Job listings for financial advisors have spiked 63% in the past year

As baby boomer advisors eye retirement and firms recover from last year's tough market, demand for new financial advisors is ballooning in the industry, according to the CFP Board.

The CFP Board found that there has been a 63% increase in the number of financial advisor job listings posted on its Career Center since this time last year. The surge of listings is especially pronounced for job listings requiring just one to four years of experience, which increased 203% over the last year.

In absolute numbers, there were 867 jobs posted in the first half of 2023, compared with 526 in the first half of 2022, according to CFP Board CEO Kevin Keller. Early-career positions made up the vast majority posted in the first half of 2023, with 695 jobs requiring one to four years of experience, compared with 229 in the first half of 2022.

"CFP Board's Career Center provides a unique value for employers, allowing them to connect with qualified talent on the CFP Board website, which is a hub for the financial planning ecosystem," Keller wrote in an email. "We recently increased outreach to employers to communicate that unique value. We've also added tools like automated posting solutions that connect directly to employers' websites, which simplifies the process to post job openings."

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Advisors say that the surge in job listings can be attributed in part to advisory firms recovering from last year's difficult market environment.

"Last year was a rough year for markets, and revenue was significantly down for many financial planning firms that manage assets; therefore not a lot of hiring was happening," said Andrew Fincher, a financial advisor at VLP Financial Advisors in Vienna, Virginia. "Now that we've had a strong rebound year for markets, many firms are willing to open the doors again for hiring."

Dennis Hunt, a financial advisor at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Melbourne, Florida, said that his firm — which currently employs 24 people — has added six new hires just this year. While many advisors point to the improving economic environment as a significant growth driver, Hunt said there is a "perfect storm" of circumstances leading to increased advisor hiring, including growing consumer demand and an aging advisor population.

Cerulli Associates estimates that 37% of financial advisors — collectively controlling $10.4 trillion, or 40% of total industry assets — will retire by 2032. 

"We've seen a lot of aging advisors start to retire/close shop in the last year as the stress of a down market propelled that process," Fincher said. "Now we're seeing firms look at the next generation for hiring to backfill succession planning."

With the U.S. Department of Labor projecting employment in personal financial planning to grow 15% by 2031 — significantly faster than the average for all occupations — the CFP Board is working to pull younger workers into the industry.

"Financial planning is a fantastic career, so it's really about telling that story and increasing awareness," Keller said. "Financial planners enjoy more flexibility and work-life balance than most careers in finance, and the jobs are lucrative."