Christian Financial Advisor Jobs

During the last twenty years, due to the increasing number of well-publicized financial fiascos like Enron, many people began looking for financial advisors they felt they could trust.

Out of this movement, many Christian organizations began to offer financial services and advice as part of their ministries and Christian financial services firms began to form. In the last three years, since the nation’s dependency on debt led to disastrous financial decisions, bankruptcies, and bank bail outs, many Christian financial advisors have had the desire to help their clients get out of debt. If you like working with numbers, helping others achieve their dreams, and enjoy working with people, this is definitely a good career choice for you.

Financial advisors work with clients to help them reach their short- and long-term financial goals. Examples of short-term goals may include getting out of debt, buying a car or home, or improving cash flow. Long-term financial goals can include retirement planning, ensuring adequate insurance coverage, paying off a home, financing children’s college educations, and basically assuring clients that they will have adequate resources to live on as older adults. Christian financial advisors assist their clients to achieve these same goals, but usually follow Biblical principles and ethical standards as they do so.

Financial advisors typically begin serving their clients by meeting with them to discuss their financial goals, both short- and long-term. Clients are asked to share all of their financial information with the advisors, including annual salaries, checking and savings account balances, 401K and other employer-based retirement funds, current insurance, and any wills and estate planning that has already been done. The advisor then takes this information and projects what the clients will need to save in order to live comfortably or as desired once they retire.

Advisors develop a plan, usually through investment vehicles such as mutual funds and annuities, to grow their clients’ money over time so that when they retire they have the money the need. As mentioned, Christian-based financial advisors perform these same tasks, but do so using Biblical principles as guidelines and an overall financial and investment philosophy. Clients of Christian financial advisors should also feel that these advisors are adhering to strict ethical standards.

Financial advisors can work for large firms, act as agents or brokers for large firms, become a registered representative of a large firm, or work independently. When working through a large firm the financial advisor is compensated through the commissions he or she earns when selling a client a particular financial investment product. Independent advisors also earn commissions, but can offer products from several large firms, rather than being restricted to the products of one firm. Many Christian financial advisors only charge fees rather than receiving commission, to assure clients that they are not motivated by commissions.

The outlook for jobs for financial advisors in general is predicted to be very good in the next ten years. In fact, by 2018, the number of jobs in this field is expected to increase by 30 percent than its 2008 level, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. One reason the Bureau cites for this high growth rate is the large number of “baby boomers” who are retiring during this time frame, driving the need for retirement planning. However, since these are often high paying jobs, competition for them is expected to also increase.