Executive Summary
Training programs for new financial advisors have traditionally followed a sales-focused, sink-or-swim approach that primarily paid on commission for product sales. While some of these programs still exist, the role of an associate advisor has evolved alongside the broader financial planning profession. In many advisory firms today, associate advisors don't begin with prospecting or running client meetings; instead, they start with back-end technical work, such as financial plan preparation, before gradually developing the strategic and client communication skills needed for greater independence. Even for advisors with a CFP certification or other credentials, honing these skills and the confidence to use them in real-time client interactions requires additional practice. To address this, associate advisors often rely on shadowing lead advisors and other team members, completing supervised work, and participating in debriefs. However, this approach requires significant time and energy – particularly in small firms that lack a dedicated training infrastructure. So, how can advisory firms prepare their advisors with the skills they need while also making the best use of everyone's time?
For larger, more mature firms, comprehensive internal training programs are a common solution. However, smaller firms with fewer resources may find this approach less feasible. Instead, outsourcing portions of advisor training can be a practical alternative, offering associate advisors structured learning opportunities in a lower-stakes environment while also preserving the lead advisor's time and minimizing risks to client trust.
Before selecting an external training option, firms must determine which skills are most important for their associate advisors to develop. Some programs emphasize technical expertise, while others focus on communication skills needed to engage effectively with clients. Most external training programs suitable for associate advisors fall into one of two broad categories.
The first category focuses on building financial plans and helps advisors refine their decision-making skills, work through case studies, and develop confidence in crafting comprehensive financial plans. Some of these programs focus on specialized designations or niche problem-solving, which may be especially helpful for firms that require deeper expertise in specific areas. Others take a broader approach, giving newer advisors more opportunities to practice and build confidence across different areas of financial planning. The second category focuses on delivering financial plans, centering on client communication skills. These programs help advisors build trust, navigate difficult conversations, and confidently present recommendations – all within a controlled, lower-stakes environment.
When selecting a training program, managers may consider many factors, including whether the program is open-ended or time-bound, asynchronous or synchronous, and whether training takes place during work hours or personal time. The available education budget is also an important consideration. Ensuring that both the manager and associate advisor are aligned on expectations – such as program timeline, progress measurement, and anticipated outcomes – can help maximize training benefits. Finally, scheduling check-in meetings to debrief shortly after the associate advisor finishes the program can help both parties assess the advisor's growth and overall experience.
Ultimately, the key point is that associate advisors can gain critical skills and confidence outside their firm's direct training structure. A strategic investment in external training can help new advisors build up their technical ability, client meeting skills, and overall confidence as they continue to enhance the quality of the financial advice they deliver throughout their careers!
The Evolution Of Advisor Training: From Sales-Focused To Advice-Centric
Traditionally, training programs for new advisors followed a sales-focused, sink-or-swim approach. New advisors quickly obtained their relevant Series licenses and, sometimes (but not always), received training on how to actually make sales. From there, they were often expected to cold-call prospects and sell to their own personal networks while being primarily (if not entirely) paid on commission for their product sales. In short, their training was focused on generating revenue through sales, with little emphasis on broader financial planning skills.
While this approach was more common in the past, versions of it still serve as a fairly common entry point into the financial advice industry today. One reason for its persistence is the low cost of running these types of training programs: while some firms invest in training, many keep salaries low while advisors focus on prospecting, converting, and onboarding clients. While this method often produces advisors who are highly knowledgeable about their products, able to work through rejection productively, and comfortable with sales and meetings, it also comes with significant drawbacks – particularly in retention. According to research released in 2023 by Cerulli Associates, more than 72% of new advisors left their jobs in 2022, with 69% of new advisors responsible for building their books of business from scratch. Even though being comfortable with rejection and developing successful sales skills are crucial for traditional financial advisors, they're far from the only essential skills. The reality is that many advisors trained primarily in prospecting and meeting skills may lack a well-rounded understanding of financial planning itself.
