Young people entering the financial planning field, after extensive time in the classroom, need to know what financial planning actually looks like in practice, according Hannah Moore, financial advisor with Guiding Wealth Management in Dallas.

“New advisors go through these great educational programs but when they start work they need to know how to navigate their careers as a financial planner,” she said.

“They have great ideas but they need to know how to actually communicate their recommendations to clients and to learn how to prompt clients to act on their recommendations,” Moore added.

Helping new advisors navigate that pathway is the goal of a new Financial Planning Association publication, Next Generation Planner, for which Moore wrote one of the initial articles.

“The publication is completely focused on new planners and helping them fill the gaps in their early careers,” she said. “The first years are such a steep learning curve; we hope to shorten that experience.”

Autumn Campbell, 2019 president of the FPA NexGen organization for young planners, is part of that new generation that is needed to replace the many older advisors who are approaching retirement.

“It takes too long for new advisors to become lead advisors in many firms,” said Campbell who is with The Planning Center, which has offices and clients nationwide. “Many lack an opportunity to do actual planning work when they first join a firm.”

This is a subject Next Generation Planning tackles in its first issue with tips on how to do financial planning work when it is not part of the first job description. Having a mentor helps bridge the gap between knowing the technical skills from school and learning real planning tools, she said.

Gaining experience is the obvious key to success in the beginning of a financial planning career, said Dan Martin, director of marketing for FPA and creator of the Next Generation Planner publication. Martin is the author of one of the initial articles, “Why Memorable Experiences Will Always Trump Flashy Marketing Tactics.”

“Branding is important even for new planners,” he said. “New planners complete an extensive program, but then they want to know, ‘Now what?’ They need support at every level, including specialized information about consumers. They need to know how to become the future of the profession.