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Financial Careers Books
Ivan M. Illan
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Published:
December 6, 2018

Success as a Financial Advisor For Dummies

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Overview

A must-have reference for financial advisors

In step-by-step detail, Success as a Financial Advisor For Dummies covers how a current or would-be financial advisor can maximize their professional success through a series of behaviors, activities, and specific client-centric value propositions. In a time when federal regulators are changing the landscape on the standard of care that financial services clients should expect from their advisors, this book affords professionals insight on how they can be evolving their practices to align with the regulatory and technological trends currently underway.

Inside, you’ll find out how a financial advisor

can be a true fiduciary, how to compete against the growing field of robo-advisors, and how the passive investing trend is actually all about being an active investor. Additionally, you’ll discover time-tested advice on building and focusing on client relationships, having a top advisor mindset, and much more.

  • Master the seven core competencies
  • Attract and win new business
  • Pick the right clients
  • Benchmark your performance
  • Start your own firm

Brimming with practical expert advice, Success as a Financial Advisor For Dummies is a priceless success tool for any wannabe or experienced financial advisor.

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About The Author

Ivan M. Illán, CFS, has directly raised and managed over $1B in assets from both institutional and retail clients. He's the founder and chief investment officer of an independent wealth management firmbased in Los Angeles. As a Forbes Contributor, an Investopedia Premier Advisor, and Five Star Wealth Manager, Ivan's insights are published routinely on both the financial advisory profession and capital markets.

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success as a financial advisor for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

Achieving success as a financial advisor is a not-so-simple matter of achieving success for your clients. You can’t exactly cheat your way to making that happen, but you can follow these guidelines.
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Articles from
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Every financial advisor knows that the best way to drum up new business is through marketing and networking, but they often don’t know how to market and network effectively. Many are too pushy and drive away prospects instead of attracting them.Here are ten suggestions for meeting new prospects and transforming them into clients.
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Being a successful financial advisor or financial consultant requires more than mastering a collection of tips and techniques. It requires education, experience, and dedication. However, reading through a list of tips is a great way to remind yourself of what you need to do to stay on top of your game.Here are ten tips for being a successful financial advisor.
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The first step to achieving success as a financial advisor is to adopt the right mindset, which requires understanding what all being a true financial advisor entails. A true financial advisor must practice according to the following guidelines: Uphold the fiduciary standard. Recommendations and advice must always be in the best interest of the client, not swayed by commissions or pressure from the firm.
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Fiduciary financial advisors committed to the industry and consumers are driving much of the change to the financial advisory industry today. As they educate consumers and spread the word among colleagues about how they deliver value by serving their clients’ best interests, they’re challenging the so-called financial advisors to do the same.
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Whether you practice as a lone wolf or choose to build your own firm, you must fill the following three key positions: Minders run the business/practice, organizing, managing, hiring/firing, and setting goals and agendas. To be a minder, you must be a leader with excellent organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills.
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Many paths lead to a career as a successful financial advisor or financial consultant. These paths can be broken down into three categories based on your starting point: right out of college, within the industry, and outside the industry. Getting started in the financial advisory industry fresh out of college If you just graduated from college with a degree in finance or economics, you may have determined already that becoming a financial advisor is the path for you.
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Obviously, your success as a financial advisor hinges on your ability to acquire and retain clients. Client acquisition is particularly important when you’re just getting started and haven’t established yourself as one of the top financial advisors in your area. Following are four ways to build and grow your business: Earn your clients and referrals.
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A client’s risk profile is the level of risk the client is willing to accept. As a successful financial advisor or financial consultant, assessing a client’s risk profile is a not-so-simple process of engaging the client in cost-benefit analysis. The client must decide how much he’s willing to pay for protection.
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Various governing and licensing entities offer a range of programs for becoming a fully functional and competent financial advisor or financial consultant. Unlike other professions that have governing boards and standards, the financial advisory profession has no clear professional education or certifying standards.
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As your client’s financial advisor or financial consultant, you play a key role on the advisory team. As such, you must collaborate with everyone on the team — client, lawyers, accountants, and any other relevant professionals. Cross-industry professional collaboration is a key differentiator among financial advisors.
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To construct a proper financial plan for your clients, as a successful financial advisor, you must have a thorough understanding of their household’s income and expenses. If your clients have a budget, ask for a copy, so you can review it prior to your next meeting. If they don’t have a budget, one of your first tasks is to guide them through the budgeting process.
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Achieving success as a financial advisor is a not-so-simple matter of achieving success for your clients. You can’t exactly cheat your way to making that happen, but you can follow these guidelines.
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When you’re onboarding a new client, you need a clearly defined, repeatable process for evaluating the person’s financial situation and needs. Years ago, I developed a consultative framework to guide my own practice called The Four A’s of Due Diligence: Assessment: Ask big questions to identify the client’s financial goals, such as What are you dreams for a fulfilling life?
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The financial advisory profession has no clear professional education or certifying standards. Even so, you need specialized knowledge to deliver value to your clients. To be a successful financial advisor, you must have the following six core competencies and be able to coordinate advice from various other advisors, including attorneys and tax specialists: Asset (investment) management Liability (risk) management Budgeting (household or business focus) Estate planning Tax management Behavioral finance Financial advisors who provide a single holistic solution are often referred to as wealth managers.
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A solid financial plan begins with the financial advisor client's input. As a successful financial advisor or financial consultant, you must have a clear picture of his current finances, goals, concerns, and any potential threats or issues that could impact his finances.Start by gathering copies of your client’s household budget, bank statements, loan statements, credit card balances, investment statements, insurance policies, and family governing documents (such as a will or estate plan).
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