Expanding Career Paths to Include Research and Teaching

Next Generation Planner: February 2021

Christina Lynn, CFP^®, AFC^®
Financial Planner, Kahler Financial Group
Doctoral Student, Department of Personal Financial Planning, Kansas State University
www.linkedin.com/in/christinalynnkahlerfinancial/

Josh Harris, MBA, CFP^®, AFC^®
Lecturer, Department of Finance, Clemson University
Doctoral Student, Department of Personal Financial Planning, Kansas State University
www.linkedin.com/in/josh-harris-cfp%C2%AE-afc%C2%AE/

Financial planning is a young and growing profession with years ahead of it, like many of you reading this edition of FPA Next Generation Planner. Whether you knew financial planning was your chosen career path at an early age, or you found financial planning much later in your story, you’re here because you recognize the power of financial planning to change lives.

The following stories are from two young CFP^® professionals who have chosen to pursue doctoral degrees in personal financial planning. Both firmly believe that the future of financial planning rests in our ability to become an evidence-based profession. To do this, pursuing research and research degrees needs to become a more recognized and talked about career path, both for new and established financial planners.

An Untapped Need—Christina Lynn

When I started in financial advising, I received two pieces of advice. First, network with seasoned advisers because you can learn from them. Second, get your CFP^® designation because it’s a respected credential that will set you apart from competitors. I had trouble implementing the first piece of advice. I became self-conscious about how much younger and less experienced I was than other advisers. I was often the only female adviser in the room and the only single mother. It seemed like the advisers I met were at least 20 years my senior and had decades more years of experience. Whether it be the differences in generation or lifestage, I felt I had little in common with other advisers and didn’t trust them.

I admit that my oversensitivity held me back but, fortunately, I found the second piece of advice to be much more helpful than the first. In the rigorous pursuit to obtain the CFP^® designation, I earned a master’s degree in family financial planning, which introduced me to the world of research. One class stood out: research in financial planning. It taught me to consider what lies beyond ratios and the rules of thumb. Research exposes the impact of behavioral finance, reveals the strength of theoretical frameworks and demands critical thinking. It has taught me to demand much more than a simple sound bite. Now, I understand the importance of data collecting, methods and analysis, and accurate interpretation of the results.

The field of financial planning would benefit from more advisers integrating research into their careers. Take Prochaska and DiClemente’s (1982)¹ transtheoretical model of change, for example. It is an existing theoretical model brimming with potential for implementation in financial planning practice; this would be an economical and straightforward method for financial advisers to help clients make financial progress. It is brilliant and straightforward yet remains unknown or unused by most financial advisers.

I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in personal financial planning at Kansas State University, while also working full time as a financial adviser. Not only is it making me a more thoughtful planner, but it is also making me a more marketable team member. I believe a research career will translate into helping people invest wiser, recognizing key behavioral factors and developing more robust financial plans.

An Unorthodox Path—Josh Harris

My journey into financial planning has been an unorthodox one. My undergraduate degree is in religion. Funnily enough, I tried to take a personal finance course my sophomore year, thinking it would be good to learn more about the credit card on which I was already accruing a balance. The instructor politely told me to get out because none of the information was relevant to anyone other than seniors. Fast forward to completing my MBA several years later; I discovered financial planning as a profession in exploring career options. I immediately began CFP^® coursework and found an entry-level position as a personal banker. The most enjoyable part of that job was hosting budgeting and credit seminars at the local university. Then, on a whim, I applied for a faculty position at that university, teaching personal finance. Within a short time, I found myself in charge of the CFP^® program and taught the capstone course to eager-eyed students.

In that time, I’ve realized the importance of high-caliber and evidence-based teaching in financial planning programs. Not only do future financial planners need to be mentored and taught how to change lives through the power of financial planning, but we need more research to become a truly evidence-based profession. There is fantastic work being done on both fronts already, but to meet the growing consumer demand and establish financial planning as a truly recognized profession, more is needed. We must integrate research into educational programs and establish research as a viable career path within financial planning; this was the calling I felt when pursuing a doctoral degree in personal financial planning.

Do I think I’ll be the next Richard Thaler or Daniel Kahneman? Perhaps (time will tell). At this moment in time, my goal is to pursue research that adds to financial planning—which gives future financial planners science-based techniques to improve the lives of their clients and generations of clients—and teach these techniques to my students. The late Dick Wagner phrased it perfectly in his 1990 Journal of Financial Planning article,² “To Think...Like a CFP”: “our potential is out in front of us, and the road is relatively clear...the tablet upon which this profession will be written is relatively blank” (p. 39). The future of financial planning rests on our ability to develop and disseminate high-quality research and education to the next generation of financial planners, so that generation can realize the real power of financial planning to change lives.

Endnotes

1. See the 1982 article by James O. Prochaska and Carlo C. DiClemente, “Transtheoretical Therapy: Toward a More Integrative Model of Change,” in Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice.
2. See the 1990 article by the late Richard B. Wagner, “To Think...Like a CFP,” in the Journal of Financial Planning.