Financial Planner

Financial Planner Job Description

The job description of financial planners requires them to have great interpersonal skills. There are many other skills that are required in addition to an understanding of financial markets and the economy. A majority of one’s time is spent trying to acquire new clients. A good understanding of basic marketing and sales techniques is a necessity for financial planners. In the first couple years of one’s career, building a constant and repeat customer base is a top priority. Cold calling and other direct marketing methods are very popular. Developing one’s personal brand as a trusted adviser is a very important part of this career. Also, word of mouth recommendations from former and past clients is a very effective sales technique. Financial planners rely on their reputation to grow and maintain their customer base. It is common that clients will not be financially knowledgeable. The complexity of the financial markets means that many people are unwilling and unable to truly understand their personal finance options. A financial planner needs to have the the patience and warm interpersonal skills to teach the client. Informing the client of their options allows the financial planner to become a trusted adviser.

Financial Planner Salary Statistics as of 2015

Average annual salary for a Financial Planner is $58552 based on statistics in the U.S. as of 2015. The highest salary recorded was $113828. The lowest salary reported was $34000. These figures will vary on a state to state basis as these are averages across all 50 states.

Median hourly wage for a Financial Planner is $22.105 based on statistics in the U.S. as of 2015. The highest hourly rate recorded was $30.12. The lowest hourly rate recorded was $14.09. These figures will vary on a state to state basis as these are averages across all 50 states.

Bonuses for a Financial Planner are based on the years of experience using statistics from the U.S. as of 2015. The average bonus recorded was $15000 from people with 15+ years of experience. The average bonus recorded was $4880 from people with under 1 year of experience.

These are the highest paying states for a Financial Planner. These numbers are based of the median annual salary as of 2015.
California – $35,759 – $93,624
Florida – $30,100 – $123,650
Illinois – $33,724 – $257,605
Massachusetts – $39,254 – $147,949
New York – $30,201 – $89,873
Ohio – $22,500 – $90,000
Texas – $39,453 – $92,300

These are the highest paying cities for a Financial Planner. These numbers are based of the median annual salary as of 2015.
New York, New York –
Chicago, Illinois –
Atlanta, Georgia –
Houston, Texas –
Columbus, Ohio –
Boston, Massachusetts –
Los Angeles, California –

This chart outlines the average annual salary of a Financial Planner from the past 5 years. In 2015 the average annual salary was $58552 while in 2007 it was just $54300.1

The US government expects the job demand for financial planners to increase from 2008 to 2018. The advent of internet trading in the 90s meant that many people moved their retirement funds out of traditional brokerages and into low cost online trading accounts. The internet boom and bust in the late nineties cost many uninformed investors. Later, the house crash in the 2007 caused another major shock to the average American portfolio. The Lehman Brothers crash further eroded the stock market. All of these boom bust cycles have shaken the faith of the average consumer in the financial system. One of the reasons financial planners are increasing in demand is that people are less willing to invest on their own. As the internet became popular the cost of managing one’s own portfolio majorly decreased. Yet, after seeing the instability generated by boom bust cycles the demand for a well informed financial planner are increasing. The sense of safety and security given by a finance expert allows less informed investors to feel security in their investments and future. The data for the expected job growth of financial advisers was found here