The market is rife with individuals and organizations looking for help with how to best handle their finances to yield the most returns. Consequently, this is exactly the right time to make your mark as a financial planner and be the one to help those less financially savvy.
Are you at the beginning of your career path and confused about the direction you should choose? Or do you want to switch fields to something more challenging and in-demand that offers better pay? If you have a head for numbers, a finance planning course is the first step that you should consider taking towards an excellent profession.
Not only is it a good return on your investment in education, but it teaches you how to get the best possible return on everyone else’s savings and investments too!
What does Financial Planning entail?
Even though the finance planning universe is wide and deep, it basically caters to the fundamental principles of money management. At the heart of it, these principles remain the same whether applied to corporations or families. They are:
- Developing goals
- Tracking outflows and inflows
- Forecasting & Budgeting
- Paying off Debt
- Saving & Investing
- Monitoring and course adjustment
Nowadays there are plenty of apps on the market to help you with these. But all that tech doesn’t replace the human touch that comes with a personal finance planner.
Accordingly, where a good finance planning course will incorporate the use of advanced software and applications, it will likewise emphasize the need for understanding a client’s situation and risk appetite instead of pitching for the most high-reward (and high-risk!) solutions.
Managing and multiplying money so that it is able to meet an individual’s life goals today and, in the future, does not just require a head good with numbers. An experienced finance professional can provide insight on cutting back on debt managing your estate and even saving money for your kid’s college funds.
Likewise, organizations, whether small, medium, or large, can benefit from the expertise of professionals who can illuminate avenues of funding and investing which can bolster your bottom line and fuel your business ambitions. A sound business finance plan won’t just set the pace for progress but also motivate the workforce by providing them a vision of what they are working towards.
Who needs a Finance Planner?
From the sweet old lady living at the corner of your street to the multi-national businesses serving customers across several continents, everyone needs some level of guidance on the best strategy to manage finances to maximize the inflow of money.
Of course, while grandma will require a personal financial advisor, the latter will be better served with a team of finance professionals able to handle more complex scenarios.
The sooner you begin with your money management, the more likely it is you’ll be able to achieve your long-term goals. People in different situations require different services. An older couple with no kids would be inclined towards retirement planning.
Young families might want to have their future strategy include kids and a home. Those who have come into an inheritance may wish to have a financial advisor for their assets. The same is true for businesses in different stages of their life cycle with medium-sized entities wanting growth and expansion while new startups or small enterprises may just be planning to survive through their infancy.
It all comes down to the fact that in each situation, a realistic assessment of the current position against the resources available will be able to present what outcomes are likely to be achieved and in what time frame. A financial planner is armed with experience and knowledge to circumvent all the hard questions about taxes and investments relevant to each scenario that might baffle the layman.
Is a Finance Planning course worth it?
The short answer: Absolutely! Though it may sound obscure and you’ll feel like you hardly know anyone who is in the field, the reality is quite surprising. Turbulent times mean more people feel the need to make every penny count.
For this, they are willing to trust professionals who have expertise, so their risks are minimized. Enter the finance planners! But because the field is not as mainstream as, say, analysts or tax advisors, the field is dominated by old names doing things the traditional way. There’s quite a gap for young professionals who are willing to invest time and stick long-term to make their own practices.
But that makes it even more lucrative! If you make up your mind to enter the field of financial planning, you’ll never be short of work. Just find your niche, whether it’s estate planning or retirement planning, and get the word out as far and wide as possible.
Working with your clients is not just about money management either. You’ll need to really be involved with everything that concerns their financial habits. A problem-solver is the gold standard in a financial planner’s world.
A popular argument that deters some from attempting this journey is the proliferation of finance planning apps on the web. While the tech world has developed advanced algorithms that can manage investment portfolios and offer financial advice to their users, they have not managed to wipe out the need for human empathy and communication that most clients still need in order to place their trust (and money) in another’s hands.
However, the occupation has evolved to include these smart applications in the curriculum for professionals so they can leverage the power of sophisticated computing to their advantage. You don’t have to worry about being replaced with an app someday. But you will need to make friends with it pretty quick if you want to be successful!
Best Finance Planning courses out there
As we discussed before, a financial planner is someone that helps individuals as well as businesses, both big and small. There’s a lot of versatility in the needs of the different clients and so the financial planner too must develop according to the niche they are most interested in.
There are plenty of courses out there but the finance planning course that’s right for you need to match what you want out of your career. We’ll discuss the most popular ones here.
- Certified Financial Planner (US)
You don’t have to be a qualified CFP to start working as an advisor to clients but a certification does help secure the client’s confidence in your advice. In the US, the CFP is issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) and you need to have a minimum bachelor’s degree and three plus years of experience before you can take the exam. Being part of a professional body has the advantage of keeping you updated on new techniques and industry-specific knowledge.
- Chartered Financial Planner (UK)
The British equivalent of the CFP is awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) of the UK. The course of study is much more rigorous than the US equivalent and resultantly there are a lot fewer CFPs in the UK than there are in the US. Additionally, the CII board also confers a Corporate Chartered Financial Planner status to firms that fulfill the pre-set criterion. Only about 500 firms in the UK had this coveted status till 2017.
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Probably the most in-demand of all the finance degrees, the CFA, administered by the CFA Institute, is a tough course but one that gives the most return on your time and money investment. There are 3 exams known as Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 and on average a candidate spends 3-4 years in the program before they emerge successful even though the course is designed to be completed in less than 2 years. But the rewards are worth the time spent as this certification is recognized and afforded waivers in 40+ universities across the globe with members spread across 150+ countries. Even graduation is not a hard requirement. Students can register for the exam straight out of school and just hit the financial markets running!
Since the course is dynamic and quite diverse, CFAs can offer their services in many fields including finance consulting and planning, wealth and investment strategy, and, risk and portfolio management.
- Certified Corporate Financial Planner & Analyst (FPAC)
This degree specifically deals with finance for businesses, which we know is quite different than monetary planning for families and individuals. So, if you plan to work for a corporate then this is a good place to start. It is a two-part exam that can be taken once you have a graduate degree or are in the process of completing one in 2 years. There are quite a few exemptions available for Part 1 waiver which you can check from their website.
Conclusion
A career as a financial planner is not a single-track path to your own practice / becoming self-employed. Once you have the relevant experience and the right finance planning course certification, you can apply to firms that offer such services or work as part of a business’s team of financial planners and analysts.
However, if you do have an enterprising spirit and work well with people, you’ll find that working on your own terms to help people succeed at their money goals brings an unparalleled sense of career satisfaction.
