His interest in financial planning began when his father was doing well in his business, and he hired a financial advisor. As a result, his father was engaged in the stock market, and he started sharing “that knowledge, excitement with me, which got me learning about the market and trading stocks. We even set up a small E-Trade account, then a TD Ameritrade Account. We would trade stocks and talk about them.” With the exposure to learning about investing and the markets at an early age, Thiel decided to pursue a business degree. As he was “more mature, my parents allowed me to join their financial advisory meetings with their advisor, Kimberly Foss. During the meetings, I learned much about my parent’s financial situation and what this profession could be.” During the meetings, Thiel learned about the financial planning profession and how financial planners guide clients to achieve their financial goals. As a result, he saw the financial planning career as a “potential profession to pursue.” In his senior in college, he interned at Northwestern Mutual as an insurance agent, giving him more significant exposure to the financial services industry. He realized, “I enjoyed the financial services aspect; I love talking to people and helping them solve financial problems. However, I wanted to have more tools at my disposal.”

He started researching different colleges in financial planning, and California Lutheran University was the choice he selected to pursue his degree. CLU provided the eligible courses to take the CFP Exam and was an accredited university to get his MBA; the program offered great instructors that were experts in their respective fields and were available online. Having online classes allowed Thiel to “work during the day and take your courses in the evening so that I did not have to slow down my career trajectory. I was excited to go back to college to start learning again and pursue the path there.” The program gave him more confidence in doing his job and stability in his decision-making.” His decision-making allowed him to best “serve clients, plan for the future, and operate in a financial planning business.”

Near the end of the program, Dr. Chia-Li Chien reached out to invite Thiel to be a part of the Ventura County Lodging Association (VCLA) Pro Bono Project, which partnered with CLU to develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) for investment management services. He had the opportunity to work with a team of students, graduates, and professors to recommend a local financial institution to manage the VCLA’s accounts based on their specific financial needs. After the VCLA project, Thiel co-wrote a paper on the project with Dr. Chia-Li Chien and Assistant Professor Stefan Cosentino called “Forecasting Assessment Revenue: The Case of Ventura County Lodging Association” and presented it at the virtual CFP Conference in 2020.

Thiel’s father was one of the greatest influences in his career because he supported him in pursuing what he loved. Kimberly Foss was encouraging and gave him a perspective on the financial planning business. “When I started in financial services, it gave me something to aim for since she had an RIA and was working fee only. I want to work in a business like this one day, and I did.”

One of the trends in the financial planning industry is more advisors working for Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) firms instead of the traditional brokerage business. In addition, he stated there is a trend in mergers and acquisitions where large firms are continuing to buy small firms. A big trend that is being noticed is the addition of as seen by the CFP® as one of their eight principal knowledge topics. There is “bigger emphasis on the human side of financial planning and behavioral psychology.” Other trends Thiel is excited about are blockchain and AI, he expects AI will supplement as a tool to help advisors better serve their clients. In the next 5-10 years, Thiel plans to continue to work in an RIA and serve clients.

Thiel’s advice to students pursuing their career in financial planning is “set your sight on getting the CFP® in the future because that journey will tell you how this business works and if you want to continue on this path.” Thiel believes earning the CFP® certification opens the door to many opportunities. He also stated, “there are many ways to get into the financial planning business, and it is good to be open to finding the right fit. I recommend staying aware of what’s out there by reading blogs, listening to financial podcasts, and attending conferences.”

Niebank was working investments while she was studying at CLU, and “I wanted to strengthen my investment knowledge and have a broader background, and I wanted to converse with others about different asset classes.” California Lutheran University provided much depth in the financial services industry, and the courses were accessible online. The courses “exceeded my expectations and were top-notch.” Her favorite part of the program has various topics, from law and ethics to financial planning courses. Also, there was diversity in the program, from students with no experience to professionals with their practice. Having various people with different experience levels allowed her to broaden her knowledge in the industry.

