Internships and mentorships fuel financial advising careers

By Hunter Lord, CFP

Becoming a financial advisor can be challenging, even with a wealth of resources available. My experience in financial advising has been filled with mentors and supportive family members, from Hawaii to Australia to my home state of New Hampshire.

I’ve had the chance to learn through formal education, observation of mentors and my own lived experience. Each of these forms of training has shaped how I show up for my clients every day.

While some forms of education are necessary requirements, mentorship is often at the discretion of each of us individually. Making mentor connections have been a major factor in my own journey as an advisor. For those looking for a career in financial planning, I suggest taking the time to seek out mentors and leveraging all the resources available to you.

I grew up watching my dad as a financial advisor. I always knew I had the option to join his business and become an advisor myself, but I didn’t want to just do exactly what my dad had done. To decide if this was the right career for me, I searched for internship opportunities with other advisors.

Internship in Hawaii

My first experience was with Adelia Chung, a past MDRT president, as an intern with her business in Hawaii. Much of my time was spent manning the front desk, filing paperwork and taking phone calls. But I didn’t mind doing this critical grunt work. This was my chance to absorb as much as I could from observing Adelia’s business.

I saw how she interacted with clients, managed her employees and handled her obligations to MDRT. I studied the differences between how Adelia managed clients and my dad’s approach. This internship taught me how to be a part of a financial advising team and gave me a glimpse of what the work is really like.

Once my time in Adelia’s office ended, I was already thinking about how I could continue to learn from other mentors.

Paraplanning in Australia

My next opportunity came with more responsibility and required me to demonstrate my abilities. I was fortunate to have my dad’s support in connecting with some of his advisor colleagues, joining him at the MDRT Annual Meeting. There, I was interviewed by two partners who have a business in Brisbane, Australia: past MDRT president Ross Vanderwolf and Gino Saggiomo, who decided to take me on as a paraplanner in their office.

Australia handles financial planning differently than the U.S. – as a paraplanner, it was my job to prepare client reports and support the financial planning team. This was my chance to learn what the planning process looked like and how to gear each meeting to a client’s needs.

Gino and Ross also taught me how to establish an office culture. While I was there, they would hold full-team Monday morning meetings focused on catching up and preparing for the week ahead. Small details like these meetings have a large impact on team morale and overall performance.

We considered my time in Brisbane a residency, allowing me to live and worked in the area long enough to truly understand the work Gino and Ross were doing. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from them and returned home ready to apply these learnings in my own work.

Forever learning and growing

My desire to learn didn’t end after my internship and residency. Upon my return from Australia, I sat in on client meetings with my dad. I observed the words my dad used, gauging what questions or comments clients responded best to and how I might change this in my own approach.

Even now as a full-fledged financial advisor and MDRT member, I find myself at conferences asking fellow advisors to treat me like a prospect and walk me through their process. I value these connections, as they help me learn from my peers’ experiences to formulate new steps in my own planning process. I’ve also taken on additional training for more personal growth and to expand my knowledge.

My CFP® training aided in my understanding of the various products available for advisors to leverage in financial planning. Training opportunities through online resources like the MDRT Academy have also improved my understanding of available products for practice management. My goal is to always continue growing my own abilities and learn new ways to support my clients.

Mentors come in many forms. I highly encourage anyone interested in a financial planning career to shadow and learn from an established advisor. These relationships have helped me craft my own planning style and path to success. There are so many people and resources available to guide you in the right direction. Make the investment in yourself to connect with potential mentors and seek out answers in the way that best suits you.

About the Author:
Hunter Lord, CFP®, is an investment advisor representative with Essential Planning, LLC, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Lord started his career as a paraplanner in Brisbane, Australia, where he learned the intricacies of financial planning and compliance. Lord is a 4-year MDRT member who also participated in the MDRT Academy.