Personal Financial Advisors

Personal financial advisors provide advice on investments, insurance, mortgages, estate planning, taxes, and retirement to help individuals manage their finances.

Duties

Personal financial advisors typically do the following:

• Meet with clients to discuss their financial goals
• Explain to potential clients the types of financial services they provide
• Educate clients and answer questions about investment options and potential risks
• Recommend investments to clients or select investments on their behalf
• Help clients plan for specific circumstances, such as education or retirement
• Monitor clients’ accounts and determine if changes are needed to improve financial performance or to accommodate life changes, such as getting married or having children
• Research investment opportunities

Personal financial advisors assess the financial needs of individuals and help them with decisions on investments (such as stocks and bonds), tax laws, and insurance. Advisors help clients plan for short- and long-term goals, such as budgeting for education expenses and saving for retirement through investments. They invest clients’ money based on the clients’ decisions. Many advisors also provide tax advice or sell insurance.

Although most planners offer advice on a wide range of topics, some specialize in areas such as retirement or risk management (evaluating the investor's willingness to take chances and adjusting investments accordingly).

Many personal financial advisors spend a lot of time marketing their services, and they meet potential clients by giving seminars or participating in business and social networking.

After financial advisors have invested funds for a client, they and the client receive regular investment reports. Advisors monitor the client’s investments and usually meet with each client at least once a year to update the client on potential investments and to adjust the financial plan based on the client’s circumstances or because investment options may have changed.

Many personal financial advisors are licensed to directly buy and sell financial products, such as stocks, bonds, annuities, and insurance. Depending on the agreement they have with their clients, personal financial advisors may have the client’s permission to make decisions about buying and selling stocks and bonds.

Personal financial advisors held about 326,000 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of personal financial advisors were as follows:

Personal financial advisors typically work in offices. Some also travel to attend conferences, teach finance seminars in the evening, and attend networking events to bring in more clients.

Work Schedules

Most personal financial advisors work full time and some work more than 40 hours per week. They also may go to meetings on evenings and weekends to meet with prospective or existing clients.

Personal financial advisors typically need a bachelor’s degree to enter the occupation. A master’s degree and certification may improve chances for advancement.

The median annual wage for personal financial advisors was $102,140 in May 2024.

Employment of personal financial advisors is projected to grow 10 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.

About 24,100 openings for personal financial advisors are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.