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 been 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. 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 for 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?

He is 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. Although 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.

Careers in Wealth Management