What does a registered representative do?
A registered representative's job involves researching market conditions, liaising with potential clients, implementing advertising campaigns, cultivating personal contacts, and creating investment plans. Their duties and responsibilities include soliciting business from potential clients and selling financial products and services to clients for investment purposes.
Registered representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real registered representative resumes:
- Manage variable and fix immediate and defer annuities for wealth accumulation.
- Develop knowledge of complex financial instruments and successfully communicate strategies for utilizing various securities in achieving client financial objectives.
- Manage and strengthen customer relationships through cross-selling and up-selling to maximize retention and income generation by contacting existing and prospective customers.
- Intern at the NYSE with the M/S floor trader.
- Provide due diligence for IPO of small cap.
- Assist companies with development and sale of initial public offering (IPO).
- Perform quality control of all outgoing correspondence to ensure FINRA provisions are adhere to.
- Assist with the achievement of financial goals and execution of various trades on the NYSE, NASDAQ and other exchanges.
- Utilize various research tools including MorningStar.
- Market tax shelter annuities to employees of public education and non-profit organizations
- Conduct security research; inspect and collect data from Morningstar and internet resources.
- Study securities market daily which provide information that help when making recommendations for advising clients regarding investments for augmenting their portfolios.
- Used Bloomberg and Reuters to analyze markets.
- Follow up on pending ACATS transfers.
- Process and follow up on ACATS transfers.
Registered representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Registered Representatives are proficient in Financial Services, Financial Products, and Securities. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Initiative.
We break down the percentage of Registered Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Financial Services, 25%
Determined customers' financial services needs and prepared recommendations such as insurance protection, retirement planning that addressed their needs.
- Financial Products, 14%
Specialized in financial products designed for estate tax planning, pension Maximization, retirement planning and education planning
- Securities, 6%
Studied securities market daily which provided information that helped when making recommendations for advising clients regarding investments for augmenting their portfolios.
- Annuities, 4%
Marketed tax sheltered annuities to employees of public education and non-profit organizations
- Long-Term Care, 4%
Educated and sold clients products including Life Insurance, Long-term Care, Disability, Mutual Funds, and variable annuity products.
- Health Insurance, 3%
Provided employer-sponsored health insurance and retirement plans to small-business owners.
Most registered representatives use their skills in "financial services," "financial products," and "securities" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential registered representative responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a registered representative to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what registered representatives do because "securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must be persuasive and make clients feel comfortable with the agent’s recommendations." Additionally, a registered representative resume shows how registered representatives use customer-service skills: "advised local high net worth customers on bond portfolios and us common stock equities. "
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling registered representative duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "investment bankers must pay close attention to the details of initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions because small changes can have large consequences." According to a registered representative resume, here's how registered representatives can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "analyze financial information detailed from clients to determine strategies, products and services to help clients meet their financial objectives. "
Initiative. registered representatives are also known for initiative, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to registered representative responsibilities, because "securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must create their own client base by making “cold” sales calls to people to whom they have not been referred and to people not expecting the call." A registered representative resume example shows how initiative is used in the workplace: "build new customer service relationships through sales initiatives and telemarketing; and cross sell. "
Analytical skills. registered representative responsibilities often require "analytical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "to judge the profitability of potential deals, securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must have strong analytical skills." This resume example shows what registered representatives do with analytical skills on a typical day: "advised individual customers on technical analysis as well as risk-management for their personal investment accounts. "
Math skills. Another crucial skill for a registered representative to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what registered representatives relies on this skill, since "securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents need to be familiar with mathematical tools, including investment formulas." How this skill relates to registered representative duties can be seen in an example from a registered representative resume snippet: "developed patent-pending quantitative models and insurance products built for incorporation into an investment asset allocation for both retirees and pre-retirees. "
The three companies that hire the most registered representatives are:
- Lincoln Financial Group90 registered representatives jobs
- Methodist Health System9 registered representatives jobs
- New York Life Insurance5 registered representatives jobs
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Compare different registered representatives
Registered representative vs. Stock broker
Trade specialists are professionals who are responsible for handling the credit and financial activities of an organization while obtaining payments for its import or export operations. These specialists must advise the organization on matters of tariffs, markets, and federal and foreign regulations while keeping informed about the changes to laws and requirements that may impact operations. They must ensure that all filings, documents, and regulatory reporting are completed in a timely manner. Trade specialists must also negotiate and handle issues related to credit with international banks.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between registered representatives and stock broker. For instance, registered representative responsibilities require skills such as "long-term care," "health insurance," "mutual funds," and "retirement planning." Whereas a stock broker is skilled in "bonds," "stock market," "client relations," and "portfolio management." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Stock brokers earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $69,142. On the other hand, registered representatives are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $57,066.On average, stock brokers reach similar levels of education than registered representatives. Stock brokers are 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Registered representative vs. Trade specialist
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. Furthermore, it is also the duty of the Financial Advisor to research new investments that would be of great help to the client's assets.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that registered representative responsibilities requires skills like "financial services," "financial products," "long-term care," and "health insurance." But a trade specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "hvac," "plumbing," and "hand tools."
On average, trade specialists earn a lower salary than registered representatives. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, trade specialists earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $46,311. Whereas registered representatives have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $57,066.trade specialists earn similar levels of education than registered representatives in general. They're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for registered representatives in the next 3-5 years?
Price Fishback Ph.D.
APS Professor of Economics at the University of Arizona, The University of Arizona
Registered representative vs. Finance advisor
A sales trader is responsible for evaluating and monitoring the stock market performance to advise the clients on which financial instruments are best to buy or sell. Sales traders review the clients' account portfolios and determine their risk appetite to choose the best investment options for their financial goals and objectives. They also research stock prediction and conduct statistical analysis to maintain consistent cash flow for the accounts. A sales trader must have excellent communication and analytical skills, especially in generating financial and investment reports for clients' discussion and reference.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a registered representative is likely to be skilled in "long-term care," "disability insurance," "life insurance products," and "account maintenance," while a typical finance advisor is skilled in "team support," "strong computer," "client facing," and "training programs."
Finance advisors make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $83,789. On the other hand, registered representatives are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $57,066.finance advisors typically earn similar educational levels compared to registered representatives. Specifically, they're 3.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Registered representative vs. Sales trader
Types of registered representative
Updated January 8, 2025
