Carl Bradford

Not every job market is depressed.  In fact, there are a number of employers that are listing job vacancies with third-party recruiters because they are having difficulty filling specific jobs.

While there are several different industries where this is occurring, two in particular seem to be exploding with growth.

One of those will not necessarily be a surprise and that one is the medical field. There is an extreme shortage of just about anyone with skills and experience in that market.

Another one, that surprises many people is the financial services market sector. Given all the news media attention in that market during 2009, you might conclude that little or no hiring is happening there, but that would be wrong.

In this post, I’ll cover just one area within the financial services market that the recruiting division of my Bradford Consulting Company is working on for 2010. This is a large, national search that is likely to go on throughout the year and beyond!

Financial Advisors

Demand for Personal Financial Advisors is projected to grow a whopping 41% between 2006 and 2016 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. CNN/Money ranks Personal Financial Advisor job opportunities #3 on the list of the Top 50 Jobs.

This is represented by such recent media headlines such as:

• Wirehouse Brokers Flock to Registered Investment Advisory Firms
• Wirehouses Scramble as Advice Goes Independent
• Wirehouses Losing Assets and Advisors
• War Breaks Out for Wirehouse Brokers

Professionals in this market go by several different but similar titles.  They Include:

• Financial Advisors
• Investment Advisors
• Financial Planners
• Financial Consultants
• Stockbroker

Market Size

The growth in Financial Advisor jobs is expected to be strong, with this occupation being among the ten fastest growing careers.

A recent survey of two of the major job boards had listings for over 7000 Financial Advisor jobs. Employment growth will be driven by increasing levels of investment in securities and commodities in the global marketplace increase in the retirement or near-retirement population as well as the growing need for investment advice by young professionals. Why Financial Advisors are Changing Employers Smaller financial consulting and brokerage firms are offering distinct advantages to lure brokers away from the larger financial wirehouses. Based on my discussions and further research there are several advantages experienced Financial Advisors are gaining when they make this type of job change.

• Quicker adaption to market changes – Smaller firms can make quicker changes to the dynamics of the market place which their clients love
• Bigger payout –up to 90% in some cases, leading to the opportunity to earn more in commissions
• Better technology – Technology and research are key to attracting and keeping good advisors
• Better product mix, including moving away from pushing proprietary products of the larger wirehouses
• Better Recognition – $300,000 producers at large firms do not even get noticed, yet smaller firms covet these advisors
• One-on-one mentoring – experienced leaders help advisors to grow professionally with personal attention
• More Independence – along with the opportunity to have more control of their book-of-business especially when they retire

The Sweet Spot for Financial Advisor Opportunities and Where While opportunities exist at every level, and in most every major and secondary city throughout the US, one of the biggest needs is for registered financial professionals with 2 to 5 years of experience, and a minimum of $100K in twelve month trailing production and $10 million and above in assets under management.

By going to smaller firms, career growth is more rapid for most of the reasons listed above. With more individual mentoring, better technology and resources, and the opportunity to make significantly more income, the opportunity is very real.

Instant Leadership Opportunity

There is also a new and very enticing opportunity for more experienced Financial Advisors who might like to make and move and take a small group of fellow advisors with them, i.e. move a small team. This will allow these brokers to immediately begin to earn larger override commissions on their teams efforts while at the same time providing everyone on the team with a much more attractive career path.