However, as the field of financial advice has evolved, what it means to be an associate advisor has also evolved (and continues to do so) as well. Unlike commission-based models, though, many advice-centric firms develop their own onboarding and training paths rather than relying on a standardized program. In these firms, an associate advisor's development often begins with learning the back-end technical work (e.g., financial plan preparation) before gradually transitioning into client interactions. Early responsibilities may include responding to client emails and observing client meetings. Over time, associate advisors gain more strategic responsibilities, such as building financial plans and leading certain parts of client meetings.
This training approach, however, requires a significant investment of time. Even when firms hire associate advisors with the requisite certifications, translating technical skills into client-facing expertise takes a considerable amount of time and mentorship. Many firms address this by using a synchronous training model to teach their associate advisors the firm's way of building financial plans and delivering financial advice by first shadowing senior advisors and then transitioning into hands-on experience.
Bridging The Gap Between Observation And Execution
Despite the effectiveness of shadowing, there is still a large gap between observation and confident execution – a challenge that particularly applies to small firms with only a handful of employees and a limited training infrastructure. A useful analogy comes from my experience as a tennis coach, where I work with players who already have basic groundstrokes but need to develop strategic thinking and execution.
The process is multi-dimensional: If I want players to advance, part of their training will be observational, much like it is for advisor training. I can have my players watch more advanced teammates in matches or provide brief demonstrations of what the next level looks like. Then, we discuss what they observed and go over questions.
But watching isn't enough. I can't simply put them in a match and tell them to "just do what I showed you". Before these players can confidently apply what they've learned and execute under the pressure of a match, they need repetitions and drilling. A lot of it. The same principle applies to associate advisors. Watching senior advisors conduct meetings does not automatically prepare them to lead on their own.
The trick for many smaller advisory firms is creating structured practice opportunities – or 'drills' – for associate advisors to develop their skills. Synchronous training time with the lead advisor is expensive enough, and putting an underprepared advisor in front of clients too soon can be risky – for both the advisor's confidence and, at worst, the client's trust.
Even once associate advisors become comfortable acting as a 'second chair' in meetings and calls, it can still be difficult to 'close the gap' between acting as second chair and eventually transitioning to owning client relationships. Small advisory firm owners often end up with a difficult paradox: They hired an associate advisor to give advice, but they can't put them in front of clients unsupervised until they've proven their competence. However, in order for the associate advisor to develop and hone their skills to earn that trust, they need real-world experience – which they can only gain by spending time in front of clients. Which tends to create a multi-year hand-off process, where it may take at least six years of training and delegating advisory firm tasks before an associate advisor develops into a fully autonomous senior advisor.
The Unique Challenges Of Training Advisors At Small Firms
Small firms face unique challenges when it comes to training associate advisors. Unlike larger firms with dedicated training structures, small firms often operate with limited resources, requiring managers to balance hands-on training with their existing responsibilities. This creates several obstacles that can make the development of associate advisors both costly and complex.
First, there is the 'management tax' that comes from going from managing zero people to managing even one person– employees often expect structured growth plans, feedback, and benefits. And while managers don't have to reinvent the wheel for every new hire, there is almost always a mental load involved in tailoring training to both the firm's values and the advisor's individual strengths.
Second, larger firms have the capacity to develop onboarding programs around multiple team members' strengths and weaknesses – for example, whoever is best at investment strategy tends to train the new hires on investment strategy, and so on. However, in a small firm, training responsibilities typically fall on only one or two advisors, which increases the risk of inadvertently passing on blind spots or gaps in knowledge. This potential pitfall is a higher risk when training advisors with relatively little industry experience, since they don't know what they don't know. Without having this broader context, they won't recognize what they're missing.
Third, training is expensive in small firms – not just in terms of money, but also with time. The manager's time is likely to be the most expensive, yet onboarding an associate advisor requires extensive synchronous time before tasks can be fully delegated. Until the associate advisor gains enough confidence and competence, the lead advisor must remain deeply involved, reviewing work, providing feedback, and ensuring quality control – all of which slows down efficiency in the short term.
Finally, there is the risk of turnover. For better or worse, when an associate advisor has reached a certain level of competence and has developed strong client meeting and financial planning skills, other firms may offer attractive opportunities. While larger firms can absorb turnover more easily – an associate advisor leaving a 50-person firm will have peers who can take on the work and a manager who can relist and rehire for the role – a small firm losing even one advisor will experience much more operational strain. The associate advisor who leaves a three- or four-person firm can leave a formidable workload behind for the team to pick up, and there may be a long, slow ramp-up before the new hire reaches the same level of competence.
