Personal Financial Advisors
Advise clients on financial plans using knowledge of tax and investment strategies, securities, insurance, pension plans, and real estate. Duties include assessing clients' assets, liabilities, cash flow, insurance coverage, tax status, and financial objectives. May also buy and sell financial assets for clients.
- Median pay
- $105,070
- Doing it now
- 299,400
- By 2035
- Up 1.4%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
17,100 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives.
- Answer clients' questions about the purposes and details of financial plans and strategies.
- Interview clients to determine their current income, expenses, insurance coverage, tax status, financial objectives, risk tolerance, or other information needed to develop a financial plan.
- Implement financial planning recommendations, or refer clients to someone who can assist them with plan implementation.
- Prepare or interpret for clients information, such as investment performance reports, financial document summaries, or income projections.
- Guide clients in the gathering of information, such as bank account records, income tax returns, life and disability insurance records, pension plans, or wills.
- Contact clients periodically to determine any changes in their financial status.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Finance and Financial Management ServicesSee 765 colleges that teach it
- Family and Consumer Economics and Related StudiesSee 28 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Leading and persuading
Organised and precise
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $105,070 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.