Interns can be a challenge. 5 tips for future financial planners and advisory firms

March 10, 2023 9:28 PM

Smart and digitally savvy, but often lacking basic professional skills, interns need care and feeding.

Internships in the wealth management industry are a tried-and-true way for college students and recent graduates to gain hands-on exposure to a roughly $30 trillion industry — and potentially a job offer at the end. In recent years, 7 in 10 of Vanguard Personal Advisor Services' interns have ended up working as full-time employees.

But as they learn hard skills like portfolio allocation, investment products and working with retail clients, many younger interns display a surprising lack of basic soft skills, according to Rob Khoury, the founder and CEO of Agile Rainmakers. The business development and consulting firm in Chicago links businesses across all industries, including financial services, with interns from top colleges.

With tens of thousands of financial advisors expected to retire in the coming decade, that people-skills deficit could spell trouble for the broader industry.

Michael Terrana, a recruiter in Chicago for the financial services industry, said that "definitely, financial planning is the cornerstone to managing wealth, so someone who anticipates entering the industry definitely needs the planning aspect" — and the communications and interpersonal skills that anchor it.

Financial planning is, at its heart, a people business in which an advisor gains a client's trust and a holistic picture of his savings and investment goals. That's why amid the rise of digital apps and automated processes, the professional human touch is even more important, advisors say.

Khoury runs intern training courses before sending participants out to their real-life gigs. Here are his top insights for interns in wealth management and the firms that hire them:

Anxiety and failure

"This generation has a lot of anxiety. The other thing that's relevant is their reluctance to fail. But you've got to take your lumps. The right game isn't just to get a full-time job for years after your internship. The right game is to make your company and your manager look good. You (the intern) could write a document that helps onboard future interns or shares tips. If you fail, you pick yourself up and get right back to it — then you're playing the right game."

Don't be a troglodyte

"I've seen interns from top schools who don't stand up and greet somebody who comes into a conference room. And you don't greet them by extending your hand from a seated position. If there was a gambling app where I could bet money on this happening, I would be a billionaire, because it happens every single year.

"I had to stop a (training) meeting because I had one intern sitting at our conference table with his chin in his palm, his elbow on the table. I told him, what your body language is saying is, 'I just don't give a crap.' Now I know that's not what you're thinking. So get your elbow off the table, get your chin out of the palm of your hand and sit up straight in your chair. And when the meeting concludes, the appropriate thing to do is to say thank you for your time. It's amazing that they need to be coached on this stuff.

"Stand up and say hello, shake somebody's hand and look them in the eye. Listen to what it is that they have to say. Engage with some questions. And when that person is done, thank them for their time and ask their permission to connect with them on LinkedIn."

Hit the books

"In your free time, read whatever might be that's of interest to you related to the financial industry, whether it's "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" or "Market Wizards." Reading independently is a key message that I impart on an intern, because then you become the source of potentially new ideas. More importantly, you become more relatable, because you're talking about things that your CFPs and leaders have read themselves — and now they're connecting with you at another level."

Cheery chin up

"I always tell an intern to be optimistic no matter what's happening with the market or a client situation. It's very crucial in the financial industry to be optimistic and to stay optimistic, no matter what. That's what will give you staying power. That's what will help you build a long-term career."

Network, network, network

"We have partners with CPA firms, attorneys, investment management companies, and we have them come in and speak to interns (as part of our pre-internship training.) Don't just send (to someone you heard speak or spoke with) a blank connection request on LinkedIn. Send a thank you note on referencing something that they talked about.

"We think it's important for interns to understand that life is not just one unbroken boulevard of green lights straight ahead; that there are twists and turns. There are lessons to be learned at every stop along the way. And that where they're going to end up 20 years into their career is very likely to be very different from where they start. It's important for them to appreciate that that's the journey. It's not 'map out your life at 21 years old.'"