-: I think the misnomer that becoming a financial advisor
may have surrounding it is that you need to be a math geek
or that you need to be very good at high level math.
That is not the case.
People skills are far more important than high level math,
so I would say a well-rounded liberal arts foundation.
Psychology is a must.
Sociology, probably very likely.
You need to have excellent arithmetic skills.
Very little of what we do is very high math skills.
And so much of the technology takes care of that for us.
So the ability to listen and to understand people,
I think, is far more important
than high level financial skills.
If someone is a high level math person,
if someone is an introvert,
a certified financial analyst path is much better for them
because analysts are the people
that will vet the products and services
before they even get to our office.
They're the people that do that type of heavy lifting.
We are the people that work with clients and the public
to put all those pieces of the puzzle together
to help people reach their financial goals.
They're two different things.
Good people skills are critically important.
The most important tool I have are my two ears
to listen to clients and to understand what their goals are.
And, you know, it's our commitment to them
to keep them on track for the rest of their lives.
Highly ethical characteristics are important.
You have to have the ability to put someone else's goals
and best interests before your own.
And you have to have, obviously,
great critical thinking skills, good analytical skills,
and the desire to do that.
But the people skills are the most important.