How to hire an investment consultant

How to hire an investment consultant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step investment consultant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an investment consultant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new investment consultant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an investment consultant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The investment consultant hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An investment consultant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, investment consultants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of investment consultants and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Investment Consultant	Description	Hourly rate
   Investment Consultant	Personal financial advisors give financial advice to people. They help with investments, taxes, and insurance decisions.	$28-94
   Finance Advisor	A Financial Advisor specializes in sharing their expertise with an individual or company on how to handle and boost finances. The responsibilities of a Financial Advisor include creating and proposing a strategy to attain financial gains through profits and investments, educating the client about new methods and opportunities, monitor and evaluate progress, and as well as plan policies according to the clients' life changes... Show more	$16-58
   Finance Planner	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... Show more	$20-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Financial Services
   • FINRA
   • Financial Products
   • Client Relationships
   • Investment Products
   • Client Satisfaction
   • Investment Management
   • Asset Allocation
   • Investment Decisions
   • Wealth Management
   • Investment Solutions
   • Financial Markets
   • Investment Strategies
   • Portfolio Management

   Check all skills

   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.
   • Advance knowledge of annuities and interest rates.
   • Team leader for license bank employees in the selling of tax-defer annuities.

   More investment consultant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your investment consultant job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An investment consultant salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an investment consultant in Missouri may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level investment consultant usually earns less than a senior-level investment consultant. Additionally, an investment consultant with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average investment consultant salary

   $109,300yearly

   $52.55 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level investment consultant salary

   $60,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average investment consultant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$145,576	$70
   2	Washington	$138,422	$67
   3	Massachusetts	$134,265	$65
   4	District of Columbia	$121,045	$58
   5	Virginia	$116,543	$56
   6	California	$114,910	$55
   7	Illinois	$109,861	$53
   8	Oregon	$108,900	$52
   9	New Jersey	$102,977	$50
   10	Michigan	$100,522	$48
   11	Arizona	$95,991	$46
   12	Texas	$95,609	$46
   13	Ohio	$95,134	$46
   14	Pennsylvania	$92,254	$44
   15	Minnesota	$92,044	$44
   16	North Carolina	$91,455	$44
   17	Georgia	$87,487	$42
   18	Maryland	$83,699	$40
   19	Florida	$82,617	$40
   20	Wisconsin	$81,692	$39

   Average investment consultant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Bailey & Glasser	$181,255	$87.14
   2	Inter-American Development Bank	$168,213	$80.87
   3	Cambridge Associates	$145,978	$70.18	5
   4	QuintilesIMS	$141,741	$68.14	5
   5	Calamos Investments	$138,604	$66.64	7
   6	Citi	$137,725	$66.21	38
   7	Meeder Investment Management	$136,184	$65.47	1
   8	Northern Trust	$134,745	$64.78	7
   9	The Vanguard Group	$132,289	$63.60	14
   10	Guidehouse	$126,296	$60.72	27
   11	Charles Schwab	$124,603	$59.91	119
   12	GSI Technology	$122,223	$58.76
   13	Burns & McDonnell	$121,174	$58.26	44
   14	Vaco Binary Semantics	$120,874	$58.11
   15	Marsh & McLennan Companies	$119,589	$57.49	121
   16	BNY Mellon	$118,373	$56.91	3
   17	City National Bank	$116,839	$56.17	67
   18	Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation	$115,513	$55.54
   19	T. Rowe Price	$115,343	$55.45	63
   20	SS&C Technologies	$113,649	$54.64	12

4. Writing an investment consultant job description

   A job description for an investment consultant role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an investment consultant job description:

   Investment consultant job description example

   Janney is an award-winning full-service financial services firm committed to understanding our clients' needs and providing advice beyond investments. We are equally committed to building a diverse workforce and inclusive culture where employees can use their talents to thrive and grow professionally with the firm.
   
   The Investment Company Consultant is a generalist role and is responsible for supporting all products and solutions within the Investment Company Group. The team's current areas of responsibility include Mutual Funds, ETFs, Cash Sweep Program, Alternatives, 529 Plans, Donor Advised Funds, Unit Investment Trusts, Exchange Funds, and Closed-End Funds. This professional will work closely with other members of the Investment Company team to provide answers to questions, guidance, and recommendations to Janney's financial advisors. This role reports to the Head of Investment Company Products in Wealth Management.
   Responsibilities:
   First line resource to discuss product details and options with Janney's financial advisors. Generate content, articles, and sales ideas in support of the team's product and solution set. Maintain updated intranet sites for all product pages. Assist with team projects as needed, including participating in cross-functional working groups to accomplish project initiatives. Research mutual funds for potential transfer into Janney. Communicate with fund families to escalate questions from the field. Submit new products in Janney's product review system for management review.
   
   The ideal candidate will possess:
   Bachelor's degree required. Minimum of three (3) years of experience in the financial services industry. Working knowledge of the financial services industry including traditional and alternative investment products. Drive to consistently seek new opportunities to expand knowledge base. Experience communicating effectively with financial advisors. FINRA Series 7 & 66 (or 63 & 65) preferred.
   
   This role will be hybrid, the individual will work approximately three days per week in-office.
   
   Janney is dedicated to promoting and supporting diversity within our workplace. We provide an environment that promotes respect, integrity, teamwork, achievement and acceptance regardless of age, disability, education, gender, gender expression, gender identity, job level, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other protected factors. Janney is committed to equal employment opportunities and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities.
   
   Other details
   Pay Type Salary
   Apply Now

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right investment consultant for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   To find investment consultant candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with investment consultant candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new investment consultant

   Once you've found the investment consultant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new investment consultant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an investment consultant?