How to Train as a Registered Investment Advisor
A registered investment adviser is a financial services representative who solicits and trades investments for an annual fee. Investment advisers posses a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 65 and 63 license. There is no official degree that will land you the job as a registered investment adviser. While passing the exam will allow you to function in the position, learning the ropes often happens while serving under a more experienced adviser.
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Instructions
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Get a job as an assistant or junior adviser in a brokerage firm. Before you can take the exams, you will need to be employed by a firm that can sponsor you. Often when you are hired in the capacity of an assistant or junior adviser, you are given so many months to study and pass the Series 65 and 63.
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Pass the Series 65 and 63. These are federally regulated exams that you employer can help you register for. You can obtain more information about the tests at FINRA.org.
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Listen to how your supervisor interacts with customers, including how he profiles prospects and recommends products. Don't interfere with the sales process, but ask questions about why certain products were recommended when the client is gone.
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Read over all paperwork, including compliance explanations. When an adviser moves a client from one investment into another similar one as is done with an annuity exchange, a compliance explanation needs to be written to document why the transaction is in the best interest of the customer. Reading these can help you gain insight about products and client suitability.
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Read all sales literature and follow up with questions about various investment paradigms, including fixed-income strategies, tax-free income, moderate portfolios and aggressive growth models.
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Become a licensed life insurance agent in the state you are working to offer life insurance and annuities. Contact your state insurance commissioner and ask your firm to sponsor you for the test. See the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (naic.org) for specific contact information. Learn how these investments help investors in estate planning and long-term tax-deferred growth.
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Invest your own money. You may not make a lot when you are starting out, but invest a small portion of your earnings to become intimately familiar with the products, fees and portfolios you are learning about or offering.
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Seek classes on financial advising strategies, financial planning or economics. Your local university may have classes or you can find online resources for these for college courses, certification programs or supplemental education classes. These are not required to become an adviser and many successful advisers never complete anything more than the FINRA requirements, but you may gain further knowledge and credentials by pursuing them.
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