My quest to graduate 500 CFP-ready advisors a year

Everybody talks about the retirement readiness crisis, but Ric Edelman is doing something about it, staving off the coming advisor shortage in the process. Edelman

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Last year, 1,500 colleges and universities bestowed 268,000 degrees on seniors graduating in business, accounting, finance and marketing. But financial planning degrees? Fewer than 200 schools awarded barely 4,000 in our field. And this at a time when America desperately needs more financial planners. 

You know the issues: Every day, 12,000 Americans turn 65. They need advice to help them convert their savings and investments into an income they won’t outlive. Simultaneously, the average wife in America becomes a widow at age 59 — a tragic and often unexpected event that creates an urgent need for financial advice.

But today, more certified financial planners are over age 70 than under age 30, according to the CFP Board, and McKinsey projects that 38% of financial advisors will retire within the next decade. Which means that at the very moment more Americans than ever need financial planning, there will be fewer financial planners to serve them. 

By the way, more than 80% of our field’s approximately 109,000 investment advisors are white, according to the CFP Board, and 74% are male. Our industry’s lack of diversity makes it harder for us to serve the communities that make up our nation. 

READ MORE: The ‘fundamental’ talent shortage looming over wealth management

Financial planning, the ‘superior’ career choice

That’s why I partnered with Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey to create the School of Financial Planning. Powered by a $10 million gift by Edelman Financial Engines to fund the school’s operations and endowment, the school will offer a minor, a major and a master’s degree in financial planning with the goal of producing 500 CFP-ready graduates annually. 

Provided by Rowan University

The need for degrees in financial planning is acute. More than million college students today are pursuing business, accounting, finance and marketing degrees. Rare is the student pursuing financial planning — most schools simply don’t offer the degree. 

The irony here is that a financial planning degree offers a pathway to a far superior career choice. Financial planners have access to abundant job opportunities. The field isn’t nearly as threatened by AI because rather than being almost entirely based on the collection and analysis of data, financial planning is primarily a human relationship career. Financial planning offers the potential for an extremely lucrative, safe career. Plus, it can usually be performed remotely. 

READ MORE: Almost 3 out of 10 Americans have no retirement savings

Financial illiteracy and the retirement readiness crisis

But the real reason financial planning is a great career is because of the people we serve, the lives we improve, the families we help. And help is exactly what American families need today. Most U.S. adults can’t correctly answer half the questions on a financial literacy quiz. Half the country lacks basic knowledge about inflation, diversification and the power of compounding. 

Perhaps partly because of financial illiteracy, more than one-third of Americans can’t pay an unexpected bill of $400 without going into debt, according to the Federal Reserve Board; some 55% would run out of cash in just three months. 

It’s bad enough that only about 70% of U.S. workers have a retirement plan at work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but what’s worse is that only about seven in 10 of those workers choose to participate in their 401(k). And even when employees do participate, they don’t contribute enough or choose the right investments, causing them to enter retirement with far less money than they should have accumulated, and far less than they need. 

All because they lack access to a financial planner. In fact, only 21% of adults in their 50s have a written financial plan for retirement, according to Transamerica. No wonder most Americans are failing financially! 

READ MORE: Advisors share fixes for Social Security’s funding crisis

Social Security in the balance

This is not just a problem for individual retirees, it’s a problem for our nation. The average retiree gets just over $2,000 a month from Social Security, according to the Social Security Administration, and that money represents half of total household income for 50% of married retirees and for 70% of single retirees. 

And we all know that this income is in danger, because if Congress doesn’t act by 2032, that $2,000 check could be cut to $1,600, pushing millions of retirees into poverty. Many will lose their homes, and many others will have to choose between buying food and medicine. Others still will face bankruptcy (as it is, the fastest-growing age group for bankruptcy filings are people 65 and older). For sure, our nation is facing a retirement readiness crisis. 

READ MORE: 401(k) convos give advisors inroads with next-gen clients

What I’m doing to help — and what you can do

Rowan’s College of Business is also creating the Center of Financial Education so financial planning majors can offer peer-to-peer financial counseling to the college’s 25,000 undergrads. 

The School of Financial Planning will also partner with the Personal Finance Institute, a nonprofit I started last year, devoted to providing professional development for current financial planners and to fostering financial literacy for children and adults nationwide. 

An essential part of ending the impending retirement readiness crisis is helping Americans get the financial advice they need from dedicated professionals who have the knowledge and skills to help them. That’s why I’m thrilled to be embarking on this new initiative. Classes begin this fall, and I’m serving as the school’s founding head to help select and oversee skilled faculty teaching a curriculum that reflects the needs of today’s RIA firms.

And I’m asking for your participation. If you’re interested in joining the faculty, serving as a guest lecturer, working with the center and PFI on research projects and conferences or providing funding for both of these nonprofits, get in touch. I’m at edelmanr@rowan.edu. 

With your help, we can make a material impact on America and American families — an impact that is vital for our future. Please join me.