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What does a finance planner do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Nate Peach Ph.D.
What does a finance planner do

A financial planner is responsible for handling client accounts and providing financial advice to determine the best investment options according to the clients' interests and risk appetite. Financial planners record the clients' living expenses as a part of their portfolio, identifying their long-term goals and objectives, and giving tax advice. They also educate clients with investment options and opportunities to improve the clients' account performance and sell financial products. A financial planner must have excellent analytical and communication skills to conduct data and statistical analysis, especially in researching financial instruments in the market.

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Finance planner responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real finance planner resumes:

  • Manage financial planning, educate clients on fix indexed annuities, and consistently analyze financial markers and ever-changing client needs.
  • Manage and strengthen customer relationships through cross-selling and up-selling to maximize retention and income generation by contacting existing and prospective customers.
  • Represent a large brokerage firm for products and services through direct sales.
  • Educate clients in tax implications for products that include mutual funds, securities, and retirement plans.
  • Redesign the existing report from a value-base manual effort to a Hyperion driven report, vastly improving both efficiency and accuracy.
  • Gain additional responsibility as a season FSR.
  • Conduct financial transactions involving asset base management and annuities.
  • Obtain approval and/or authorization for Medicaid and Medicare recipients prior to appointments.
  • Incorporate portfolio objectives, including diversification in bonds, mutual funds and private equity.
  • Conduct initial and ongoing meetings with prospects and clients profiling and developing comprehensive wealth management strategies.
  • Manage financial planning, educate clients on fix indexed annuities, and consistently analyze financial markers and ever-changing client needs.
  • Correct malfunctions, such as jammed cash or paper, or call repair personnel when ATM needs repair.
  • Assist customers with transactions, answer questions regarding accounts and loans, open accounts, balance cash drawer and ATM
  • Recognize by Barnum's leadership team for the best model portfolio utilizing equity, bond, ETF and mutual fund holdings.
  • Monitor and maintain sales activity and pipeline through Salesforce, a client management system.

Finance planner skills and personality traits

We calculated that 21% of Finance Planners are proficient in Financial Aid, Financial Services, and Client Facing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Sales skills, and Speaking skills.

We break down the percentage of Finance Planners that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Financial Aid, 21%

    Worked closely with Admissions Consultants in obtaining and ensuring receipt of accurate personal documents for enrollment and financial aid compliance purposes.

  • Financial Services, 9%

    Provided financial services to 15+ clients through interviews and recommending appropriate financial planning recommendations.

  • Client Facing, 8%

    Developed invaluable client facing experience to further understanding of wealth management goals for portfolios.

  • Retirement Planning, 7%

    Reviewed financial information, calculated risks and managed investments/retirement planning utilizing Life Plan and Prime Time Software.

  • Estate Planning, 6%

    Developed hypothetical solutions utilizing financial formulas and computer software to determine overall investment performance in financial and estate planning.

  • Life Insurance, 6%

    Partner with in-house life insurance specialists on alternative planning solutions using various life insurance and annuity products.

"financial aid," "financial services," and "client facing" are among the most common skills that finance planners use at work. You can find even more finance planner responsibilities below, including:

Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a finance planner to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "a major part of a personal financial advisor’s job is making clients feel comfortable." Finance planners often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "obtained comprehensive knowledge of financial markets and built new client base through interpersonal relationships and networking. "

Sales skills. Many finance planner duties rely on sales skills. "to expand their base of clients, personal financial advisors must be convincing and persistent in selling their services.," so a finance planner will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways finance planner responsibilities rely on sales skills: "prepared comprehensive financial plans for clients involving sales of stocks, mutual funds and insurance. "

Speaking skills. This is an important skill for finance planners to perform their duties. For an example of how finance planner responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "personal financial advisors interact with clients every day." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a finance planner: "designed presented features of financial products and services, with special emphasis in retirement plans and group benefits. ".

Analytical skills. For certain finance planner responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "analytical skills." The day-to-day duties of a finance planner rely on this skill, as "in determining an investment portfolio for a client, personal financial advisors must be able to assess a range of information, including economic trends, regulatory changes, and the client’s comfort with risky decisions." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what finance planners do: "analyze financial reports to maximize receipt placement and identify sales trends in order to achieve company goals. "

Math skills. Another crucial skill for a finance planner to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what finance planners relies on this skill, since "personal financial advisors must be adept at working with numbers to determine the amount invested, how that amount has grown or decreased over time, and how a portfolio is distributed among different investments." How this skill relates to finance planner duties can be seen in an example from a finance planner resume snippet: "conducted quantitative analysis of financial data to forecast revenue"

All finance planner skills

The three companies that hire the most finance planners are:

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Compare different finance planners

Finance planner vs. Investment advisor

An investment advisor is responsible for managing the clients' financial portfolios, advising them of investment options according to their financial goals and objectives, and their ability to handle risks. Investment advisors should have excellent knowledge of the investment policies, providing the clients with the best financial strategies according to their interests. They also determine their expenses, income, and credit scores to identify a comprehensive financial plan. An investment advisor helps the clients with cash management techniques, as well as conducting data analysis on financial market projections.

