A lot of people nowadays are realizing the need to prepare for the future. Investments and savings are the basic means to be ready for the retirement years. Some consider opening a financial plan to be more ready for the time when they don’t have to work anymore and reap the harvest of their investments. To have a sound financial plan, one should see a financial planner.
What is a Financial Planner?
A Financial Planner is an expert in giving advice on managing the finances of an interested client to have his finances handled well.
Duties of a Financial Planner
- A Financial Planner is someone who focuses his expertise on the making of the financial plans of someone who needs such plan. His services are desired to give the client a financial plan that will direct his personal and business finances to the right path.
- A Financial Planner gathers all financial information of the client wanting to have his finances properly planned out for him.
- A Financial Planner then analyzes the information he has collected to come up with a prospective plan for the client based on the financial study of such data gathered. The financial plan that the financial planner comes up with is from his deep knowledge on commodities, investment and tax laws.
- The financial plan will then be presented by the Financial Planner to his client and discusses to the client his options on the financial plan he wants to set up. If the financial planner is self-employed, he can refer the client to financial institutions that offer the kind of financial plan he would like to have.
- After finalizing the financial plan with the client, a Financial Planner then submits the documents to the approving department to implement the plan that the client has chosen.
- A Financial Planner has to maintain his communication with the client in case there will revisions on the financial plan basing on the changes of the clients’ needs or the investment market.
Work Condition of a Financial Planner
An office setting is the typical working area of a financial planner. He works 40 hours a week and may have occasional travel to visit the clients that he has to talk over on the developments of the financial plan that has been set up for his clients.
A financial planner may run his own business as an independent planner or works for a business establishment that creates financial plans for the clients. Since the work of a financial planner involves a lot of discussions with the client, excellent interpersonal and communications skills are needed for this kind of profession.
Educational Requirements of a Financial Planner
A bachelor’s degree in finance, banking, economics, accounting, law or other related field is required to become a Financial Planner. An experience in accounting and banking is also needed to be an expert in this type of work.
Occupation and Progress of a Financial Planner
There is an increasing need in this work as more people are becoming aware of the financial plans that will give them a better outlook of their future. Further training and education may expand the career options of a financial planner. Specialized training in securities, stocks, banking, taxes and insurance are available to have more advantage in this field of work.