Millennials want advice now but industry ‘unprepared’

investmentnews.com:

Fear not, financial advisors. There is seemingly good news ahead for the future of the financial advisory industry.

Recent results from the CFP Board’s certification exam found 3,683 candidates took part in the March 2024 CFP certification exam, the CFP Board said last month in a press release, breaking last March’s record of 3,527 exam-takers.

The CFP Board projects that the total number of active CFP professionals will soon surpass 100,000 certificants in the U.S., representing about one-third of retail financial advisors. Additionally, 68 percent of March candidates were under 40 years old, with 37 percent under age 30.

Liz Miller, founder and president of Summit Place Financial and CFP Board Chair-elect, says the CFP Board is looking at ways to help advisors understand what NextGen CFP professionals are looking for in a professional experience, in addition to what they’re already doing to build their career.

“One of the best resources we have is the CFP career guide that shows the experiences at each step in a career,” Miller explains. “A lot of our young CFP professionals are looking at that guide as a checklist and they want to make sure they are getting each of those experiences.”

While this is certainly encouraging news for the advisory space, several advisors say the industry still faces its challenges to attract and retain advisors. Scott Danner, CEO of Freedom Street at Steward Partners, says there’s “such an age gap” between the older, successful advisors and the ones who are up and comers.

“Millennials are showing that they want advisors, and they want advice now, and it hasn’t always been this way,” Danner says. “As they turn into their early 40s, this is a major need that I think we’re unprepared for in