Investment advisor vs stock broker

The differences between investment advisors and stock brokers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an investment advisor, becoming a stock broker takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an investment advisor has an average salary of $105,377, which is higher than the $59,096 average annual salary of a stock broker.

The top three skills for an investment advisor include exceptional client, risk management and client relationships. The most important skills for a stock broker are financial products, client portfolios, and securities.

Investment advisor vs stock broker overview

	Investment Advisor	Stock Broker
Yearly salary	$105,377	$59,096
Hourly rate	$50.66	$28.41
Growth rate	15%	10%
Number of jobs	63,438	29,202
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	45	43
Years of experience	4	6

Investment advisor vs stock broker salary

Investment advisors and stock brokers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Investment Advisor	Stock Broker
Average salary	$105,377	$59,096
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $184,000	Between $37,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	McKinsey & Company Inc	ICAP
Best paying industry	Telecommunication	Finance

Differences between investment advisor and stock broker education

There are a few differences between an investment advisor and a stock broker in terms of educational background:

	Investment Advisor	Stock Broker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	University of Pennsylvania

Investment advisor vs stock broker demographics

Here are the differences between investment advisors' and stock brokers' demographics:

	Investment Advisor	Stock Broker
Average age	45	43
Gender ratio	Male, 72.3% Female, 27.7%	Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.2% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 12.3% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	6%

Differences between investment advisor and stock broker duties and responsibilities

Investment advisor example responsibilities.

Manage and strengthen customer relationships through cross-selling and up-selling to maximize retention and income generation by contacting existing and prospective customers.
Obtain skills with different financial programs and tools such as Morningstar and NetX360.
Advise and recommend insurance products including, fix and variable annuities, and term life.
Focus on macroeconomic fundamentals, high yield, distress debt, volatility and macro base cross-asset statistical strategies.
Communicate information to clients on various products offer such as equity funds, bond funds, annuities, and money markets.
Identify client- specific and regulatory reporting requirements, review purchase and redemption activity, securities settlements, and cash movements.

Stock broker example responsibilities.

Manage communication with clients regarding margin call requirements base on NYSE and NASD standards.
Administer the purchase and sale of small cap equities trade on NASDAQ and NYSE exchanges.
Study to pass all require FINRA testing!
Develop and monitor all stock trading and reporting and institute guidelines for proper FINRA procedures.
Calculate common area maintenance expenses and CPI increases and notify tenants via letter of increases.
Generate over $200k in derivative commission revenue through full-service brokerage and execution and roughly $100K in self-direct trading commission.

Investment advisor vs stock broker skills

Common investment advisor skills

Exceptional Client, 12%
Risk Management, 10%
Client Relationships, 9%
Health Insurance, 8%
Business Development, 7%
FINRA, 5%

Common stock broker skills

Financial Products, 11%
Client Portfolios, 10%
Securities, 8%
Bonds, 7%
Stock Market, 4%
Cold Calls, 4%