FINANCIAL ADVISERS JOB PROSPECTS

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JOB PROSPECTS Job prospects for financial advisers are generally good as many workers in these occupations are likely to retire over the next decade. However, prospects are limited for school leavers as people in these jobs are expected to have established lists of clients, which often take years to build up.

These jobs now require registration with the Financial Markets Authority, making entry more difficult, but providing more opportunities for those who are registered.

At a glance

SERVICE INDUSTRIES

■ How to become a financial adviserFinancial advisers give advice about financial planning, insurance, investing and other financial services and products. The general term ‘financial advisor’ includes the likes of financial planners, mortgage and insurance brokers; as well as people working for insurance companies, banks and building societies that provide advice about money, financial products and investing.

An adviser receives, holds, pays or transfers client money or property on their behalf.

Financial advisers need a thorough understanding of how financial markets work so they can give good advice to clients. Having qualifications at Level 5 or above is preferable for all jobs in these occupations.

Qualifications needed

A variety of certificate and degree qualifications are available. At a minimum, you would require a National Certificate in Financial Services (Level 5) to become an authorised financial advisor. There is a Diploma in Personal Financial Planning. For more information about the skills needed to enter financial services work, see the Skills Organisation website.

→ Skills Organisation, financial services: www.skills.org.nz/financial-services-sector/

→ Skills Organisation, Certificate in Financial Services: skills.org.nz/industries/financial-services/learning-pathways

Cost of study

Bachelor of Commerce in Finance

Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Personal Financial Planning)

18,600 over three years $5,800 over one year

Average costs in 2014 for a domestic student. Costs vary between institutions. Further costs include materials, textbooks, and accommodation.

Rents vary from place to place. Estimated market rents by re-gion, city and suburb are available on the MBIE Tenancy Services website.

The StudyLink website provides general budget advice for students, and the Sorted website provides help with detailed budget planning.

→ Tenancy Services: www.tenancy.govt.nz/rent-bond-and-bills

→ StudyLink: www.studylink.govt.nz

→ Sorted: www.sorted.org.nz/calculators/money-planner

Where to study

Relevant qualifications are available across New Zealand, at poly-technics, private training organisations (PTOs) and universities.

Registration

Under the Financial Advisers Act (2008) licensing is now required for financial advisors. To do this, they need to:

• complete the National Certificate in Financial Services (Financial Advice) – NZQA Level 5, or equivalent qualification

• get authorisation to practise from the Financial Markets Authority (FMA)

• be registered on the Financial Service Providers Register

• belong to one of four approved dispute resolution schemes.

For more detail on licensing, see the FMA website.

→ FMA, licensing: fma.govt.nz/compliance/role/afas/#e2037

Completed qualifications

The number of students completing relevant qualifications rose from 950 in 2011 to 1,140 in 2013. Since 2010 there has been a rise of about 20.0% in the number of students completing a Bachelor’s degree in banking and finance.

SERVICE INDUSTRIES

FINANCIAL ADVISERS

Source: Ministry of Education

■ Income and employment prospectsIncome

In 2014, the average income for financial advisers was estimated to be $90,000.

Estimated average income

$90,000

Average Income from Statistics New Zealand June 2015 New Zealand Income Survey. Estimated from average hourly earnings.

Graduates with a bachelor’s degree in the fields of banking and finance earned $41,600 one year after their study ended. After five years, earnings had increased to about $64,700.

Median earnings after qualification completion

One year Two years Five years

$41,600 $47,000 $64,700

Employment and skill shortages

Financial advisers employment

Current Projected growth

2013 2014 2014–19 2019–24

4,5704,480down 2.0%

0.7% per year -0.1% per year

Employment is expected to grow by about 0.7% per year from 2014 to 2019, and remain flat (down by 0.1%) from 2019 to 2024. Demand for new financial advisers may rise more strongly if a number of people leave the profession due to non-compliance with the requirements of the Financial Advisers Act 2008. In addition, many financial advisers are expected to retire in the next 10 to 15 years.

Source: MBIE Estimates

Where to find job vacancies

The number of online job vacancies for financial advisers increased by 48.9% from September 2014 to September 2015. This compares with an overall increase of 1.9% for all vacancies over the same period.

Vacancies are advertised through public media such as the Trade Me Jobs and Seek websites.

→ Trade Me Jobs: www.trademe.co.nz/jobs

→ Seek: www.seek.co.nz

Career path

Most financial advisers need to establish a list of clients, which takes time. Many begin their careers in junior positions within financial firms or banks and work their way up from there.

■ Other informationLinks

More information about financial advisers is available on the Careers New Zealand website.

→ Careers New Zealand: www.careers.govt.nz

Num

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of s

tude

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com

plet

ing

qual

ifica

tion

0

500

1,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Diploma Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree

Empl

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Estimate Forecast

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

2009 2014 2019 2024