Michael Hunsberger had spent 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, working on communications and cybersecurity, and was approaching retirement. As he thought about what he wanted to do next, he knew he could move into the private sector and continue in the same field. But Hunsberger had always enjoyed doing his own financial planning and helping friends, so he considered switching to that field. He then learned about a company that helps new financial advisers get their businesses up and running. After he went to a conference and spoke to other members of the military who had made the switch to being personal financial advisers, he was sold.
Hunsberger started Next Mission Financial Planning in St. Charles, Missouri, in 2021. He says being a financial planner could be a good second career for people who have done their own financial planning and enjoyed it. “If you’ve been a do-it-yourselfer, and you really enjoy getting into the nuances and understanding everything about financial planning, and you just enjoy working with people,” he says, this might be an ideal option for you.
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Becoming a personal financial adviser as a second career — particularly in your 40s, 50s or 60s — can be especially advantageous, says Ivan Illán, founder and chief investment officer of Aligne Wealth Advisors Investment Management, an investment advisory firm based in Los Angeles, and author of Success as a Financial Advisor for Dummies. “There is a real advantage to coming into this business later in life,” he says. Having work and life experience, as well as a personal and professional network, can help new financial advisers build credibility and a client base, he explains.
The personal financial adviser sector is expected to grow 13 percent between 2022 and 2032, which is much faster than the average job category, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, with median pay at roughly $100,000 per year.
A career with many options
A variety of professionals call themselves financial planners. They include brokers, accountants, insurance salespeople, investment advisers and others who work in the financial services industry.
You can build your business in a variety of ways, depending on your preferences and area of specialization, Illán says. You may want to offer investment advice and conduct securities transactions, like buying and selling stocks and bonds for clients. You may also wish to sell insurance products that offer guaranteed income, called annuities, or other types of insurance that can help protect assets.
Financial advisers can be salaried employees or independent contractors, depending on where they work, says Melissa Sotudeh, managing director and chief compliance officer at Halpern Financial, Inc., a financial advisory firm based in Ashburn, Virginia.
Sotudeh had worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates the securities sector, before being a stay-at-home mother for a decade. Her children were still young, so she was looking for a career option that had flexible hours. Sotudeh spotted an ad in The Washington Post. “It said ‘Financial planner position, school hours,’ ” she recalls. “That was perfect.”
