Financial advisor resume example

What recruiters look for

• Assets under management and households: the size of your book, and how much you built yourself versus inherited.
• Growth: net new assets a year and where they came from (referrals, centers of influence, workshops).
• Retention: clients kept through a bad market say more than any adjective.
• Licenses and designations: SIE, Series 7 and 66 (or 65 and 63), state insurance licenses and the CFP mark, all current.
• Planning depth: retirement income, tax, estate and insurance. Firms moving to fee-based planning want advisors who do more than pick funds.
• A clean record: recruiters check FINRA BrokerCheck, so your resume and your record must tell the same story.

Writing the summary

Lead with years, assets and households, then your niche (business owners, physicians, pre-retirees) and your designation. One number on retention or growth makes it concrete.

Bullet points that work

Strong lines for this role, beyond the ones in the example. Borrow the shape and put in your own numbers.

• Grew assets under management from $40 million to $135 million in four years, with 80% of new clients from referrals.
• Moved 60% of commission accounts to fee-based advisory relationships without losing a client.
• Ran 10 retirement planning workshops a year for local employers, bringing in 45 new households.
• Built referral relationships with 6 CPA firms that produced $18 million in new assets in two years.
• Created Roth conversion plans for 25 clients in low-income years, saving an estimated $400,000 in lifetime taxes.
• Kept 98% of clients through a market drop of more than 20% by calling every household within a week.
• Completed 120 full financial plans in one year, the most in a 14-advisor branch.
• Rolled over $22 million in 401(k) assets for clients changing jobs, each with a documented best-interest comparison.
• Coached 3 associate advisors through their Series 7 and 66 exams and their first year of client meetings.

Skills to list

Certifications and licenses worth listing

• SIE, Series 7 and Series 66 (or Series 65 and 63): the core registrations for most advisors. The Series 7 needs a sponsoring firm; the Series 65 alone covers fee-only advisers.
• CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP): the best-known planning certification, granted by CFP Board after coursework, an exam, experience and an ethics review.
• State life, accident and health insurance license: needed to sell insurance and annuities in your state.
• ChFC or CLU from The American College: strong for insurance-heavy or estate-focused practices.
• CFA charter: relevant for advisors who manage portfolios directly or want to move toward portfolio management.

Length and format

One page up to about ten years, two pages beyond. Keep licenses and designations in the top half of the page, because recruiters and compliance check them first. A two-column layout like this one keeps them beside your experience.

Common mistakes

• Quoting investment returns. Performance claims are tightly regulated and hard to verify; talk about assets, clients and planning instead.
• Leaving out how the book was built. “Inherited 90 households, grew to 160” is far stronger than a total alone.
• Listing lapsed licenses as current. FINRA registrations lapse two years after you leave a firm; say so if yours have.
• Naming clients or giving details that could identify them.
• A product-pushing tone. Firms now hire planners, so lead with plans and client outcomes, not products sold.