|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Introduction
Searching for a career in finance can feel like searching for a needle in a long series of haystacks. With so many options across so many jurisdictions, it can begin to feel overwhelming.
Once you have found the right career, the next hurdle is finding your speciality within that career. Although historically, financial advisors were mostly generalists, much like GPs in the medical profession, they are increasingly choosing to specialise within specific aspects of the profession. That said, finding your niche as a financial advisor may be easier said than done.
This article will explore the role of a financial advisor, the various specialities available, and the implications that may arise from choosing one of these specialities. If you’re interested in finding your niche as a financial advisor at the deVere Group, read on.
What Is a Financial Advisor?
Financial advisors assist individuals and corporations in managing their finances. The specific duties of a financial advisor are dependent on the advisor’s area of expertise. In general, they may include the following:
• Evaluating a client’s financial position and developing a plan to achieve their financial goals.
• Developing investment strategies and products that will protect and grow the wealth of their clients. These may include investments in stocks, fixed-income products, bonds, mutual funds, or ETFs.
• Monitoring the client’s investments and rebalancing the portfolio as needed.
• Advising clients on issues relating to tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning, or any other financial matters that may be relevant to their clients.
• Keeping up with developments in tax laws, economic trends, or any other relevant factors that could affect a client’s financial position.
• Maintaining regular contact with clients and updating them on relevant issues/developments as well as answering any questions they may have.
As we mentioned above, financial advisors come in various forms with different specialisations. Wealth managers, financial planners, or investment advisors are all forms of financial advisors, although the services they offer will differ.
Now that you have a general idea of what a financial advisor is, let’s take a look at how to find your niche as a financial advisor.
How To Find Your Niche
Finding your niche as a financial advisor can be impossible before you have begun your professional life. This difficulty is why many financial advisors avoid choosing a speciality until they have secured several years of experience. The experience provided by spending several years in the industry as a generalist allows you to sample various aspects of the profession.
In doing so, you can find what areas interest you and align best with your circumstances. For example, some financial advisers may find themselves to be introverted. As such, specialities that require you to have to attend regular networking events may not be suitable for you.
Further, there are practical considerations to be considered. For example, some specialities may have more lucrative prospects than others. For example, financial advisors specialising in property investment in a specific location may find less work available than in another speciality. These pragmatic considerations will play a role in determining what area you choose to specialise in.
Ultimately, it is recommended that financial advisors spend several years practising their profession before attempting to find a speciality. Once you have the benefit of gaining experience in various aspects of the profession, you will be much better equipped to select an appropriate niche for yourself.
What Niches Exist?
Although it is beyond the scope of this article to highlight and detail every possible niche within the profession, we will list the various specialisms available at the deVere Group:
• Pension planning
• Portfolio management
• Insurance advice
• FX
• Tax planning
• Property investment
• Crypto
Naturally, each speciality is different and carries its own benefits and disadvantages. For example, the strategies you will employ to find and secure new clients may vary from speciality to speciality. The amount of work you will find in various locations may also vary. If you choose to work in a certain location, you may find there is little appetite for portfolio management-focused financial advisors but a great deal of interest in cryptocurrency-focused advice.
Lastly, the academic and professional qualifications needed will vary for each speciality. As such, financial advisors wishing to focus on a specific area must be prepared for the professional development that will be required to be successful in their chosen speciality. This development can often involve years of study in pursuit of professional qualifications. For this reason, it is uncommon for financial advisors to select more than one speciality.
Why Specialise?
We have discussed the best way to find your niche and the various options available within the deVere Group, but why choose to specialise in the first place? Years ago, it was uncommon for a financial advisor to specialise. Instead, financial advisors were almost exclusively generalists with a wide range of knowledge. As time has gone on, more and more professionals have secured their CFA qualifications. As a result, the profession has become increasingly competitive. This increased competition is the main argument for specialising.
With more financial advisors entering the profession, it is now vital to find a way to distinguish yourself from the rest. By specialising in a niche, it becomes considerably easier to separate yourself from other members of your profession. This separation will make it easier for financial advisors to secure new clients, expand their offerings, and grow their businesses.
Another benefit to specialising is that the role itself becomes easier. Much like professions like law or medicine, being a generalist is considerably more difficult. It requires that the individuals be familiar with a much wider body of knowledge and can require years of training and experience. By choosing to focus your profession on a specific area, you limit the amount of information you need to absorb to that specific niche. As a result, it becomes considerably easier to succeed and become an expert in your speciality.
The truth is that in today’s financial landscape, being a generalist is no longer feasible for the majority of financial advisors. If you want to succeed in the profession, distinguishing yourself through a niche is the most viable route.
Conclusion
The versatility of the profession is part of what attracts various professionals to the life of a financial advisor. With such a wide range of specialities, financial advisors are one of the few professions where professionals can craft a working life that suits their preferences and personality.
That said, finding your niche as a financial advisor is not an easy task and can often take years of work and study. This is why the deVere Group prioritises the training and development of its staff above all else.
If you’re currently a financial advisor or interested in becoming a financial advisor, the deVere Group may be an excellent place to develop your career. Check out our careers page today to find out if there are any roles available today!