However, if an associate advisor is trained well, the potential dividends are high in the long term. The manager and other advisors are able to delegate more of their workload and focus on business development and other strategic initiatives. Kitces Research on How Financial Planners Actually Do Financial Planning finds that firms that surround their lead advisors with strong support staff – including the associate advisor role – tend to achieve higher revenue per advisor and better team productivity. Whether the long-term goal is to build a boutique or enterprise-type of firm, hiring, training, and retaining capable associate advisors isn't just important – it's crucial.
The Two Domains Of Advisor Training
Training an associate advisor well is challenging, which is why mature firms often develop comprehensive training programs. Mid-sized firms often have a full-time operation manager to oversee job descriptions, growth plans, and training. Given the complexity of advisor training, many firms build internal training programs to ensure consistency in the firm's standards and onboarding experience.
But, for small firms, developing a comprehensive training program may be too much of an administrative burden. For a firm with only a handful of employees, creating a structured training program from scratch may be premature – especially when the firm is still determining its voice and style and defining its approach to scaled financial advice.
For small firms that lack the bandwidth to create a formalized internal training program, a practical alternative that doesn't wholly rely on the lead advisor is to leverage external development resources. These programs provide structured learning and offer lower-stakes environments where advisors can refine their skills before working directly with clients.
Nerd Note:
This article assumes that the associate advisor has already obtained their CFP marks, Series licenses, or other required training. The majority of training programs for early- to mid-career advisors require that the advisor work full-time at the sponsoring company. However, finding substantive training programs that go beyond sales skills can take considerable effort.
While there are many professional development resources for senior advisors and firm founders ( e.g., coaching, consulting, classes, summits, etc.), fewer options cater to mid-career advisors who may have earned their credentials but haven't transitioned into senior-level roles.
The programs listed in this article were selected based on their ability to provide structured learning without requiring the entire firm to be registered under a particular planning philosophy or program. If there are others you've used and would recommend, please feel free to share them in the comments section!
Most advisor training programs fall into one of two broad categories:
- Building Financial Plans. These programs generally emphasize case studies, helping advisors identify planning opportunities, refine their decision-making skills, and work through complex scenarios.
- Delivering Financial Plans. These programs focus on communication skills and, more generally, how to talk to clients. They generally give advisors opportunities to hone their observation skills, participate in mock meetings, and practice presentation skills to confidently present recommendations and engage with clients.
Notably, while these programs have been divided into two categories, there is considerable overlap. Many technical training programs include exercises on how to communicate with clients, and communication-focused programs include some instruction on the technical side of planning. However, programs are typically categorized based on their central focus.
Differentiating Between Development Resources
Programs vary in a few ways with respect to structure and format. Most programs fall into one of two categories:
- Synchronous, one-time These programs are generally more expensive, and some programs may include additional expenses for travel and lodging. However, they offer the advantage of networking opportunities and immediate, personalized feedback.
- Asynchronous, ongoing subscriptions. These are generally more affordable programs but may require more up-front effort to determine exactly which portions of the resource are going to be most applicable to each specific advisor.
While some asynchronous programs are offered as one-time offerings, most function as ongoing resources that allow advisors to learn at their own pace. Nearly all programs are CE-eligible, and some also count toward the CFP certification Experience requirement.
Building Financial Plans Development Programs
A solid foundation in financial planning requires both technical knowledge and practical application. These development programs help associate advisors refine their decision-making skills, work through case studies, and build confidence in crafting comprehensive financial plans. Some programs focus on broad financial planning principles, while others provide specialized designations that deepen expertise in niche areas.
Measure Twice Planners
Program Type: Asynchronous, ongoing subscription, with some live and mentorship offerings
Cost: $649/year
Length Of Core Offering: 7 hours
CE-Eligible: Yes, and eligible for CFP Board experience hours
Overview: Measure Twice Planners offers a comprehensive 7-hour video course on the entire financial planning process, from client outreach to data-gathering, plan presentation, and implementation. Additionally, financial planning templates and calculators are provided to subscribers to use and adapt as needed. An ongoing subscription also provides access to webinars by niche experts, case studies, twice-weekly live calls, and mentorship opportunities.
