How to become a Financial Planner

To become a financial planner or adviser, you need a natural passion for managing money and wealth, and a love of dealing with people. A qualification is required to start your role as a financial planner, and courses like a Bachelor of Business with a Major in Financial Planning can give you an edge when starting your entry-level journey.

Discover more about the role of a financial planner or financial adviser, find out which financial planning course you should choose, and how to increase your chances of employment.

Financial planner job description

info Where we source our data

Let’s get real. Job information online can often be overly optimistic — conveniently glossing over the raw bits. But when you’re making decisions about your future, you need all the facts.

That’s why we anonymously surveyed financial planners about their job, with hopes of getting an honest insight into what it’s really like.

While we did our best to ensure respondents were Australians and verified their job titles with proof of employment, we can’t guarantee complete accuracy — or that your experiences in the field will reflect theirs. So, we suggest that you take these insights as a guide only and try to talk to people in the field before making an important decision.

A financial planner, also referred to as a financial adviser, provides advice and strategies to help clients manage economic affairs towards future financial goals. They can assist individuals and organisations, depending on the type of financial goal and type of financial planner contacted.

When considering how to become a financial planner or financial adviser, it’s important to remember that interpersonal skills are as important as technical knowledge in order to succeed in the role. People’s financial affairs are often a very delicate subject and almost inevitably any discussion of estates planning, life insurance or similar matters will touch on sensitive topics.

Financial planners need to be able to put people at ease and be able to discuss difficult issues in an appropriate manner. People of all ages, lifestyles, and aspirations will need financial advice, so the ability to work with a wide range of individuals in an effective manner is also important.

Tasks and responsibilities for a financial planner

The role of a financial planner is to offer knowledgeable financial advice which aims to help individuals organise and manage their personal finances effectively. The exact type of assistance a financial planner offers vary from client to client but include:

  • Offer advice and information on financial products
  • Provide financial goal setting
  • Help deal with unexpected financial issues
  • Provide risk management advice and strategies
  • Advising on ways to make money work harder
  • Provide accounting services

How to become a financial planner

To become a financial planner, you must have an accredited degree and undertake a year of professional work experience requirements from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

  1. Study a Bachelors

    Complete an accredited Bachelors in Business (Finance/Financial Planning) or above level course. This usually takes at least three years of full-time study.

  2. Complete work experience

    Undertake a supervised year of experience in a professional and entry-level role. This usually equates to a minimum of 1600 hours.

  3. Pass the exam

    During your year of supervised work experience, you will be required to undergo and pass a mandatory financial adviser exam.

  4. Achieve extra certification

    The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification is optional but can improve employability.

  5. Improving skills and career options

    Complete an accredited postgraduate degree – a Diploma of Financial Planning or a Master of Financial Planning for further financial planning career pathways.

Pathway options

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Job pathways are drawn from the Australian Apprenticeships Pathways site.

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Senior