What is the Job Market Outlook for Wealth Managers?
Job Market Outlook October 2, 2013In prosperous times, wealth managers fill a large sector, of the banking institution, with high level clients who want solid advice for safeguarding their assets and who are looking to choose smart investment opportunities. These are not prosperous times, and it affects every career choice in finance. The job market outlook is expected to grow at an average pace within the next few years, and competition for wealthy clients is fierce.
Pay and Education
Typical to financial advisors who work with individual clients, helping them plan a budget, finding the best markets for their investments, and assisting them with real estate or insurance advice, wealth managers keep a portfolio of their work experience and are paid a percentage reflecting the amount of wealth they are managing.
A wealth manager’s pay can fluctuate significantly, depending on the amount of wealth handled, but the average pay for a private banking wealth manager is between $70,000 – $100,000 a year.
A bachelor’s degree in economics, finance or business administration, is a must, although a master’s is more desirable. It is not a job most people can secure after stepping straight out of college. You will need a few years experience working for a firm or banking institution. Some banks will offer an internship for qualified financial experts.
Securing high profile clients is critical to the success of a wealth manager’s occupation, but this isn’t always easy in today’s competitive atmosphere. A dynamic wealth manager needs to have strong critical thinking skills, intuition and not only a strong understanding of today’s market, but an ability to recognize and analyze future trends.
With a volatile market, investors have become leery of taking risks, increasing the potential for failure in untested or slow-returns investments, creating more difficulty in generating future revenue. In response, wealth managers have designed new products that improve transparency, reduce costs and boost the operating efficiency for their clients.
Today’s wealthy have been taking a hard look at the emerging markets springing up in the demographics of India, Asia and Latin America. Wealthy investors are increasingly becoming more global and mobile, depending on wealth managers with a solid knowledge base in international business laws and policies.
Many firms are using this growth interest in developing countries to expand their marketing and distribution capabilities.
Market Demand and the Future
The demand for open architecture and freedom of information through the Internet has altered the structure of the industry’s wealth management. Clients have abandoned the exclusive club atmosphere in favor of a value added model.
Their wealth management includes both self-directed and advisory channels, mobile communications and unique access to investment opportunities through related banks. They may wish a cross-section advisory team with a strong sense of entrepreneurship and may wish to invest in cross-enterprises as part of their wealth building strategy.
The role of wealth managers has changed since the market crashed left Western countries scrambling in an over-invested market and searching for stabilizing factors. Scandals and corruption have driven investors to change their profiles, exhibiting more transparency and regulatory controls in the way they do business.
Today’s wealth managers study the economics, needs and demands of the emerging countries for clients expanding into the world market. The competition is fierce, but it is also a chance to participate in the dynamics of a global economy.
