Photos by Alistair Gurley
The future is now, even for a select group of GCU students who have a long career ahead of them.
A major breakthrough occurred more than a year ago when Colangelo’s Grand Canyon University College of Business began offering a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in financial planning.
Instead of taking finance-related courses during their senior year, students can enroll in classes related to financial planning, such as retirement planning, estate planning, and life and health insurance. beauty.
All financial planning classes were certified by the Board of Certified Financial Planner (CFP), which allowed students to take the CFP exam upon graduation.
Last year, Dr. Joy Cladythe college’s finance chairman, noted that Matthew Kerin he changed his major from finance to finance with an emphasis on financial planning and asked him to be a student leader in this area.
Because of the efforts of Nate St. John, Madalyn Nelson, Ashley Villa and Kerin, the GCU Financial Planning Association was established. This organization, which is part of the Financial and Economic Association, started with 40 people and now has more than 100 members.
Its rapid growth has caught the attention of prestigious firms, such as Charles Schwab, who hosted a Registered Investment Advisor event that included three top executives from Colony Group, TCI Wealth Advisors and Husch Blackwell who spoke to over 70 students.
When Nelson went through her interviews before being hired as a family wealth associate by TFO Family Office Partners, a wealth management company, Kerin wanted to know what the interviewees were asking about the Organization. of Financial Planning.
“They talked about it at halftime,” Nelson told Kerin. “They wanted to know everything about it.”
Like Nelson, Villa was part of the first small group of finance graduates who focused on financial planning and worked for the Phoenix branch of Blue Trust, which uses biblical wisdom to help clients.
“It’s been a privilege to be a part of this (GCU) program,” Villa said.
The role of financial planning in financial planning and the immediate growth of the organization could not have come at a better time for students interested in pursuing a career in financial planning.
Kerin says there are more people in the financial planning industry who are over 70 than under 30, creating a huge age gap and opportunity for more financial advisers.
“You have a lot of old advisors who don’t want to sell but give, for free, their book of business to a young, aspiring planner, who they trust and their clients,” said Kerin, who is about to graduating in December. .
“You don’t get that right away, but once you get into your 30s, and you’ve had that mentor for a while, they gradually give you their book of business because they have to have a plan to succession, and they can’t. leave customers high and dry once they retire.
They want to give to someone they care about because they have been customers for 20 to 30 years.
The financial planning classes required during a student’s senior year save them the trouble of joining a class and passing an exam in each of those areas if they weren’t pursuing those ideas. That pursuit, along with the hours required to gain access to certification, can take up to three years, Kerin said.
“There hasn’t been so much technology that can be implemented to make the process easier to log in and find customers,” Kerin said. “It’s moving more into the consulting side, which is a good part. So there are many possibilities.
“I think GCU has done a great job of being a mecca, building that as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”
The university also collaborates with several fee-based companies, giving consultants the freedom to do what is best for their clients because they are not incentivized in any way.
Kerin said financial planners can make six-figure salaries in their first year as a CFP, but she’s excited to meet so many students who pursue a career in financial planning to help the future of financial professionals.
And, in some cases, to a greater calling.
“I’ve met students who want to go into higher education to help people donate more money and give it to government-related causes,” Kerin said. “It’s a strange reason.
“Where are those dollars coming from? They come from people who can give more money. Being a financial planner, especially a Christian financial planner, is a wonderful calling.”
Kerin praised Blue Trust for its relationship with GCU and its commitment to helping clients donate as much as they can to government-related projects.
It took some patience for Kerin to connect. He found out about the professor Alan Klibanoff that four students are invited to a Schwab conference at a Scottsdale resort.
Kerin approached Clady and told her that she would like to be considered for the event if someone dropped out.
Fortunately for Kerin, that happened. He filled in and found more than just fellowship.
“What impressed me was the honesty of everyone working in the field, how much they care about their customers, how they have impacted their customers’ lives so much and how they were all driven by that goal. what you do for people, do it for a living,” said Kerin.
Kerin said the budget gave him fulfillment.
“I don’t want to sit behind a Bloomberg machine all day,” he said. “But I also don’t want to give up a living wage to support my family one day. I want the best in the world. And the budget, in my mind, really does.”
GCU Senior News Correspondent Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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