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Take the Effortless Road to Your Future as an Independent Financial Advisor
One of the few positive effects of the impending explosion of the retirement rolls
as 77 million “Baby Boomers” approach the age of 65 can be found in the outlook
for employment of Personal Financial Advisors. Few ‘Boomers’ have made
adequate plans to extend their lifestyles beyond their working years and are
in desperate need of the assistance of Personal Financial Advisors.
This is excellent news for anyone seeking a lucrative new career opportunity.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008-2009 Employment Outlook, reports
that “Personal Financial Advisors are projected to grow by 41%, which is much
faster than average for all occupations”.
The Baby Boomer, a creature with the life expectancy of a Galapagos sea turtle
but with less than two years of income saved in a qualified retirement plan, is in
urgent need of solutions to his or her retirement quandary.
Independent Financial Advisors consult with individuals or families who are in
need of various financial products and services to meet their long term and short
term financial goals. Independent Financial Advisors are not tethered to or
employed by a specific company, but can offer a range of products and services
from a variety of providers.
For the ‘cold war generation’, the rules of the game have changed. It’s no longer
about asset accumulation. We have run out of time to build significant assets
and need a strategy that addresses the three quadrants of our personal balance
sheet which have, up to this point, gone largely ignored.
Income: For this generation, it’s not how much we have that matters. What
matters is how much sustainable lifetime income we can get from what we have.
Independent Financial Advisors have access to newly developed financial
products that enable us to grow our retirement income bucket with a high rate
of return, and then, guarantee annual income distributions for life, regardless
of how long we live.
Expenses: We need to start saving as much as possible, as quickly as possible.
Independent Financial Advisors can assist us in getting control of our monthly
expenses and enable us to save much more money for our retirement.
Liabilities: We know that the ‘UFO’ generation is up to its’ pointy ears in debt.
We can’t afford to carry this debt into retirement. An advisor can recommend
new and innovative equity based strategies that will enable us to get completely
out of debt, including our mortgage, before we retire.
If you’re considering tapping into this emerging career opportunity, here are two
valuable tips to help you get started.
1. Avoid involvement with any kind of securities products as a new advisor.
You would need to become a “registered representative” under the guidance
and control of the NASD and the SEC. Your clients may not need these
risk based products and you don’t need all of the regulatory compliance
headaches that come with this title.
2. You’ve got to plug into an independent marketing organization's system.
If you think you can do it your way, you'll have enormous difficulty starting
and maintaining a successful practice.
Independent Marketing Organizations, in exchange for commission overrides,
provide turn-key systems including advisor training, product training, product
access, provider contracts, assistance with licensing, marketing, lead
generation, and regulatory compliance.
In any business model it’s all about positioning. If there is a problem and
a solution to that problem, by positioning yourself between the two, you
become valuable. The bigger the problem and the easier the solution,
the more successful you will be.
There is an enormous need for new personal financial advisors to lead this
generation down the path of financial freedom. Those that come forward will
discover a career that offers a great deal of personal satisfaction as well as
significant income potential.
