Associate Advisor

Santa Monica, CA

Full Time

Entry Level

Abacus is a progressive financial planning firm devoted to helping people expand what’s possible with money. We treat each other with the same level of care and respect we treat our clients – it’s why we offer unlimited vacation, flexible work hours (and location), generous paid parental leave, and more.

This role is structured as an apprenticeship designed to make you the best financial advisor possible. You’ll take notes, participate in client meetings, and learn what it is to be an Abacus Financial Planner. If you’re eager to get your career in finance started, we are looking for you! This is an on-site role during the first 90 days, and after that it becomes a hybrid role, with some days reporting to our office in Santa Monica, California. The starting range for this position is $75k - $79k annual salary.

Your Life as an Associate:

Learns and practices not only the techniques of financial planning, but also the unique ways Abacus does business. Think of it as learning the secret handshake of financial wisdom.
Works daily in Salesforce (our CRM - Customer Relationship Management software), eMoney (our financial planning software), Box, DocuSign, GSuite, and more.
Joins client meetings and takes notes, making sure all follow-up tasks are completed on time. Your superpower? Turning client conversations into actionable to-do lists before the coffee even cools.
Our associates are taught to work with client prospects in a caring and supportive manner. After learning the basics, Associate Advisors participate as part of our “matchmaking team,” where they are trained to help match up prospects with the advisor who would be the best fit. This builds comfort with sales conversations without cold calling or setting unrealistic expectations for our newest advisors.
The purpose of this role is to build trust and competency, while providing support to Lead Advisors.

Must-Haves:

Having passed the CFP^® exam is required.
1-2 years of financial planning experience is not required, but establishes you as a more competitive candidate. Think of it as extra credit for already knowing your way around a Roth IRA.
Great written and verbal communication skills support strong ability to take accurate notes, communicate with advisors, and interact with clients.
Strong interpersonal skills and EQ are essential to building trusting relationships and providing high quality service.
Project management skills are critical. Our associates are the “air traffic controllers” of client processes. Associate Advisors do not know how to do every task, but they definitely can make sure they get whatever they can, done on time.
A very strong interest in financial planning is really important. Our advisors debate the intricacies of credit card points, have emotional conversations over GRATs, and have strong beliefs on projected inflation rates.
Comfort with change and new technology is key.
You have an understanding and appreciation of our Core Values - we hope you live and breathe them like we do.
We’re a certified B Corp committed to people and planet. If these things are important to you too, you belong with us!

Competitive Edge:

1-2 years of experience at an RIA (Registered Investment Advisor firm).
Career changers are welcome! Having 3+ years of career experience in any industry also makes you a more competitive candidate.
In-person customer service experience in the hospitality industry tends to build the level of service we're looking for.

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