Ep #14: A Career in Operations as a CFP with Dennis Moore

Dennis Moore is the COO with Quest Capital Management in Dallas, Texas, and 2021 President-Elect of the Financial Planning Association. Dennis joins the show today to discuss why he pursued a career in financial planning, how he found his internship and first full-time job after graduating from a CFP program, and tips for effectively making the transition from student to professional.

Listen in as he opens up about why he pivoted away from being a full-time client-facing advisor to pursue an MBA, and then a position in operations management, ultimately taking over as COO at just 30 years old. You'll hear his advice for job seekers looking for a career in operations and what one can expect for compensation and their career track. If you are considering a career in operations in the financial planning profession, this episode is for you.

What You'll Learn In Today's Episode:

Why Dennis decided to get into the financial planning field. (2:20)
How he secured his first position and what helped him develop his career. (3:54)
What role he started in and the transition he made from there. (9:35)
Why he made the switch to operations. (13:17)
How he pitched a central planning department to his firm at just 25 years old. (18:20)
What role changes he went through to get to his position as COO. (22:46)
What enabled him to achieve his position. (27:20)
The biggest decision he’s had to make in his role. (29:00)
A good place to start if you want to get into operations. (31:16)

Ideas Worth Sharing:

“Once the personal part of planning was introduced to me and I could see the impact that financial planners have on the lives of others, I knew that was what I wanted to do.”- Dennis Moore Share on X “I decided to remove any of the client responsibilities from me directly and to just have my sole job to be the business. That’s everything from day-to-day processes to our big 5-10 year strategy and vision.”- Dennis Moore Share on X “What enabled me to move into this role at the age that I was - was because of the planning department and being able to show that I’m trustworthy, show that I have a vision, and show that I can execute.”- Dennis Moore Share on X

Resources In Today's Episode:

Download your free copy of the New Planner Career Roadmap!

In this roadmap, you'll be guided through the details of various stages of your financial planner career, including position descriptions, licensing, skill and experience level requirements, and compensation ranges.