Kitces Courses
Program Type: Asynchronous, one-time payment
Cost: $397/course for nonmembers, $297/course for Kitces members
Length Of Core Offering: 6 hours
CE-Eligible: Yes
Overview: Each Kitces Course is designed as a focused master class helping advisors bridge the gap between technical knowledge and real-world application. Each course covers one area in-depth, with topics ranging from tax-optimizing retirement portfolio withdrawals to comprehensive life insurance analysis and Roth conversion strategies. The courses are built around case studies and application-focused activities to help advisors master foundational knowledge and applicable strategies.
Post-CFP Designations
While programs for post-CFP designations can vary in length, cost, and synchronicity, advisors looking to hone their knowledge in a more specific area may find them a worthwhile investment. This may be especially relevant for firms with a niche or considering new offerings. Depending on the firm's focus, a few programs may be worth considering:
- Certified Financial Transitionist (CeFT): Trains advisors to guide clients through the cognitive and behavioral aspects of unexpected life transitions.
- Certified Student Loan Professional (CSLP): Provides advanced training on student loan planning strategies.
- Chartered Market Technician (CMT): Focuses on financial markets, asset management, and trading.
- Enrolled Agent (EA): Prepares and licenses advisors to represent taxpayers in tax matters, which can be especially helpful for firms offering tax planning services.
Client Meeting Skills Development Programs
Communicating financial advice effectively is just as important as technical expertise. Developing strong client meeting skills helps advisors build trust, navigate difficult conversations, and confidently present recommendations. The following programs provide advisors with structured opportunities to practice client interactions, refine communication techniques, and gain real-world experience in a lower-stakes environment.
Amplified Planning CORE (and CORE+)
Program Type: Asynchronous, ongoing subscription
Cost: $100/month for CORE
Length Of Core Offering: Ongoing
CE-Eligible: Yes, and eligible for CFP Board experience hours
Overview: It's hard to substitute meeting experience as a way to build experience and competence. Amplified Planning CORE is designed to let advisors practice their client meeting skills. Through video recordings of real client meetings, complete with commentary to help associate advisors understand the nuances of meeting dynamics and client interactions. Subscribers also gain hands-on experience by practicing note-taking, conducting follow-up research, and participating in live learning calls and forums.
Additional Offering: CORE+ is an upgrade to CORE (for $150/month in total) that gives detailed feedback to client meeting notes. Amplified Planning also offers a synchronous 8-week Externship every year, which provides intensive client meeting training.
FPA Residency
Program Type: Synchronous, in-person
Cost: $3,700 for members; $4,300 for nonmembers
Length Of Core Offering: 1 week
CE-eligible: Yes, and eligible for CFP Board experience hours
Overview: FPA Residency is a one-week synchronous program where participants roleplay progressive case studies and receive live feedback as they go. The program helps advisors strengthen client communication skills, build confidence in delivering advice, and expand their professional networks.
Note: FPA Residency limits enrollment to 35 participants per program. More details about how the FPA Residency program was developed can be found here.
Shaping Wealth Navigator
Program Type: Synchronous, online
Cost: $1,500 per workshop, $5,000 for the four-workshop series
Length Of Core Offering: 4 hours per workshop spread over several months
CE-eligible: Yes
Overview: The Shaping Wealth Navigator series focuses on advanced meeting skills, emphasizing how advisors can use intentional questioning to build connections and trust with prospects and clients. It delves into the psychological aspects of a prospect's experience, with later workshops dedicated to refining review meetings and improving plan presentation skills for a more engaging client experience.
Pro Bono Planning
Volunteering can be an additional way to develop confidence and gain hands-on experience with client interactions. In particular, the Advisers Give Back program (AGB) allows advisors to work with real clients across multiple meetings, providing valuable opportunities for advisors to practice speaking with clients, answering questions, and guiding financial conversations. While the average AGB client may be different from a firm's typical clientele, these experiences help advisors gain comfort in their role as the trusted expert in the room!
