Posted by Noble : (nō-bəl) – having, showing, or coming from personal qualities that people admire
A Wall Street Journal article published this week titled “I Don’t Have a Job. I Have a Higher Calling,” stated that young workers want to make a difference in addition to a paycheck; they are demanding more meaning and purpose from their careers. There are very few professions out there where one can make a lasting impact on a person’s life; where one truly feels they made a remarkable difference. Yet, it’s what financial advisors do every day, all day. Their efforts touches at a personal level by making people’s goals a reality, keeping families intact and small businesses continue to the next generation.
One key job responsibility of an advisor is to wipe out financial illiteracy which is an epidemic in America. A recent survey by the AICPA asked ‘who do you most often consult for financial advice?’—the #1 response was family member and #2 was I have no one to ask. Financially, people must increasingly make it on their own; society does not prepare them to do this; and the stark reality is that they will never be able successfully to do it without sound financial advice – financial ignorance, indiscipline and bad information are the ailments which financial advisors try to cure.
As Colleen Blum, a young advisor at Empire Wealth Strategies, states, “There is not enough education today for the average person to know how to plan for their future. People generally don’t like to talk about the future since it is troubling to discuss the unknown. We need to change the way people view money and educate them on things to do today and not wait since it affects the loved ones in their life. As an advisor I feel like I’m their advocate and for those who depend on them”
There is so much financial information from a multitude of media sources in today’s marketplace that a consumer is overwhelmed resulting in inertia. Google ‘financial planning’ and one gets 120,000,000 results. So, people want a financial sherpa to guide and educate them on different paths so they can then make smarter financial decisions.
As Ms. Blum stated, one of the biggest challenges an advisor faces is people don’t like to talk about it. In that same AICPA survey, they asked ‘which personal problem would you be most comfortable discussing?’ – financial ranked fourth behind workplace, health and relationship/family issues. In general, people don’t spend a lot of time talking about the ‘big stuff’ that is so important in their life and can be the difference between disaster and wellbeing. Most, in fact, will put more thought and time planning a family vacation than what their retirement situation will be. Financial advisors play the role as catalysts to open these difficult conversations among business owners, spouses and family members resulting in piece of mind with a sound plan in place.
Now what can be more nobler than giving people a chance to leave a legacy, to live with dignity and to have a comfortable retirement? I definitely think that’s a profession to admire.
Interested in learning more about financial advising and opportunities at Empire Wealth Strategies? Attend their info session on March 5th and RSVP here! or contact Evelyn Gellar, Senior Vice President, at egellar@ewsnyc.com.
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