Rest Assured A Career as a Financial Advisor

Imagine yourself having a well-paying job. You might have an estate somewhere, perhaps an expensive car, and your life is wonderful. But what happens when you are involved in an accident and you are no longer able to rely on your income for the next few months while you are recovering?

Well, this is where personal financial advisors come in. They not only deal with cases like this, but other instances based on insuring yourself in case of death and other major changes or needs in your life. Companies such as Old Mutual, Metropolitan and Santam are only a few examples of the institutions available when it comes to insurance. The YouthPaper explores being a financial advisor.

Financial advisors assist their customers when it comes to compensation for things they have lost. In Namibia, car accidents and thefts, for example, are common, and financial advisors help you to make the right decisions with your money in case this happens to you.

Imagine how scary it would be if you accidentally left the door to your house open and everything inside was stolen. Of course, there is no guarantee that bad things won’t happen to you, but that’s what insurance is for – to make sure you have enough money to either replace items taken from you or provide some kind of source of income. The services that fall under financial advisors include investment management, income tax preparation and of course, estate planning, for when, someday, you need a will or testament.

The salary of financial advisors is strongly commission-based, so the more clients you have, the more money you make. Sounds simple, but it really isn’t. “The most important thing about this job is that it’s about you, the client, and not about money necessarily. Our job is to help you with your money,” Vaatjie Marais, a sales manager at Old Mutual, explained.

In this career field, you need to have a stable communication system with your clients. In other words, it is important to make friends with different people, because they are going to need your services some day.

“Something else we do includes covering risks for death and loss of limb. Single mothers are known to save up for the education of their children from a young age.”

Marais went on to tell us that, to be a financial advisor, a matric certificate is the minimum requirement, but obtaining post-certificate qualifications are preferable. “Those who have studied Human Sciences are also applicable in this career choice as well as those who have qualifications in finance.”

If you’re going to consider this as a career, you will also have to accept flexible working hours. For example, the normal requirement is an 08h00 to 17h00 job, but you may have to work extra hours. “Sometimes we talk to clients who cannot leave their house, so we make house calls or calls out of the office,” Marais explained.

• The opportunities that open up to you are fantastic.

• You gain the trust of your clients.

• If you have a passion for helping people save their money, this would be a good career for you.

• The financial rewards are many.

• The harder you are prepared to work, the more money you could make.

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