Other Resources To Consider
Beyond formal training programs, there are other resources that can help associate advisors refine their skills, build confidence, and develop a stronger professional presence. Many advisors have had great success with individual and group coaching services, which provide targeted guidance for improving confidence, communication, and strategic thinking.
Programs like Toastmasters, a global organization with local chapters across the country, can be valuable for improving speaking and presentation skills. Many associate advisors (and even their managers) often feel challenged when asked spontaneous, random client questions on phone calls. Having a place to practice and get comfortable with public speaking can yield powerful dividends in gaining confidence in real-world client interactions over the long term!
Conferences and local FPA chapter events, such as NexGen meet-ups, offer another option for professional growth. These gatherings provide access to both short-term resources and long-term connections with other advisors who are solving the same problems.
Niche-focused publications and interviews can also help advisors in niche-specific firms get more comfortable with client interactions by helping them understand client concerns more deeply and anticipate common issues that may crop up within their niche.
Finally, some advisors credit their non-traditional backgrounds – such as journalism, theater, sports (and sports coaching), and consulting – with helping them develop critical skills for client interactions. These experiences teach advisors to think on their feet, answer unexpected questions, and lead discussions and meetings.
Skills acquired through journalism, for example, may include research and the ability to ask insightful questions to identify deeper client needs. Youth sports coaching can help advisors feel more comfortable as the 'expert in the room' while handling rapid-fire questions. Even for advisors who don't have a theater background, public speaking and improv classes can be valuable for learning how body language, tone, and delivery impact communication. These training methods help advisors speak clearly and concisely, manage nerves, and build confidence in unpredictable conversations – all of which are important for developing great client meeting skills!
There may be limits on how much a manager wants to dedicate work resources to fund unconventional training programs like these, but they may still be worth exploring as highly effective ways to help advisors develop confidence and improve their ability to think on their feet.
Rolling Out Development Programs As A Part Of Training
Enrolling associate advisors in professional developmental programs requires thoughtful planning to better ensure success. Firm leaders can take several key steps to maximize the return on investment and support a structured, rewarding learning experience.
Before selecting a program, firm leaders can clarify the resources they are willing to commit. These generally fall into two categories:
- Will associate advisors be expected to complete the training during work hours or on their own time?
- Financial Support. What financial resources is the firm willing and able to dedicate toward the program? Is an education budget provided? Would the program be paid for in advance, refunded upon completion of the course, or partially funded?
Knowing what the firm is able to accommodate can be a useful filter when selecting a training program. Although some programs may be exciting or valuable, they may be out of reach for practical implementation.
Nerd Note:
In addition to the tax benefits of paying for education programs, it may be helpful to calculate the cost of a program against the cost of an hour (or a few) of a lead advisor's time. How much time would a developmental program need to save the leader in order for it to be beneficial?
Selecting The Right Program
Once the firm and advisor have identified the resources available for a training program, a selection of programs can be curated based on the associate advisor's need for development. Most advisors will be fairly self-aware of their own needs – it's hard to ignore feelings of nervousness during plan presentation meetings, for example – but lead advisors may also identify gaps and opportunities for certain programs that align with the firm's broader goals.
Whether selected by the associate advisor or the leader, it's important that the program is relevant, aligns with the associate advisor's career progression, and that the logistic support offered by the company is clearly understood.
Define Success Metrics
To ensure accountability and effectiveness of the chosen training program, the advisor and leader should agree on clear metrics of success based on the type of program. Along with the questions of a firm's time and financial support, it's helpful to discuss and ensure that both the associate and their manager agree on answers to the following:
For one-time programs or courses:
- Timeline: When will the advisor start and complete the program? Are there any obligations or conflicts, from the firm or personal side, that could delay progress?
- Outcome: What skills is the associate advisor expected to develop by the end of the course?
For subscription-based programs:
- Engagement: How often is the associate advisor expected to engage with this platform?
- Key Program Resources: Are there certain resources within the subscription platform that should be used in particular?
- Completing The Program: Will there be a defined point where the advisor 'graduates' from the program? How will progress be assessed?
