Career changes in to financial planning

The financial planning industry is growing strongly and quickly. An initial major driving influence was the mandatory superannuation decision by the government which drove investment savings up incredibly. Financial planners are often sought in gaining advice on how to invest in preparation for retirement given the need for finance is now mainly independent from government contributions. When people do retire they also often need the expertise of financial advisers.

Many individuals who have initially chosen different professions have considered becoming financial planning because of the opptiunities both in finding a job and also the opportunity for a large remuneration once they get a job. PS146 / RG146 training would be necessary for people making a change of careers. These courses would general come in the form of a Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning). The main players in this industry are Kaplan, the International Institute of Technology (IIT), Finsea and PS 146.

The skills sets needed to be a financial planner includes an ability to relate to people. People are often making a big descion with their money and they will need to feel that they can trust a financial planner. ASIC compliant courses (PS146/RG14) include skills training and testing for this reason. The finical planners also need to be able to understand financial relationships such as a between technical data and a client's information. PS146/RG146 requires students to understand technical information such as corporation law requirements and apply them to clients' circumstances. A financial planner also needs to process current market occurrences so as to relate these back to a client's information so an appropriate decision can be made about where a client should invest. The financial bail out of the USA's Wall Street market for instance will have flow on affects for clients which should be considered by financial advisers.

Professions that have an emphasis of technical examination have one of the skill sets required of financial planners. Careers such as engineers, accountants and scientists would find the technical aspects of RG146 /PS146 training very managble. There is a mathematical element in the nationally recognised Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning) which typically contains most of the elements of ASIC compliance but definitely the elements of PS146/RG146 needed to become a financial planner without the specialities such as managed investments, securities and insurance broking. The mathematics is not difficult in the course however; it examines such relationships as returns and investments or the amount of tax that may need to be paid. Engineers, many scientists and some academics use what might be describes as difficult mathematics which does not apply to financial planning qualifications.

Professional that have the skill set of dealing with people well also have a great head start into the financial planning industry. Careers such as nurses, teachers, bank tellers and public relations officers would be able to apply their skill sets in a very effective way in the financial services industry. These skills would be helpful in fulfilling the RG146/PS146 courses which require a skill assessment which can take the form of conducting an interview or a role play.