There is limitless opportunity for college students exploring a career as a financial advisor, says Northwestern Mutual, which has thus far in 2014 enrolled around 3,000 to its US internship program.

There are ripe opportunities for those exploring a career as a financial advisor, says Northwestern Mutual, a firm which so far this year has enrolled around 3,000 college students to its US internship program.

According to its 2014 Planning and Progress Study, two-thirds of Americans don't have a long-term financial plan while 71 per cent don't have a financial advisor. Furthermore, the majority (70 per cent) of US adults feel that the economy will experience future crises, and that they need a financial plan to help them weather the ups and downs (52 per cent).

The demand for financial planning has therefore never been higher, and this is opening up career opportunities for college students, said Michael Van Grinsven, field internship director at Northwestern Mutual. 

The firm’s study also showed that 61 per cent of Millennials - or Gen Y-ers - consider themselves to be “highly disciplined” or “disciplined” financial planners – more so than those from other age groups. However, 68 per cent still see room for improvement in their financial planning - although only 13 per cent currently work with an advisor.

“These dynamics, combined with projections that Millennials stand to benefit from roughly $30 trillion in wealth transfer in the next several decades, translate into limitless opportunity for college students exploring an advisor career,” said Northwestern Mutual.

The issue is also important in light of the wealth management industry's highly talked-about aging advisor workforce and concerns over potential talent shortages.

Family Wealth Report spoke to Michael Van Grinsven, director of Northwestern Mutual’s internship program, in a little more detail on the matter. 

What are your views on the notion of an aging advisor workforce in the US and a perceived shortage of talent?

We see this as an opportunity, and we feel good about the fact that we’ve been able, through our internship program, to produce a prepared field force of financial advisors to help the next generation meet their financial planning needs.

We believe the financial advisor career is an attractive option for Millennials. Nearly one third of Northwestern Mutual’s full-time financial representatives are Millennials and that number is expected to climb as the appetite for financial guidance grows among this financially precocious generation.

What will the advisors of tomorrow look like and how will they differ from the older, more experienced ones today?

Today’s client wants more frequent contact and more updates on how things are going with their financial planning. The Millennial generation in particular has been exposed to technology practically their entire lives and have their own desire for frequent communication. 

More frequent communication in turn leads to better long-term relationships instead of transactional relationships. Older financial advisors may not have the same level of communication with their clients, perhaps because their clients don’t require that.

Has demand for your internship program increased, decreased or stayed the same in recent years?

The number of interns we’ve recruited has been growing steadily for the past several years.  Just in the last eight years, we’ve grown from recruiting 1,000 to more than 3,400 interns recruited in 2013. In 2014, we expect to provide opportunities to more than 3,700 students.

Our recruiting efforts are a direct result of the growing need for financial planning in the US. The demand for financial planning has never been higher. Northwestern Mutual’s 2014 Planning and Progress Study found that two-thirds of Americans don’t have a long-term financial plan and 71 per cent do not have a financial advisor. Furthermore, the majority (70 per cent) of American adults feel that the economy will experience future crises, and that they need a financial plan to help them weather the ups-and-downs (52 per cent).

And that demand is opening up career opportunities for current college students to learn from the best training program and financial advisors in the business.

How rigorous is your application selection process and how has this changed?

Our application and selection process is much more an experimental process than an interview process. It’s more than just interviewing well or saying the right things. We offer students an experience and get them as close as possible to the career without actually doing it. Anyone can learn more about the program, but they have to work at it. 

We want to challenge the students, make sure there’s a mutual selection process to determine if they are a right fit for the program. We just don’t want to tell them. We want them to see it. That may include assignments to help them better understand Northwestern Mutual, the financial advisor career and their local area.