Financial Consultant Job Description

Global recession, and a negative bump in the US economy for the last two to three years has led to significant changes in the lifestyle of people. Money constraints have forced people and businesses to take better financial decisions, and this has in turn spurred demands of skilled financial advisers. Advising clients on most suitable and profitable ways of investing money, (financial planning, in fact) forms one of the major activities of a financial consultant's job.

Clients of financial consultants may include individuals, firms, organizations and specific groups. In the recent years, owing to the expanding economies and the unpredictable nature of market, the need of people who're able to foresee market trends, and predict most profitable investment options has risen significantly. Financial consultants help people to manage their income and finances, in the most profitable way.

• Prepare, draft and document yearly or half-yearly investment summaries for clients.
• In various cases, financial consultants help in retirement planning.
• Informing clients, preparing summarized reports about laws, legislation and financial regulations that can affect savings/investments of clients and help them in wealth creation.

• Advise and work with clients based on the rules set by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
• Keep and maintain all updated information about taxation and any modifications in financial products.
• Advise clients for proper asset management.

• Help clients take informed financial decisions based on extensive research and market trends.
• Helping groups of people interested in financial management to take informed decisions by conducting seminars and meetings.
• Work upon designing financial strategies to maximize profits of clients in the field of personal finances.

• Examine financial statements of corporates and individuals to understand their budgets and expenses. Based on study and research, advise clients on good investment options.
• Help stock brokers take better decisions pertaining to stocks, shares, bonds and investments in the stock market.

Job requirements that are skill sets and educational qualifications are one of the integral parts of the job of a financial consultant. Not only they are required to have a sharp acumen in understanding the national and global economy, they must also be able to know about laws and rules that affect investments.

Skills Required

• An extensive reader who keeps abreast with latest happenings in financial world.
• An aptitude for numbers, graphs, pie charts, histograms and knowledge about jargon of economics, accounts and business world.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

• Ability to deal with stress and work pressure in meeting deadlines.
• Good negotiation skills to convince clients and persuade them for profitable investments.
• Ability to socialize easily and make strong professional relationships with people. Networking skills are important to attract more clients.

Educational Requirements

• Must have a bachelor's degree in commerce related subjects like accounts, business administration, finance, economics or statistics, preferably.
• Consulting license as per state laws or as per required by the employer.

Senior consultants are more into managerial works, and they supervise a team of two to several financial consultants in an investment company. The career development path for financial consultants is bright, and as per BLS, there are significant growth opportunities in this field, for those who're interested in the study of finance. On an average, the salary range of these professionals ranges between US$40,000 to US$90,000 per year, as per various financial magazine studies.

The above abridged information must have given you some insights about this profession. Being a financial consultant is a rewarding career choice for commerce background students. All the Best!