The Definitive Financial Adviser Career Guide

From Discovery to Awareness
March 30, 2009

Grab Mind Share of your Audience with Social Networking

Author: admin - Categories: 1st 90 Days Head Start - Tags: , , , ,

networkingWithout a doubt, Social Networking in the internet is becoming a significant way for many businesses to market services and products. How does that affect the Financial Practitioner? Can you imagine if more “trendy” Financial Practices start to use this new media as a form of information, branding and a two-way communication tool to market to new clients or build mind-share with current clients? And will you be left behind?

Let me share with you some common applications of this technology: Read it all..

March 13, 2009

Why You Should Bother with a Marketing Plan if You Want Success - Part 2

Author: admin - Categories: 1st 90 Days Head Start - Tags: , , , , , , ,

chessAfter all that brainy thinking exercise, let’s get down and dirty to the “doing” part. What are the crucial preparation and actual implementation of a marketing plan that will create explosive results for your financial practice?

Would your strategies be sustainable and be profitable long term? And what are the check and balance you should have to bring your business over obstacles and into the next level? Read it all..

March 3, 2009

Why You Should Bother with a Marketing Plan if You Want Success - Part 1

Author: admin - Categories: 1st 90 Days Head Start - Tags: ,

KeyNow why should you even bother wasting hours to write a Marketing Plan? Most of the time, what’s written inside would not even materialize. Right? That’s very likely if you just do a superficial job, not being truthful to yourself and if you write it alone without a coach.

Would writing a marketing plan ensure success? I wish I could say that, but it’s just one part of the puzzle. The marketing plan is just a piece of useless paper if not put into implementation, constantly reviewed and improved upon. Read it all..

February 21, 2009

Are You Just a Face in a Crowd of Financial Advisors?

Author: admin - Categories: 1st 90 Days Head Start - Tags: , ,

stand-outAsk yourself this question, how does your prospect know you exist? If you are looking to stand-out from the competition, you have to market yourself differently. Or do you market yourself at all?

Let’s face it; there are easily 4-5 financial planners or financial advisers that most qualified prospects in their 30s and 40s already know. Why should they listen to you and not the others?

The three key factors to stand out in our Financial Advisory arena are: trusted references, expertise branding and effective use of marketing. Read it all..

February 7, 2009

Business Goal Setting for New Financial Advisers

Author: admin - Categories: 1st 90 Days Head Start - Tags: , , , , , ,

targetgoalWhile it would be unrealistic for brand new financial advisers to have any sort of grand dreams and vision for their business until they have spent some time in the business, it’s still important to set business goals and achieve them, because good results drives the passion in the beginning.

How should a new adviser go about their Goals Setting? Read it all..

February 2, 2009

How to Get off the Starting Blocks in Financial Planning Services

Author: admin - Categories: 1st 90 Days Head Start - Tags: , , , ,

Starting Block

Now that you’ve passed all your licensing exams and eager to launch your financial planning career, you realized that there are tons of things that needs to be learnt and to be done. Many people get stuck in the complexity, have misplaced priorities, eventually tire out and fall off.

To get off the starting blocks fast and right, here are five things to work on:

Read it all..

January 24, 2009

5 Tips on How to Choose the Right Financial Adviser Firm

Author: admin - Categories: Exploring the Career - Tags: , , , , , , , ,

ChoicesTo succeed in the financial advisory industry is in itself a formidable task. It is important that you get off on the right foot, to have a reasonable chance to last the journey. To start with, ask yourself: have you selected the right financial advisory platform or firm for you?

Assuming that you already decided that this is the right career path for yourself, there are 5 key things you need to look at when choosing what financial advisory firm you are going to join. The 5 key things are:

Read it all..

January 19, 2009

New Poll on “Which CFMAS exam is most difficult?”

Author: admin - Categories: Exploring the Career - Tags: , , , , ,

Many people have been asking about how long to prepare for the CFMAS exam, whether it’s so difficult that you’ll need to take leave and such…

I’ve just posted a poll on which CFMAS Exam is the most difficult and requires most preparation time. Collectively, I think we have a better answer.

In my opinion, M5 is the driest, lot’s of memory work, best to do some cramming (2 full days before). M9 involves some calculation and understanding, thus spreading out the studying over 2 weeks (1-2hrs a day) would be better. Health insurance like M5 is a bit dry, questions can be quite tricky and not straight forward, so do lots of mock exams! M8 is not easy for those without a business diploma/degree background, so be prepared to spend 2-3 weeks of preparations, focus on practice of mock exams but understand the topic well. M6 difficulty is at least twice that of M8.

That’s just my feedback. Perhaps, collectively more light can be shed here.

Kindly participate in my poll if you have already taken the exams and help the newbies, ya?


Poll Answers

January 14, 2009

Adviser License Requirements: CMFAS Exams m5, m6, m9, HI, m8

Author: admin - Categories: Exploring the Career - Tags: , , , , , , ,

What are the licensing requirements for Financial Advisers?

Well there are 3 types of Financial Advisory Firms which has different licensing requirements:

  1. Personal Bankers are under the Exempt FA license, but personal bankers need to take M5, M9, HI, M8. M6 is usually required to market structured products, bonds & other securities. M7 only if you advise on futures & other derivatives.
  2. Financial Planners under Insurance Companies need to take only M5, M9 before being able to market life insurance products or riders without Major Illness or Medical coverage. HI is needed to market with Major Illness and Medical. No need for the rest of the exams.
  3. Financial Advisers Representatives (FAR) under Financial Advisory Companies (multi-tied or independent) have the same requirement as financial planners under insurance companies, but require additional M8 to market collective investment schemes. Under M8, the FAR is required to have a basic understanding of unit trusts and other collective investment schemes in order to competently market them. M6 and M7 are optional.

Read it all..

Six Valuable Career Lessons

Author: admin - Categories: Exploring the Career - Tags: , , , , ,
Career Advice ‘08

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: career advice)

I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining and insightful slideshow about six important Career Lessons by Dan Pink author of The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need

1. There is no plan. Try as you might, it’s usually not possible to chart an exact plan. But there is a way…

2. Think Strengths, Not Weakness. <much like Gallup Management Journal’s concept of working on strengths not weakness. See the book StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths>

3. It’s not about you, it’s about helping others, as Napolean Hill said “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” - Think and Grow Rich: Revised and Updated for the 21st Century

4. Persistence trumps Talent. As the saying goes:”Your Attitude determines your Altitude.”

5. Make Excellent Mistakes. “There are no failures, just experiences and your reaction to them.” Tom Krause Touching Hearts, Teaching Greatness

6. Leave an imprint.

Do enjoy and leave some comments.