Study Reveals How The Next Gen Of Financial Planners Thinks

Eliane Chavagnon

7 March 2013

The next generation of financial advisors rate strong communication and relationship-building skills as very important when working in the financial services industry, according to Schwab’s Student Pulse Survey.

An overwhelming 92 per cent of some 100 respondents at Texas Tech University consider strong communication and relationship-building skills as “very important,” while 89 per cent say the same about the ability to understand challenges and apply tailored solutions. The students were all on the university's personal financial planning program.

Encouragingly, 69 per cent of the financial planning students said they want a career where they interact daily with people and have a role in relationship management. Almost half (47 per cent) of all students said they see themselves enjoying a career where they interact daily with people and clients.

That said, understanding financial markets and complex data is still regarded highly by most students (68 per cent), compared to 40 per cent who see it as only “moderately important.”

Many executives in the industry have often cited finding advisors who combine technical and interpersonal skills as one of their biggest challenges in running wealth management businesses.

Students also perceived that the ability to be self-motivated and to understand technology were important, with these skills almost equally valued in the students’ eyes.

In other findings, 60 per cent are also interested in business development roles, while product/service development and delivery is of least interest overall (28 per cent), especially among undergraduates (12 per cent).

Boundaries of independence

Meanwhile, the findings also suggest that students want to be able to create a career on their own terms, with 73 per cent saying they would value independence within a job. However, they don’t want to go it completely alone and would embrace industry advice and guidance, with half of those surveyed believing they would value a “strong training program” and many saying they would benefit from working to specific objectives.

Social media findings

Unsurprisingly, the survey confirmed that students are actively engaged in social networks, with Facebook dominating the overall count at 80 per cent - a figure even higher among undergraduates (97 per cent) and lower among those at the master level (67 per cent).

LinkedIn is second at 54 per cent, with usage highest among PhD students (62 per cent), followed by masters students (61 per cent) and then undergrads (47 per cent).

Less than half of all students use Twitter and the service is, among the overall student population surveyed, most popular among undergraduates (58 per cent) and least popular among PhD students (31 per cent).

“Attracting young people to the RIA space is critical to the channel’s success going forward,” said Bernie Clark, head of Schwab Advisor Services. “While they don’t want to go it alone, these young professionals are clearly seeking the opportunity to put their own stamp on their careers - a path clearly offered in the independent model.”

The survey tied in with Charles Schwab and Texas Tech University's celebration of the opening last week of the newly renovated Charles Schwab Personal Financial Planning Technology Complex.