Blog

The impetus for this month’s post is the recent deluge of individuals who have reached out to me expressing frustration over “lack of growth opportunities” in their position at their current firm.  It’s not uncommon for candidates to reach out to me to “see what else is out there.”  What is interesting is the similarity of the recent conversations and the sense that the underlying, well documented, issue might soon have a larger impact than once thought.  So in this two part post we will first ...

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Last month we discussed what expectations are generally unreasonable for a new planner hire and this month we look at what firm owners SHOULD expect from their new planner.  As I mentioned last month, not all new financial planners are equal. Also I have previously written on how the educational experiences between CFP Board registered programs can vary widely. http://bit.ly/NewPlnrExppart1 Nonetheless it’s reasonable to have some solid, but realistic expectations for a good candidate that ...

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Throughout my career I have witnessed firm owners’ frustrations with new planners they have hired or were interviewing. Their frustrations stem from lack of clarity on what type of education a new planner receives and what can be expected of them. Also, firm owners sometimes don’t know what role they are trying to fill so they are left with trying to hire for a catch-all position resulting in unclear roles and responsibilities, and unreasonable expectations. We will start this two-part ...

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In this month’s post, we pick up where we left off last month with a look at how firm owners can integrate their new planner into the final three stages of the financial planning process to help ensure that the CFP® certification can be gained in two years versus three.  If you missed last month’s post addressing the first three steps in the planning process, it can be found here http://bit.ly/attractingtop Step 4: Developing and Presenting Financial Planning Recommendations and/or ...

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Last month, the CFP Board of Standards released updated guidelines for the work experience requirement for the CFP® certification - essentially creating a ‘fast track’ to certification by reducing the experience requirement from three years down to two years if candidates for CFP® certification (new planners) work under a CFP® certificant and personally deliver all parts of the personal financial planning process to a client. You can click here http://bit.ly/CFPboard2yrs to read the full press ...

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Last month I shared my recent recruiting trip highlights and in this month’s post I want to explore the variations between the different types of CFP Board registered programs in more detail. For those not familiar there are actually two types of CFP Board registered programs: Degree and Certificate. Here is a general description of both: Certificate programs generally provide the CFP Board financial planning curriculum on a standalone basis, for which the individual simply receives a ...

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Last month, I took seven plane flights, stayed in three hotels, and rented three cars to visit five CFP Board registered programs: St. Joseph’s, William Paterson, Virginia Tech, Texas Tech and Winthrop University. It was my own little version of planes, trains and automobiles! During these visits, I presented to twelve classes, gave two keynote speeches, spoke to a dozen PhDs (faculty members, college deans, and program chairs), and interviewed a few dozen students. Below are some notable ...

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I’ve written and spoken at length about the mistakes new planners make when trying to find their right fit including hearing only what they want to hear, thinking every opening is a good fit, assuming if something isn’t addressed in negotiations it will mysteriously work out as they had envisioned, etc. However firm owners are not blameless and make mistakes, too, which is why I want to share April Joyner’s article in the November 2011 issue of Inc. magazine entitled “Hiring traps: Why is it so ...

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By now you surely have been blitzed with a myriad of resolutions, time management tips, to do lists, etc. so I’m going to spare you from the typical new year pep talk and instead highlight a change you should be aware of, regarding the educational requirements for new financial planners in CFP Board registered programs. In the past, it has been possible for a new financial planner to graduate with an undergraduate/graduate degree or certificate in financial planning without ever having ...

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In an effort to strengthen your year-end employee reviews, this month’s post will address evaluating your new planner’s performance. Simply put, did they fall short, meet, or exceed the expectations both of you set, together, at the beginning of the year? Once you and your new planner know where he/she stands on this, then you can have a more detailed discussion about if and how compensation should be adjusted, and what he/she needs to be striving for over the next year. When we help firm owners ...

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Recently a well known financial planner, who has experienced some frustration in trying to hire, asked an interesting question. ‘What do new planners really want in a position?’ The question needs to be addressed because during the hiring process often times, one (or even both) parties cannot clearly articulate what they are seeking in an employment arrangement. What new planners are seeking is a position where they can learn and experience the business (how to’s) of financial planning ...

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One of the more popular questions that I am asked when traveling around the country speaking to firm owners is: “How much should I pay my new planner?” I liken this scenario to a prospective client walking up to a firm owner asking, “How much will I need to retire?” There are obviously a lot of factors that impact both of these situations. I am going to try to avoid the typical financial planner blanket answer of “it depends” to report on some averages/trends I am seeing nationally and ...

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