Circa post-recession, importance of wealth manager sharply increased. Many who earlier went to the mortgage refinancing route realized in the hard way that not managing finances could have catastrophic impact. They started managing debt cautiously and became more careful with their finances. Some of them made a wiser decision and hired a wealth manager.
Need a wealth manager?
Do you need a wealth manager? It depends on couple of things. First and foremost, what is your net worth and how much can you invest at any time? If the figures are under $100000, there’s no need for a wealth manager.
In the United States, many have over $100000 in their savings. Some of them are risk-averse while others love taking financial risks. Those who belong to the latter category need the service of a wealth manager. A wealth manager can help them taking calculated risks, resulting in further increase in wealth.
How wealth managers help
Some call them financial advisors. However, wealth manager is a better term because financial advisors normally work for large enterprises or very wealthy clients. Wealth managers offer advice to people who hire them. By following the advice, clients can retain wealth, find new investment avenues that are safe and profitable.
How to become one
There’s lot of money in this profession. Naturally, many aspire to become wealth managers. Some even change their careers to become one. The first thing you need to have is money-management skill. If you think you can manage finances well in your personal life, becoming a wealth manager might not be hard for you.
Keep reading to know how to become a wealth manager.
Acquire preferred skills
You need to have a range of skills. The skill set includes analytical ability, the ability to persuade others, risk-calculation and most importantly, communication skills. If you think you have the ability to think critically, pay attention to every detail and excel at interpersonal skills, the job of wealth manager may be the right one for you. In addition, you need to be a confident decision maker and an overall trustworthy person.
Academic requirements
The minimum educational requirement is a 2.1 or upper second class degree. The degree must be obtained in math, economics, finance management related subjects. A liberal arts degree is not useful at all if your dream is to manage other people’s wealth and you are curious to know how to become a wealth manager.
What about people who have degree in other academic disciplines? If they have professional exposure to the financial domain, the lack of economics or finance degree can be mitigated. A minimum of five years of experience in finance, especially in sales or stock market is preferable.
Clients may expect you to complete certification courses. For your information, you need to have a specific qualification to be able to work as a wealth manager. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the sanctioning authority. Check FCA’s Appropriate Qualification list today.
Need focus and direction
To become a wealth manager, you need both focus and direction. Why are these two so much important? First off, without focus, you cannot have a vision or even if you have one, cannot implement it. Without direction, you don’t have a plan.
Think about it, why would someone hire you. Unless they are convinced that hiring them would increase their wealth, they won’t show any interest in hiring you. You should be able to convince prospective clients that you have a focus, as in, you have decided whether to invest their money in the bond market or in the equity market.
The ability to convince
A wealth manager is one who can convince others that guided investment can yield favorable return in a short span of time. Of course, he should never promise anything that sounds shoddy. Get rich quick type schemes are outright scams. A wealth manager must advise his clients to avoid such investment plans.
If you want to know how to become a wealth manager, here’s a kicker for you; most people want to become rich but at the same time shy away from investment schemes that are risky. To convince them that risk equals reward can be a herculean task. An efficient wealth manager is one who listens to clients patiently and allays their fear by explaining how the market works.
Be knowledgeable
To convince prospective clients, you must be highly knowledgeable. In-depth knowledge in share market, bond market, future market, mutual fund and index fund is needed. If clients are reluctant to invest in risky areas, insist them to invest in index fund. Those who lack knowledge in finance will ask you to explain why index funds are safer. Unless you have extensive knowledge, your explanation won’t satisfy them.
Summing up
So, there you are. Now you know how to become a wealth manager. Follow the tips shared here in this article, enroll yourself in a certification course if you haven’t already, increase your knowledge in finance and economics and work on your communication skills. As described here in this article, these are building blocks for becoming a successful wealth manager.