The most significant influence in her career was a former manager, Chief Operating Investment Officer with a private sector background. “She was very knowledgeable and had experience working for a big asset manager. At the time and today, there are not many women in senior roles in investments. I learned a lot from having her come in and be a role model. She was very personable and approachable. She interacted with everyone and had a clear vision that she would not hesitate to roll up her sleeves and do the work with you. She gave me the confidence to be myself and capitalize on my strengths.”

The most significant trend in the financial planning industry is the emergence of robo-advisors. Many advisors feared that automated systems would replace them. “I have not seen that happen, and knowledgeable planners are always needed. Many changes are happening in the markets, so people do not want to go on an online chat. CFPs must be on the top of the markets and know their clients to build relationships.”

Niebank sees herself retiring from her job in the next 5-10 years and doing something more fun. Start a passion project like “teaching yoga on the beach.”

The advice Niebank offers to students pursuing their career in financial planning is that “CLU is a wonderful program. Make the time to learn the content and build your network because the program brings together a variety of individuals with skills and experiences that you can learn from and leverage in the future. Build those relationships and stay in contact with the people you network with within the program.”

In addition, “out the financial planning industry, there are many topics in the program, such as investments, economics, law, and planning. The program helped me broaden my knowledge, and I use the topics that include advisory services, interpreting laws and rules, and understanding investments in my day job.

About the Author: 

Rafael Nieves Rios is a graduate student at California Lutheran University, graduating in 2024. He is studying for an MBA in Financial Planning.

Before selecting the program, he was going to pursue; his wife recommended, “If you are going to get an education anyways, make sure to get a professional degree. If you don’t like the profession, you still have an MBA.”  The California Lutheran University Program offered the MBA and the CFP courses to pursue the CFP designation. His favorite part of the program was the professors’ availability because they were available to answer his professional questions or career advice. The courses in behavioral finance and how to effectively work with clients were the courses that helped Herbst coach clients to reach their financial goals.

The essential skills in a financial planning career will depend on what you want to do. For example, if you want to be client-facing, behavioral finance will be crucial because “you will be creating effective recommendations people will listen to and match them, not what you are thinking.” His wife is the most significant influence in his career because “she is the one who helped me focus on moving my career towards what I wanted to do for a living.”

The most significant trend in the financial planning industry is planning to become a core expectation of your services. Another one is professionals that have different disciplines, such as one professional will be “tax, investment, or client meeting focused.” In the next 5-10 years, Herbst wants to optimize his practice and continue to learn.

Starting your practice requires a lot of effort and dedication with little to no reward because you are “building.” Herbst advises, “You need to know that it is going to be tough, and it is that way for everyone. You are not alone, and you are not doing anything wrong if nothing is working.”

The advice Herbst offers to students pursuing their career in financial planning is “focus on what it is that you want to do with your work and optimize your work. Do not focus on what everyone else does in the financial services industry; focus on what makes you happy daily.”

About the Author: 

Rafael Nieves Rios is a graduate student at California Lutheran University, graduating in 2024. He is studying for an MBA in Financial Planning.

Although Etter already had the CFP® certification, he decided to earn an MBA in Financial planning to help take his financial planning practice to “the next level.” This program allowed him to “leverage his time efficiently” and provided live interaction with professors and fellow students.

Etter’s most significant influence in the financial services industry is his mentor at the small independent broker-dealer. “She encouraged me to get the CFP® and then get the rest of my alphabet soup based on the (target) client I served.”

One of the main industry trends in the financial planning field today is fee compression. “Even though this is designed to help clients, I feel it hurts them because teams are being formed to acquire assets under management. As a result, the individual planning is suffering.” In the next 5-10 years, Etter wants to take on one to two junior partners to potentially take over the practice.

One piece of advice Etter offers to students currently pursuing their financial planning career is to “use a prep course before sitting for the CFP® exam.” The CFP prep course will help students review the exam’s curriculum and practice questions.

