Ways to Make Money as a Financial Planner: 10 Ways to Get Paid

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Do you want to make money as a financial planner but don’t know how? It can be hard to know where to start if you are looking to make money as a financial planner. However, I have made that simple for you in this post.

Most people think going into finance would involve sales and trading, but there are also a lot of ways to make money in finance that have nothing to do with that.

In this post, I’ve compiled a few reliable ways you can make money as a financial planner without breaking too much sweat.

So, how can you make money as a financial planner?

1. Offer Specialized Accounting Services to Small Businesses

If you want to break into the financial planning field and make money, one of the best methods is offering specialized accounting services to individual, small businesses.

Collecting receipts and processing payments may not be the most exciting activity, but with your client relationships built on trust, they can lead to larger opportunities for growth for your business.

By offering specialized accounting services, you will give your clients something they desperately need: a better understanding of their financial statements.

Cash is king for startups, but without the right accounting services, it’s hard for entrepreneurs to effectively manage their finances. As a financial planner, you have a unique opportunity to charge for the services that business owners seek most and get paid well.

The areas in which you may concentrate your efforts vary widely and include financial statement analysis; tax preparation; risk management; and emergency response in the event of a natural disaster.

SEE: Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses

2. Build a Financial Plan for Individuals and Families

The services of a financial planner are in high demand, especially in the wake of the financial crisis, when many people lost significant amounts of wealth. Working as a financial planner doesn’t have to mean working for a financial services firm.

You can work as an independent financial planner and specialize in building financial plans for individuals and families. You will be tasked with helping individuals and families meet financial goals by preparing specific plans to meet specific objectives.

This way, you will help your clients develop the habits, behaviors, and skills necessary to achieve financial independence and how to maximize the benefits of their plans.

Also, you can help your clients plan for their retirement by making sure they have the right type of retirement account, that they’re saving enough, and that they’re investing the money wisely.

3. Help Other Financial Services Firms Sell Their Products

It’s the 21st century, and financial planning has morphed into an industry that touches millions. If you know how to sell products, you can become a marketer of financial products and earn a healthy income in the process.

Many financial planners don’t focus on selling other company’s products, especially those from other financial services companies. This leaves a great deal of money sitting on the table.

The financial planning industry is dominated by big-name firms, such as Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, and Edward Jones. But these firms spend millions on advertising every year trying to market their products and services.

You can make your money by selling financial products for these big financial services firms. The usual products include mutual funds, annuities, insurance, and other fee-based investment services. The more products you sell, the more successful you are likely to be.

4. Work for An Insurance Company

Financial planners are needed in just about every industry. However, most of the best financial planners are independent contractors who typically contract with an insurance company to develop insurance packages that will be sold by the insurance company.

An insurance company can offer you a very lucrative salary and benefits package. They allow you to make money as a financial planner by aiding insurance agents with their plans as well as educating and training them as to how to help their clients.

As a financial planner for an insurance company, you can help people manage their money so they can pay for insurance products and other financial services offered by the company. Interestingly, you do not have to run after any potential customers because they’re readily available.

There may be several duties, such as advising customers on their current insurance policies or selling new policies for the company. The sales requirement varies from office to office and maybe a large part of the job, depending on the size of a particular operation.

SEE: How To Make Money as an Insurance Broker

5. Become a Financial blogger

Financial bloggers are gaining popularity, and there are even some opportunities to make money as one. There are no particular requirements apart from having a good writing skills.

You can start with something simple, like posting personal finance tips or sharing budgeting tips. Over time, as your numbers improve, you can expand your blogging career to include financial planning tips, investing tips, and financial planning advice.

With a little work and a lot of passion, you can generate passive income through blogging.
The more you blog, the more popular your blog becomes.

“But can I make money by becoming a financial blogger?” “Yes, but mainly indirectly. Writing professionally on your blog will build authority in your niche, allowing you to gain followings in your field.”

Once you have a lot of people visiting your blog daily, some of the ways you can monetize your blog include:

  • Affiliate marketing
  • Selling ad space
  • Advertorials and sponsored content
  • Guest posts for media outlets
  • Offer members-only content
  • Accept donations
  • Offer your financial planning services

SEE: How to Monetize Your Blog

6. Write and Sell e-books

As a professional financial planner, you help others reach the financial milestones of their lives, such as buying a home, paying for college, starting a family, saving for retirement, and passing on wealth to the next generation.

Over the years, you’ve mastered the skills necessary to help them accomplish their goals, but you may be looking for even more ways to build your business and make more money. Here is a reliable method: Create informational e-books.

In the world of personal finance, there’s always a demand for info. People are always seeking ways to save money, increase their income, better manage their money, and make the most of their investments. And, if you’re a financial planner, you’re in a position to provide that valuable information.

