How To Become An Investment Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an investment consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Margaret Franklin

Investment consultants are responsible for providing investors with the best financial advice. They work with clients to identify their unique investment goals and formulate investment strategies based on client goals. They also suggest investment products based on client needs. Investment consultants earn a median sum of $79,000 annually or $38 per hour.

Investment consultants are primarily tasked with providing sound financial guidance to clients and providing updates on investment performance and issues related to tax compliance. They also issue client documents relating to investment vehicles and products as well as building useful client and financial services networks to support business goals. Investment consultants need to possess outstanding interpersonal, sales, and speaking skills to succeed in the field.

Investment consultants typically hold a bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, or other related disciplines. They have some years of experience in a finance position and expertise in tax financial regulations law. Some employers prefer candidates with license by the financial industry regulatory authority (FINRA).

What general advice would you give to an Investment Consultant?

Margaret Franklin

President and CEO, CFA Institute

To compete in the career race, new entrants need to sharpen not only their technical skills, but develop soft skills as well. A job in the investment management industry is much more than numbers. As an industry, we're becoming much better at capitalizing on diverse perspectives and skillsets to think about risk, return, and ultimately, what we're doing for clients more effectively.

Young professionals must also remain curious along their career path with a commitment to lifelong learning. In finance today, this is an absolute requirement. Our industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and none of us can afford to stand still. However, the basic tenants of hard work, professional learning, passion for what you do, and lateral skills are unchanged.

ScoreInvestment ConsultantUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $109,300

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.6

Growth Rate 15%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 8.38%

Black or African American 5.68%

Hispanic or Latino 9.51%

Unknown 4.37%

White 71.94%

Gender

female 20.26%

male 79.74%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an investment consultant

Explore investment consultant education requirements

Most common investment consultant degrees

Bachelor's

77.2 %

Master's

15.1 %

Associate

4.2 %

Start to develop specific investment consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Services	12.11%
FINRA	8.18%
Financial Products	6.67%
Client Relationships	5.25%
Investment Products	4.27%

Complete relevant investment consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New investment consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an investment consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real investment consultant resumes.

Gain additional investment consultant certifications

Investment consultant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific investment consultant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for investment consultants include Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Professional, Life and Health Insurance Program (CPLHI).

More About Certifications

Research investment consultant duties and responsibilities

Manage $3MM private investment portfolio consisting of mid-cap/large-cap equities.
Research securities to determine value by analyzing financial statements, corporate filings and earnings reports
Preform timely and accurate securities operational support functions, trade processing, settlement reporting.
Adjust sector exposure to express personal macro views, selecting single stocks within sector base on fundamental analysis and technical indicators.

Prepare your investment consultant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your investment consultant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an investment consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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