Today’s retirees don’t need their father’s financial advisor.
In fact, the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s retirees are so different from a generation ago that the Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA) has developed a job description for financial advisors that it says is “more relevant” to the challenges that retirees now face.
“In order to be effective in the future, financial advisors seeking to provide the best possible results for their clients must embrace a host of new responsibilities and personal professional skills,” explained Francois Gadenne, chairman and executive director of the RIAA.
David Macchia, an RIAA director, agrees, noting that the advisor’s job description has expanded significantly.
“The advisor must have the skills to not only help investors accumulate financial capital (savings, investments, insurance, annuities, IRAs), but also to understand the changing roles of financial capital combined with human capital (wages and earnings) and social capital (social security, support from family or friends, defined benefit plans) as investors address their retirement income security needs,” Macchia said.
According to Gadenne, the RIAA has received feedback from financial advisors who indicate they are concerned about helping investors plan, implement, and manage their retirement to reach and keep a desired standard of living over the long term.
“That’s a complex task which calls for new insight and education,” Gadenne said.
RIIA believes that a new dimension of professional advisor education is necessary. Thus, the association is developing a Retirement Income Management Body of Knowledge to support advisors in maintaining a high degree of proficiency in retirement income planning, including specialized professional education. This curriculum will match specific learning objectives with practice management skills derived from a Retirement Management Professional job description and will lead to a Retirement Management Analyst™ (RMA) designation.
Elvin Turner, another RIAA director, believes that RIIA’s expanding body of knowledge is key to addressing financial advisors’ concerns about giving their clients comprehensive retirement income planning.
“Ethics and practice management skills are foundational elements of RIIA’s body of knowledge,” Turner said. “The reason is to help RMA™ designation candidates sharpen their ethical behavior and practice skills needed to address retirement needs in an effective and objective fashion.” |