How can you sell your financial planning e-books? You can sell your e-books through your website(if you have one), affiliate programs such as Amazon and eBay. Alternatively, you can try Lulu. Lulu allows you to set your price. The price you set determines how much money you will receive.

7. Become An Independent Financial Advisor for the Seniors

Financial advice is a $100 trillion industry in the United States. As the country becomes more financially savvy, the demand for financial advice has skyrocketed.

There has never been a better time to be a financial advisor — the industry is heading for steady growth over the next few years.  As baby boomers retire, they will leave billions of dollars on the table.

According to Census Bureau’s Vintage Population Estimates, in 2018, there were 52 million people age 65 and older. Every year, this category of people retires and the number will continue growing even till 2030.

But there’s a big shift occurring in retirement planning being driven by new rules from regulators. Therefore there’s a high need for Financial advisors to cater to these senior citizens’ needs. They need advice that’s more holistic and customized given their changing preferences and challenges with managing their retirement savings.

8. Become a Professional Finanancial Planning Speaker

As a professional speaker, you can earn substantial fees for speaking at events and seminars. Even many professional speaker’s fees are based on the number of people who are present. Therefore, the more people you get to speak to, the more money you make.

Like many financial planners, you may find yourself frequently asked to speak at schools, colleges, universities, and community groups. However, the key to having a successful speech is meeting your audience where they are and tailoring the presentation to their interests.

The idea here is to offer information that’s not readily available in any one place. You can cover a variety of topics including money basics, retirement, home buying, credit issues, and other pertinent information about managing finances.

This is a way to build credibility and referrals, create reusable content for all types of media, develop relationship-building opportunities with influencers in the industry, and even make a little extra money.

If you have a massive social media following, you will make more money with this method.

SEE: How To Make Money With Your Social Media Followers

9. Offer Financial Consultation Services

Becoming a financial consultant allows you to specialize in a particular field of finances or industries. This will allow you to be more successful at it than your standard financial planner, who would have broader expertise.

Financial consultants are usually paid through an hourly fee or commission based on what they advise their clients to do.

Hourly fees can range from $150 to $400 an hour, depending on the complexity and size of the client’s situation. But if you’re working on an hourly basis, I will recommend that you set a fee minimum.

While an hourly fee is a good start, you can also charge a flat fee or a percentage of the assets under management. These flat fees can help clients budget for their financial planning services. But for some clients, an hourly rate might be a better fit. The idea here is to know your clients and what fits them.

10. Create Online Course on Financial Planning and Management

Online courses are becoming increasingly popular, and financial planners can cash in on them. You can put together an online course that teaches others about financial planning and management and help you bring in extra income.

Financial planning is a growing field, with more and more young people seeking advice as they move away from their parents’ homes. The demand for financial planners is high, and more and more young people are choosing to become certified financial planners (CFPs).

Therefore, If you’re thinking about making money as a financial planner, creating and selling online courses may be the perfect option for you.

Your online course title can major in any of these areas:

  • Investments
  • Insurance
  • Retirement
  • Employee benefits
  • Estate planning
  • Tax planning
  • Education
  • Business planning

SEE: How to Create an Online Course Like a Professional

FAQs

How much does a financial planner make?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of 2017 reports that the average annual income of financial advisors is $124,140. That figure is for all financial advisers, including those who work exclusively in financial planning, and does not account for the added complexity of managing clients’ tax records.

What do you need to become a financial planner?

Becoming a financial planner entails a lot of education, training, and experience. Many people, however, successfully earn the right to call themselves financial planners so long as they provide quality service to their clients while upholding their fiduciary responsibility.

Can you make 300k as a financial advisor?

 Yes, you can. If you are an experienced and certified financial advisor, you can make even more than 300k. However, are you willing to put in the time and money to build your own firm?

And if you choose to work for another firm, do you have the skills, experience, and a good track of results you’ve gotten over the years? These are the factors that will determine how you can earn as a financial advisor.

Conclusion

Since everyone needs financial advice, financial planners are highly sought after. Therefore, if you’re good at managing other people’s money, you can make a lot of money.

However, this is possible if you know the way to go about it, and that’s what I have addressed in this post. Any of the highlighted methods require good skill and experience to make it work for you.

If you enjoy writing, you can become a financial blogger. You can make money writing for well-known financial blogs in the industry or create your own blog. However, it will take a little time before you can start making money from your blog. In addition to the blog, you can write and sell e-books.

However, if you’re experienced and have the skills, you can work with other financial services firms as a contractor while you make more money speaking at events and conferences.

Finally, since you are already here, you may also be interested in how to make money as an accountant (Bookkeeper).

I hope you found this post helpful. Thanks for reading.