As the class of 2015 gets ready to put on their caps and gowns, these young, new graduates should think about becoming financial advisors, argues Ken Kamen, president of Mercadien Asset Management, on Forbes.com. These young adults may not have grown up wanting to be an advisor; the financial downturns of the early 2000s and 2008 didn’t help—neither has Hollywood’s portrayal of the profession, Kamen says. But demand for advisors is growing, as people’s financial futures become more dependent on making wise financial decisions. And the profession is not getting any younger. In addition, the financial advisory space is no longer just for “mathletes.” “What’s really key is building a relationship with your clients and serving their needs,” Kamen writes.
Financial advisors might want to be considered "just like family" to their clients, but that comes with a price, writes Rick Kahler of the Kahler Financial Group on Money.com. Kahler warns advisors not to give up their integrity when getting too close to their clients. "Supporting clients’ well-being with services like financial coaching only serves clients well when it is built on a solid platform of professional skill and integrity. The only way to build the trust that is such an essential aspect of comprehensive financial planning is by being trustworthy," he writes.
The City of Oaks Comes Out on Top ...
Are you seeking relocation to a new city for work? Glassdoor, an online employment and company review website, has your back on where to look. The site revealed its “25 Best Cities for Jobs” this week, ranking Raleigh, N.C. as the best option in the United States. List rankings were based on a number of factors, including number of job openings, population, median base salary, median home value and job satisfaction rating. “Raleigh has long had a reputation for tech companies looking to flee the expensive and congested Northeast corridor, with companies like IBM, Cisco and SAS setting up shop in North Carolina,” said the report. Rounding out the top five cities were Kansas City, Mo.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Austin, Texas; and Seattle, Wash.
For advisors looking to expand into a new market or open up new offices, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is the place to be, with MarketWatch declaring the Texas city America’s most business-friendly metro area this year. Although Dallas and the surrounding areas have been growing steadily in recent years, there’s still plenty of room for expansion. When ranking the top 100 cities, MarketWatch looked at the growth in a local labor force, how well publicly traded companies have been able to improve profits, the securing of patents and even the maintenance of local “vitality.” The rest of the top 10, in order, include: San Francisco, Seattle, Des Moines, Iowa; Raleigh, N.C.; San Jose, Calif.; Houston; Provo, Utah; Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Denver, Colo. The worst city? Stockton, Calif., because of its lack of new businesses and NYSE or Nasdaq-listed companies, as well as low education levels and slow payroll growth.
