Paul,
Thank you for your interest in the financial planning profession.
The Financial Planning Association is the nation's largest organization of financial planning professionals. It has many, many resources available to its members - some of whom are students in financial planning.
The Financial Planning Association is a strong supporter of the Certified Financial Planner(TM) (CFP)(r) certification. The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. has a web site which describes the certification and the educational and other requirements necessary to attain it. I would strongly encourage you to explore the CFP certification, which you can do through a series of online courses (it takes about 1-2 years to get through all 6 courses), followed by the CFP exam itself.
There are other worthwhile certificatons, such as CFA and CIMA, each of which has a particular emphasis. But the CFP designation is the only well-respected designation which is entirely focused on all aspects of personal financial planning, and it is perhaps the most widely recognized certification by consumers.
NAPFA is the organization of fee-only advisors, many (if not most) of whom are also members of FPA. NAPFA requires the submission of a financial plan for peer review, and certain other requirements for full membership. It is a worthwhile organization, and if you become a fee-only planner I encourage you to check it out.
Both FPA and NAPFA present very good educational presentations at their many conferences. I would encourage you to attend one or both of the conferences when you can. An added benefit is the opportunity to visit with many vendors of financial products and support services (including many financial planning software vendors). At the FPA national conference there is the opportunity to peruse many of the books FPA members have authored, many of which could be considered essential additions to a financial planner's personal library. Additionally, at the national conferences there is the opportunity to network with financial planning firms who are seeking new financial planners to join their firm. There is a shortage of talented individuals presently, so with your MBA in Finance it would appear that opportunities await.
If you "go it on your own" - a tough road but feasible - most fee-only financial planners are registered investment advisers (RIAs), or employees (representatives) of an RIA firm. The RIA designation is obtained through passage of the Series 65 exam. There are a variety of compliance and legal requirements which apply to RIA practices. There are compliance consulting firms to aid in registration and compliance, but any way you do it you need to learn a lot about the Investment Advisers Act and rules thereunder. Going it on your own takes time and effort, especially with increased compliance requirements at both the federal and state levels over the past several years, but it is possible.
Some advisers who "go it on their own" are assisted by "turnkey" providers. BAM Advisory Services, Garrett Financial Planning Network, and many other firms assist persons to enter the financial planning advisory profession through variations on the "turnkey" theme. Other firms, such as my own, hire financial planners as independent contractors and provide even higher levels of support and training (as forming a separate RIA firm is not required). There exists a wide range of structures - both in terms of level of support, and in terms of level of flexibility afforded to the advisor in the means chosen to serve a client.
Again, there are many business models to choose from. Again, I would encourage you to attend one or more of the national conferences, and perhaps some regional conferences, and local FPA chapter meetings and conferences, to get a better understanding of the many options available. I also encourage you to read the Journal of Financial Planning, a monthly publication which can be accessed through FPA's web site, www.fpanet.org. Also, I would encourage you visit the web sites of many financial planning firms, to see what investment strategies they utilize and investment solutions they recommend, and what type of financial planning services they offer.
Lastly, in terms of product selection, I encourage you to look at the websites of Dimensional Funds Advisors (www.dfaus.com) and Vanguard (www.vanguard.com). Each has a wealth of information on investment strategies. There are literally thousands of investment products out there, and many different approaches to investing. Narrowing the field requires a thorough understanding of the "disclosed" and "hidden" costs of investment products. Also fundamental to adopting an investment philosophy to guide your clients is choosing whether to utilize "passive" or "active" management strategies, or some combination of the same. There is a lot of academic research in this area, and www.ssrn.com (which includes the Financial Economics Network) is an important resource for white papers. There are also many worthwhile books on financial planning and investing, and books designed to help us to better understand and counsel our clients. As you get exposure to some of the literature out there you'll come up with a reading list. As a start, I would recommend John Bogle's "Common Sense"; Larry Swedroe's several books, followed by additional reading texts by Burton Malkeil, Peter Bernstein, John Bogle, Bruce Temkin, Roger Gibson, Deena Katz, Harold Evensky, and others.
Good luck with your review of the opportunities that await.
Ron A. Rhoades, JD, CFP(r), Director of Research and CCO, Joseph Capital Management, LLC, Hernando, FL www.JosephCapital.com
Ron A. Rhoades, JD, CFP(r)