Why Being a Financial Advisor Is Much More Than Numbers

In my early years as a certified public accountant, I often heard people say, “You must really like math!” The truth is that I don’t like math that much at all. At least, I certainly don’t consider math to be in my top five skills; I carry a calculator almost everywhere I go (and it’s much less awkward now that there’s one on my phone). This common misconception seems to have carried over to my career as a financial advisor — it’s as though I’m simply a glorified number cruncher. I’m just here to check the figures, make sure you’ve filled out the right boxes in your tax return, and be a safety net when you need a little backup. Nothing could be further from my actual day-to-day life as an advisor.

A true financial advisor goes way beyond running numbers. A true financial advisor examines salaries, benefits, spend rates, market growth, time to retirement, life spans, etc. But it doesn’t stop there. A true financial advisor seeks to understand a client’s deeper relationship with money, their habits and desires, their goals for their family, and many other intangibles in order to support the achievement of financial health and success.

The most important role of a financial advisor is not that of an analyst. Rather, it’s that of a coach. It’s about creating the trust necessary to engage in direct, honest conversations about how clients’ behaviors impact their financial goals.

What Skills Do You Need to Be a Great Financial Advisor?

Mathematical and analytical skills might be the most generally assumed tools in a financial advisor’s toolbox. The ability to think rationally and make observations and suggestions based on data is certainly an important part of an advisor’s job. But it’s not the whole story.

Empathy is vital. Money is one of the most emotional and intimate topics that people ever engage in conversation about. In fact, most people actually avoid talking about money altogether for those very reasons. And so, financial advising requires deep trust and relationships. We must have the desire and ability to listen actively and imagine the client’s point of view. We must be able to set our own emotions about money aside, put ourselves in their place, and rely on established trust to speak honestly about changes that might need to be made in their financial lives.

Take an example of a client who is on track to run out of assets due to their habits of overspending. We have multiple conversations about budgets and reverse budgets and automating savings. But there seems to be no improvement in spending habits. With empathy, we can begin to see through the client’s eyes. They have these habits for a reason that goes far beyond the numbers. Maybe someone in their lives died very early, resulting in a deeply held belief that we must enjoy today. Maybe someone close to them lost a significant amount of their investments in a market downturn. Maybe they were never shown a healthy financial role model. Maybe their parents were extreme savers, and they could never have what they wanted in their youth. It’s not about me or my money story — it’s about theirs. Empathy is what helps me want to know more about that story to become a better coach.

Patience is another key strength. We provide clear advice and guidance, but without follow-through on the client’s behalf, we can’t effect true change. And it might take a long time — these stories, habits, and patterns have been established over decades and are extremely deep-rooted. Patience can help an advisor stay engaged and clear when communicating with concerned clients.

Passion is the glue that holds it all together. To be an advisor is no easy task. It often feels heavy to carry the emotions of yourself and others. It sometimes seems as though each day brings a new issue as clients bring their whole selves to meetings: the good, the bad, and the scary. If you let them, their fears and worries become your fears and worries. Being a lifelong learner who is passionate about solving problems and growing your own skill set to benefit others is crucial to success as an advisor. The passion for helping others is what we rely on for strength and motivation to push through stressful days, and seeing clients’ successes is rewarding as well.

Are you asking, “Should I become a financial advisor?” Check your skills against what’s listed. You might find you’re a better match than you think.

The Surprising Benefits of Being a Financial Advisor

Financial advising can make a positive impact on clients’ lives far beyond just managing their finances. Here are just a few of the benefits of a career in financial planning that you might not have thought of:

1. Empowering People

As previously mentioned, the biggest responsibility of a financial advisor is relational. Advisors help people overcome money worries, help them put their pasts behind them, and help them save and spend into the future. Everyone makes decisions about money, but few people feel equipped with enough information to do so with a clear mind. Financial health isn’t taught in school, and many people learn financial lessons the hard way through both positive and negative examples.

2. Working With Families Through Generations

Advisors don’t just form relationships with individuals; they work to empower families through estate planning and financial education. Family dynamics will suffer if the division of wealth and assets is handled poorly with insufficient communication. The best advisors can keep a family’s concerns in mind, sharing insights, assisting parents in clearly communicating intent, and appropriately educating their family regarding wealth. Advisors should strive to keep misconceptions and misunderstandings from derailing estate conversations, which is sometimes an impossible task.

3. Bringing Couples Clarity

A financial advisor is a lot like a life coach in many ways. Why become a financial advisor? If your goal is to help others, being an advisor is an incredibly rewarding way to do so. I don’t wish to be a therapist by any means, but I do want to use what I have learned through my own experiences and studies to help others. If this also describes you, you might enjoy navigating the many personal dynamics that rear up in a financial setting. Individuals might struggle to make financial decisions if they’ve previously always had someone controlling their money. Couples often bring together two very different stories about money, different backgrounds, different attitudes toward saving and spending, and different hopes for future generations. Post-marital situations bring their own unique issues to navigate. Helping clients to steer through these rough waters is incredibly rewarding — just don’t forget empathy and patience!

So, you’ve found out a little more about what it is like to be a financial advisor, and you can see that a career in financial planning might actually suit you and your skill set. Now what? The first step is to talk to other financial advisors who have transitioned from other careers and know what you’re going through. When you talk to any of the advisors at Plancorp, you’ll see that the passion for helping others is the most important qualification.