planning.

How to Become a Financial Planner

Although, a thorough understanding and experience in the finance field that is required for becoming a financial planner counts more than a bachelor's degree, which by the way is not a pre-requisite, yet looking at the kind of competition you have to separate yourself from the rest, it would be better if you have one. So, one of the first steps in how to become a financial planner is to complete your four-year college degree in either finance, economics, mathematics, business or statistics. It would be even better if you can include courses on tax planning, risk management and investment in your degree. Studying full-time will help you in getting in-depth knowledge of all these fields.

To further lend credibility to your financial advisor and planner profile, it is advised that you obtain the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. For those who want to know, "how to become a certified financial planner", you need to meet certain education and work requirements and also need to clear an exam, which tests a candidate's knowledge of the various financial planning and management processes such as investment planning, tax planning, retirement planning, risk planning, estate planning, insurance planning, and employee benefits planning. Some of the degrees that meet the education criteria of this certified exam are Certified Public Accountant, Doctor of Business Administration, Licensed attorney, Chartered Financial Analyst (registered), Chartered Financial Consultant, Chartered Life Underwriter, amongst others. To know in detail about the education and work requirements as well as the examination for becoming a certified financial planner, visit the CFP website.

This was in short about how to become a financial planner. Once you complete your education, you have the option of either working on your own or joining an investment or financial consulting firm. Although, benefits of a financial planner are quite clear to people today and there is huge demand for them, yet to get clients initially on one's own may seem difficult. That's why, the best way to be successful in this field is to first gain experience in financial management and planning (banks are a good place to start), build a reputation in this field and then venture out on your own.