For all programs:
- Tracking Progress: How should the advisor and manager track progress in the program? Will it be discussed in weekly one-on-ones or performance reviews?
- Skill Application: How will the firm determine if the advisor has attained those skills?
- Evolving Responsibilities: Will completion of the program lead to expanded duties or new expectations?
It may be helpful to have a document with these agreements to maintain clarity and accountability and to use as a reference point for both parties. This can be helpful both to chart the individual advisor's growth and for the leader to evaluate if this would be a good resource for future advisors!
Holding Check-Ins Throughout The Program
If the program is a multi-week or multi-month course, regular check-ins – which can happen in one-on-one meetings between the advisor and their manager – help ensure that advisors stay engaged, apply what they're learning, and progress through the program. However, for shorter, one-time programs, active check-ins may be unnecessary and even disruptive. In these cases, a manager may move directly from program selection to the retrospective documentation (discussed in the next section) without requiring any check-ins.
The core question for most of these check-ins is, "What are you learning? How might those lessons apply to clients?" When possible, try to tie lessons learned to specific client scenarios. For example, programs that emphasize client meeting skills might tie the skills being learned back to the firm's why. For example, when a client delves deeper into discovery questions, it can be helpful to talk about why the firm's discovery process has developed in a certain way.
When more technical skills are being developed, it can be helpful to continually relate the technical skills back to issues addressed by the firm with actual clients (e.g., "You can see an example of this in how we helped Holly and Michael refresh their estate plan this year.").
It may also be helpful to keep in mind that the advisor is absorbing fresh perspectives on different aspects of financial planning. Sometimes, advisors in training may challenge existing firm practices, which can spark valuable discussions about why things are done a certain way or even inspire process improvements. Fresh perspectives can be a gift to everyone in the firm, not just the associate advisor!
Regardless of the method used to check in on the advisor's progress, managers can be mindful about offering opportunities for them to practice their new skills in the firm. What aspects of building the plan can the advisor take ownership of now? Could they practice presenting a portion of a client meeting before leading one independently?
Keeping the advisor focused on the relevance of their new skills to the firm's practices and workflows can help keep them engaged with both the course – and the firm!
Documentation Upon Completion
After the advisor completes the program, capturing their insights on the program can provide valuable feedback for both the advisor and the firm. For example, advisors may consider:
- What were the biggest lessons learned?
- Where do you feel more confident?
- Would you recommend this program to another advisor in your role? Why or why not?
This assessment doesn't have to be part of a formal debrief, but it's best to record these initial impressions of the program soon after it's completed while they're still relatively fresh!
Post-Program Success
A few weeks after the advisor completes a development program is a good time for a retrospective discussion to assess the impact of the training. While a unique meeting could be set up for this, it can also be covered during a one-on-one or quarterly review.
Waiting a few weeks before evaluating the program gives the associate advisor time to implement what they've learned, which can allow for more meaningful takeaways. For example, if they're starting to show up differently in client meetings, that can be a sign of success worth noting.
The advisor and leader may consider the questions below to evaluate the growth achieved through the program.
The associate advisor may reflect on the following:
- How has my approach to delivering advice changed since completing the program?
- What resources or concepts have I revisited and implemented in my work?
- Are there specific takeaways from the program that have helped me improve my client interactions?
The leader may evaluate:
- What growth do I see in the advisor's performance and confidence?
- Are there new responsibilities that can be delegated to this advisor? Could they begin training others in-house?
- Did the program provide enough value to justify the time and cost?
Ideally, upon completion of the training program, the lead advisor will have saved time, while the associate advisor will have gained confidence, skills, and tools to better serve clients. A strong program – one that gives associates practical tools that they can use in client meetings, a network of peers and resources for continued growth, and confidence and independence to problem-solve with minimal reliance on lead advisors for training – can be a powerful resource in the long term!
Ultimately, while each associate advisor's needs may vary, investing in external education can be a good option for associate advisors to develop professionally while also alleviating some of the training pressure that may have otherwise been the sole responsibility of the lead advisor. And, if a program works well for the advisor, it can be used as a repeatable training tool for future advisors who join as the company grows!
Are there other helpful resources, programs, or courses for associate advisors looking to hone their skills? Let us know in the comments!