We looked at the average finance planner salary and compared it with the wages of an investment advisor. Generally speaking, investment advisors are paid $33,770 higher than finance planners per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both finance planner and investment advisor positions are skilled in financial services, retirement planning, and estate planning.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between finance planners and investment advisor. For instance, finance planner responsibilities require skills such as "financial aid," "client facing," "disability insurance," and "tax planning." Whereas a investment advisor is skilled in "exceptional client," "business development," "team-oriented environment," and "finra." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Investment advisors really shine in the telecommunication industry with an average salary of $127,062. Comparatively, finance planners tend to make the most money in the insurance industry with an average salary of $71,594.The education levels that investment advisors earn slightly differ from finance planners. In particular, investment advisors are 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a finance planner. Additionally, they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Finance planner vs. Investment consultant

An investment consultant is an individual who gives investment products, planning, and/or advice to investors. Investment consultants formulate investment strategies to help clients fulfill their necessities and realize their financial objectives. They create internal research documents that outline real estate investment opportunities and private equity. It is also part of their job to review strategies of asset management that recognize estate and income tax needs.

Investment consultant positions earn higher pay than finance planner roles. They earn a $37,693 higher salary than finance planners per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both finance planners and investment consultants have skills such as "financial services," "client facing," and "retirement planning. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that finance planner responsibilities requires skills like "financial aid," "health insurance," "disability insurance," and "tax planning." But an investment consultant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "finra," "client satisfaction," "investment management," and "investment decisions."

Investment consultants earn a higher average salary than finance planners. But investment consultants earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $112,063. Additionally, finance planners earn the highest salaries in the insurance with average pay of $71,594 annually.In general, investment consultants achieve similar levels of education than finance planners. They're 4.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for finance planners in the next 3-5 years?

Nate Peach Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Economics, George Fox University

I'm not sure about one specific technology, but I think some general skills will become more valuable. Specifically, being familiar with necessary coding, analyzing data, and making sense of economy broad trends will continue to be highly prized in the labor market. Economists are well-suited to help organizations attempting to get up to speed on their use of data.

Finance planner vs. Investment associate

An investment associate's primary role is to review a company's financial data, recommend investment strategies, oversee the distribution of stocks, and calculate possible risks for business mergers. They also serve as a mediator during agreements between companies during takeovers, monitors stock inventory, sell stocks, and details all financial transactions. In the course of these responsibilities, an investment associate provides administrative support and timely response to client requests as needed, acting as an additional point of communication for clients.

On average scale, investment associates bring in higher salaries than finance planners. In fact, they earn a $55,598 higher salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on finance planners and investment associates resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "client facing," "life insurance," and "real estate.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a finance planner is likely to be skilled in "financial aid," "financial services," "retirement planning," and "estate planning," while a typical investment associate is skilled in "powerpoint," "customer service," "client service," and "due diligence."

Investment associates earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $117,651. Finance planners earn the highest pay from the insurance industry, with an average salary of $71,594.investment associates typically earn similar educational levels compared to finance planners. Specifically, they're 3.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Finance planner vs. Treasury analyst

A treasury analyst is an individual who manages and analyses the financial activities of an organization that can include cash flows, liability obligations, and assets. Treasury analysts are required to execute the daily cash management of the organization such as cash forecasting, investing of excess cash, and running a hedging program in interest rates. They must present monthly reports and daily briefings on cash flows to senior management and provide advice on the financial operations of the movement of cash. Treasury analysts also update treasury policies and procedures for the organization to comply.

Treasury analysts average a higher salary than the annual salary of finance planners. The difference is about $1,060 per year.While both finance planners and treasury analysts complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like financial analysis, annuities, and financial reports, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between finance planners and treasury analysts, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a finance planner might have more use for skills like "financial aid," "financial services," "client facing," and "retirement planning." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of treasury analysts require skills like "treasury," "cash management," "ach," and "treasury operations. "

In general, treasury analysts earn the most working in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $87,077. The highest-paying industry for a finance planner is the insurance industry.The average resume of treasury analysts showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to finance planners. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.6%.

Types of finance planner

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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