With advisors aging, where will the next crop come from? Success rates at major brokerage firms can be as low as 30%, and it can be harder for smaller firms that do not have the resources or time to train newbies. With only 5% of advisors under 30 and 55% over 50 — and a nation with a growing need for financial advice — where are the new advisors going to come from?
While the focus is on financial planning, retirement planning is just a subset that requires different skills when working within corporate sponsored retirement plans. As many firms look to grow, they need to either develop talent from within or hire from the outside. The latter approach creates its own set of challenges, including compensation and culture.
With demand for investment advice expected to grow, finding and developing the next generation of plan advisors will be both a challenge and an opportunity for the industry. One thing we might want to look into is partnering with traditional educational institutions. Some colleges are offering CFP certified programs that allow graduates to sit for their exam; the University of Minnesota Duluth, for example, offers a two-year, tech-focused program.
