List of Top 5 Careers in Wealth Management
Below are some of the wealth management jobs that a person can opt for –
- Personal Financial Advisor
- Relationship Manager
- Director of Business Development
- AVP – Portfolio Management
- Investment Counselor
Overview of Wealth Management Career
Wealth management career involves rendering Financial Advisory Services, Accounting Services, Estate Planning, Insurance Policies, Investments in Equity & Debt Markets, Retirement Planning, etc. Wealth management job is an Advisory Desk of the Company where a Single Person being a Professional in the Field is allotted to the HNI Clients to understand their requirements and satisfy them with the best Financial Solution to Grow their Asset base.
The Wealth Management Professional is the person who is the Single Point of Contact between the HNI Client and the Company. He will use both Internal & external means to arrive at a Conclusion to provide the best possible mix to the Client. The wealth Management Department is more aggressive when the Economy is Growing, and Equity Markets are at its peak & there are more Investments—coming in the Markets from and HNI Investors.
Let us now discuss the top 5 careers in wealth management in detail –
Career #1 – Personal Financial Advisor
Who is the Personal Financial Advisor?
He is the one who personally meets the Clients in recommending them the best possible option for their Financial Planning, Accounting, Estate Planning, and Insurance
| Personal Financial Advisor - Job Description | |
|---|---|
| Responsibilities | Responsible for sourcing new clients for the company from the market by cross-selling various financial products to them. |
| Designation | Financial Advisor |
| Actual Role | Meet new people on a daily basis and try to convince them by recommending various financial products like mutual funds, stocks, insurance, etc to achieve their financial goals and investments. |
| Job Statistics | As per the bureau of labor statistics of US (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/personal-financial-advisors.htm), the number of jobs in this category was 2,71,900 as at 2016 and are expected to grow at 15% from 2016 to 2026. |
| Top Companies | Boston Consultancy Group, Travelers, Cisco, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, J.P Morgan |
| Salary | The median annual salary for a personal financial advisor as of 2016 was $ 88,890. |
| Demand & Supply | Keeping pace with the current technological advances, the demand for this profile has gone down significantly because there are multiple online modes available for people to make their informed decision and invest in their favored product without and personal help. |
| Education Requirement | CPA / MBA from tier -1 universities with at least 5-10 yrs of experience. |
| Recommended Courses | CPA/ MBA |
| Positives | Client facing role as you have to convince the client to buy your product which increases your marketing & business skills. |
| Negatives | Many people prefer to do direct investments rather than going through a personal financial advisor since it comes with a cost. |
Career #2 – Relationship Manager
Who is a Relationship Manager?
He is the one who is the Single Point of Contact for the HNI Client and the Wealth Management Firm.
| Relationship Manager - Job Description | |
|---|---|
| Responsibilities | Responsible for sourcing business for the company by understanding the risk profile of the client and maintaining a long-lasting relationship with them for gaining repetitive business. |
| Designation | Relationship Manager |
| Actual Role | Source new business and coordinate with the internal departments to get it executed. |
| Job Statistics | As per the bureau of labour statistics of US https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/sales-managers.htm , the number of jobs in this category was 3,85,500 as of 2016 and are expected to grow at 7% from 2016 to 2026. |
| Top Companies | Fidelity, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P Morgan, and Vanguard Group |
| Salary | The median annual salary for a relationship manager as of 2016 was $ 1,24,220. |
| Demand & Supply | The demand and supply ratio will totally depend upon the growth or contraction of the sector in which the company operates along with the government policies that will favor the financial services industry. |
| Education Requirement | CFA/CFP/CPA / MBA from Tier -1 universities with at least 5-10 yrs of experience. |
| Recommended Courses | CPA/ MBA/CFA/CFP/FRM |
| Positives | Analytical skills become sharp and a chance to work along with all the asset classes. |
| Negatives | Sales Targets can be a burden on the employee. |
Career #3 – Director of Business Development
Who is the Director of Business Development?