Kramer’s favorite part of the program at California Lutheran University was the modular structure and the discussion boards. “I was able to do a deep dive and focus on one topic per week and had people doing the same work. I could do my projects or papers on real-life scenarios for clients.” The topics he learned in class allowed him to apply his knowledge to real-life scenarios on his projects and papers throughout the program. The course he enjoyed the most was strategic financial analysis because the course helped him “understand the financials of a company and do financial statement analysis.” California Lutheran University’s financial planning being online allowed him to study while having a busy schedule at work and spending time with his family. “The professors were accessible both in class and outside the classroom to ask questions. I learned a lot from them.” Some important skills are writing skills and learning how to communicate with clients. “Cultural studies are critical because we live in a multicultural country. Different cultures generalize wealth and have different views towards wealth.”

In the next 5 to 10 years, Kramer will continue to work at Abacus Planning Group and expand the office. He wants the office to grow in Fredericksburg, Texas, and give back to the FPA (Financial Planning Association) and NAPFA (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors). He advises students pursuing a financial planning career: ” Have the desire to pursue a financial planning degree. Sit for the CFP exam as soon as possible. If they do not work in financial planning, encourage them to intern in a financial planning firm. Having a coach or mentor outside of the office is helpful.”

About the Author: 

Rafael Nieves Rios is a graduate student at California Lutheran University, graduating in 2024. He is studying for an MBA in Financial Planning.

The most significant influence in his career success in financial planning career was his father, “who got him into the business and has been in the business for 40 plus years. He has been a tremendous mentor and partner.” Some of the lessons learned in his career are, “You can only control yourself. You can’t control who says yes. You can control how many calls you make. You can control if you show up. You can control your time and when you leave.” The second lesson is to invest in yourself because “I wanted to invest in myself, my business, and my clients. I am making investments, whether it is in technology, people, credentials, and education. I committed to investing in myself for the greater good.” Finally, being authentic with clients is a distinguishing differentiator that has brought much success in Charton’s financial planning career.

The biggest trends in the financial planning industry are bringing holistic planning to the average person, technology changes, and mergers and acquisitions, where “bigger firms are buying smaller firms.” Also, clients understand the value of paying for advice, just like CPAs and attorneys, since financial services are not only transactional, but clients can pay for advice. Charton sees himself in the next 5 to 10 years to “have a bigger business, a bigger team, and a better work-life balance and continue to invest in myself.”

Charton offers advice to students pursuing their career in financial planning is “Keep reassuring and reminding yourself what your personal mission is and why you are doing it. Why are you in the program? Really know your why and really understand your underlining personal mission.”

About the Author: 

Rafael Nieves Rios is a graduate student at California Lutheran University, graduating in 2024. He is studying for an MBA in Financial Planning.

The degree MBA in Financial Planning degree has helped Gann succeed in his career because the financial planning component has given him the tools, he needs to create a comprehensive plan for his clients. The lesson Gann learned from the program is to listen to the client and what they want. Gann states, “if you listen, they will tell you exactly what they need to be successful.”

The most significant trend in his career is talent management because learning a skill or trade is a valuable asset in the business. However, “building a strong team of people to work with triumphs the raw skill in whatever discipline.” The skills Gann believes are essential skills to have are listening and strategic planning. Listening allows you to understand the client’s needs and wants to tailor the best service possible, while strategic planning will enable you to consider yourself in 5-10 years and plan backward to achieve your goals.

Gann decided to pursue his degree in financial planning because “as a farm family, our idea of wealth in the future was having a life insurance policy. As I got older, it was not a viable plan. Seeing that was a norm growing up and that there is a power to make money work for you instead of working for money. I wanted to know how it works is what drew me to the CFP program at California Lutheran University.” The course that Gann enjoyed the most was the Capstone course because that allowed him to apply everything he learned in the course. However, the time zone difference made it difficult to take the courses at the time because he was in Berlin, Germany.

Gann offers the following advice to students pursuing their degree in financial planning, “the end goal might be a job as a financial planner; the curriculum in the MBA portion of the program applies to many different disciplines and not just in the financial planning field.”

About the Author: 

Rafael Nieves Rios is a graduate student at California Lutheran University, graduating in 2024. He is studying for an MBA in Financial Planning.