You may think a Huntington financial advisor is like The Wizard of Oz–a person behind a curtain who performs "magic" by pulling levers and pushing buttons. The simple fact is they're smart, experienced, educated, but most importantly, they're driven to help you make the most of your money.
Their top priority is to discover your needs and goals and help guide you along what could be a long and turbulent financial journey to a secure future. One of the questions to ask a financial advisor, is what they actually do. We can help.
What's it take to become a financial advisor
Specifics vary, but generally there are several rigorous requirements to be a financial advisor:
- Education: Four-year degrees aren't always necessary, but many firms do require them.
- Professional licenses: To sell securities, advisors are required to hold the General Securities Representative license and potentially others.
- Certifications and designations: Advisors can further their knowledge by getting a certification or designation, one of the most popular being Certified Financial Planner.
- Experience: Advisors should bring real-world experience so they can guide clients with confidence.
- Interpersonal skills: Relating to clients and understanding their needs and hopes can establish a long-term trusting relationship
A typical day
Each day in the life of a financial advisor is different because of the constant changes in the economy, markets and their clients' portfolios. Here are some of the regular tasks an advisor will perform in service to their clients.
Client service
This is a broad category that includes meeting with clients, responding to their emails and reviewing portfolios. Everyone's portfolio is unique, so monitoring and performing scheduled portfolio changes can occur on any given day.
When you check in with your financial advisor, they may provide updates to your portfolio, ask about any changes to your income and debt, and perhaps delve into your retirement plans. If there've been any significant changes in the economy or your life, a portfolio rebalance might be on the agenda.
Managerial duties
Day-to-day administrative tasks include updating client documents, scheduling appointments and contacting potential clients. Collaborating with other professionals, such as attorneys, tax specialists, as well as internal Huntington colleagues to better serve their clients is also a top agenda item.
Continuing education
Each advisor has their own continuing education requirements. Certified financial planners, as an example, need 30 hours of continuing education every two years. Other certifications may require various other training, but expanding their knowledge base is one way that advisors can better serve their clients. Learning how to use cutting-edge software that can assist the advisor in cashflow analysis, retirement and goals-based planning, and scheduling is necessary.
Financial planning
To prepare financial plans, advisors spend a good amount of time collecting data about their clients current and desired financial condition as well as market data. Determining what data is appropriate for what clients, what tool to use and interpreting the results takes time and analysis. This is one advantage between having a living, breathing advisor and a robo-advisor. Huntington financial advisors provide the hands-on focus, client awareness, and experience that can help result in a financial plan customized to achieve your goals.
When selecting your advisor, feel free to ask what they do each day and how they prepare for your meetings. They should mention the aspects outlined above and then some.
What they do for you
Huntington financial advisors develop solutions to address your most complex financial challenges. They help with establishing your long- and short-term goals, planning for retirement, social security timing, withdrawal strategies, and planning for healthcare costs.
Your Huntington advisor can also provide solutions for protecting wealth from disability, and long-term care, as well as reviewing the titling of assets and your estate plan. Lastly, our team will not only help you create your financial plan we will help you implement your plan.