He is the one who leads the Business Development Team in the Company.
| Director of Business Development - Job Description | |
|---|---|
| Responsibilities | Building strong relationships with Ultra HNI clients and investors in the market. |
| Designation | Director – Business Development |
| Actual Role | Lead the team of relationship managers in the company and mentor them with the right kind of training and guidance required for the job. |
| Job Statistics | Since it is a management level position, the statistics are not readily available on the web. |
| Top Companies | Fidelity, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P Morgan, and Vanguard Group |
| Salary | The median annual salary for a personal business development director will go anywhere between $2,00,000 - $5,00,000 depending upon the salary structure. |
| Demand & Supply | Highly demanded profile in the market since it requires extensive experience and sector expertise. It is the most demanding job in the industry where the supply is limited and demand is increasing day by day. |
| Education Requirement | CFA/CFP/FRM/CPA / MBA from tier -1 universities with at least 15-20 yrs of experience. |
| Recommended Courses | CPA/ MBA/CFA/CFP |
| Positives | Leading role in the company and sole responsibility for generating business for the organization. |
| Negatives | Risky profile since the monthly targets need to be achieved. |
Career #4 – AVP – Portfolio Management
Who is AVP?
Is he the one heads the PMS Department of the Wealth Management Firm?
| AVP – Portfolio Management - Job Description | |
|---|---|
| Responsibilities | Responsible for end to end operations of the PMS dept and monitor the portfolios of the HNI clients and service their needs. |
| Designation | AVP -PMS |
| Actual Role | Operational support to the fund manager by servicing the HNI clients on demand. |
| Job Statistics | It varies from country to country. |
| Top Companies | Fidelity, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P Morgan, and Vanguard Group. |
| Salary | The median annual salary for an AVP PMS would be between $ 75,000 - $1,50,000. |
| Demand & Supply | Very high demand in the growing market since many accounts get opened when the stock market is at its peak which requires a senior level service. |
| Education Requirement | CFA/CPA/MBA from tier -1 universities with at least 8-10 yrs of experience. |
| Recommended Courses | CPA/ MBA/ CFA/CFP |
| Positives | Direct interaction with the portfolio manager of the company and good insights into the financial markets. |
| Negatives | Desk job and client servicing can be boredom for a person who likes to market himself and generate business for the organization. |
Career #5 – Investment Counselor
Who is an Investment Counselor?
He is the one who generally work in a Bank and who understand the Risk Appetite of the Client and offer him appropriate Solution.
| Investment Counselor - Job Description | |
|---|---|
| Responsibilities | Responsible for providing the right solution to the customer as per his requirement. |
| Designation | Investment Counselor |
| Actual Role | Works closely with the product team in the company. |
| Job Statistics | It varies from company to company. |
| Top Companies | Fidelity, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P Morgan, and Vanguard Group. |
| Salary | The median annual salary for an investment councilor would be between $ 100,000 - $2,00,000. |
| Demand & Supply | Very much demanded profile in the market since it comes along with a lot of experience in the field since a personal touch is require to handhold the client, understand his requirement and then offer him the best solution. |
| Education Requirement | CFP/CFA/CPA / MBA from tier -1 universities with at least 8-10 yrs of experience. |
| Recommended Courses | MBA/ CFA |
| Positives | Meet new people and develop good relations within the organization. |
| Negatives | Desk job and client servicing can be boredom for a person who likes to market himself and generate business for the organization. |
Conclusion
Wealth Management is one of the Exciting Careers which one can look at in the long term as they will be exposed to multiple Asset Classes like Stocks, Bonds, Estate Planning, PMS, AIF, Mutual funds, Retirement Plans, Government Securities, Treasury Bills, etc. However, the Candidate would require special expertise in one of these Asset Classes to make a specialization in this field in the long term. For example, A Statistical Analyst will be the best person for a Retirement Planning Role, and a Financial Analyst will be best suited to sell PMS/AIF/Mutual Funds/Stocks.
Recommended Articles
This has been a guide to Wealth Management Careers. Here we provide the top 5 wealth management careers list, including a Personal Financial Advisor, Relationship Manager, AVP Portfolio Management, etc. You may also have a look at these articles below.
