More than ever before, advisory firms need to find ways to recruit and retain the next generation of financial planners, but new advisors continue to face significant challenges when entering the profession, according to the findings of research by Schwab Advisor Services and Amplified Plannin released on Thursday.
Despite the enthusiasm of aspiring planners, the new research brief “Building the Future of Advice: Data-Driven Talent Strategies” pointed out that many face high barriers to entering the profession, the firms said.
“These barriers aren’t minor obstacles, either,” the report says. “They often determine whether someone can join the ranks at all or stay more than a few years.”
Those challenges include finding job opportunities that match their experience, which was cited by 23.9% of respondents; lack of opportunities matching their skills or values (17.9%); low starting compensation or financial instability (17.4%); a lack of clear career paths or defined roles (13.8%); and insufficient support or training (9.5%), according to the report.
Also, although career changers have “strong transferable skills,” the report said they face “starting over” syndrome, often feeling their prior experience was undervalued by advisory firms, while students struggled to find true entry-level roles.
“Those that don’t prioritize bringing in and retaining new planners risk losing capacity, clients, and long-term growth potential, even in an environment where demand is expected to grow,” Hannah Moore, Founder of Amplified Planning and Creator of its online training program The Externship, and Leslie Tabor, Director of Advisor Services Business Consulting & Education at Charles Schwab, said in a letter to readers at the beginning of the report.
“Firms are realizing that their ability to grow is directly tied to their ability to attract and develop talent,” Moore said in a news release announcing the report’s publication.
“Our research shows that while generational differences get most of the attention, the real story is in how people enter the profession,” she said. “Students, career changers, and current financial service professionals each bring unique motivations, skills, and expectations—and firms that recognize this can build stronger, more sustainable teams.”
Career changers, college students and financial service professionals already working in related but non-planning professions are all “critical to the profession’s future,” according to Amplified and Schwab.
Career changers now represent a huge pipeline of talent for the sector, a trend that The Externship said has strengthened since 2022.
Of the survey respondents, 38.14% identified as career changers.
Helping people is still the top reason for new talent entering financial planning and 94% of Externship participants interviewed in focus groups said they wanted to concentrate on holistic financial planning, not just investment management.
“This new generation of talent wants to help clients holistically, not just manage money,” according to Suzanne Siracuse, an industry consultant who collaborated on the research.
“That shift represents a powerful opportunity for firms to redefine how they deliver advice and how they attract the right people to deliver it,” she said in the news release.
With almost 70% of new entrants coming to The Externship from places other than traditional financial planning programs, the report called on advisory firms to go beyond industry circles in recruiting to attract career changers and professionals with transferable skills.
“According to the research, some aspiring advisor candidates are more planning-focused, driven by mission and client relationships, while others are investment-focused, energized by analysis, markets, and AUM growth,” said Tabor. “Firms that clearly define which kind of advisor they’re hiring—and design roles accordingly—will see stronger retention and alignment.”
The research findings also underscore that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to recruiting and retention doesn’t work for advisory firms, Amplified and Schwab said.
“This research reinforces what we’ve long believed: the firms that will lead the next decade of growth are the ones investing in people as much as in performance,” Tabor added.
Retaining planners, the report emphasizes, depends on more than just compensation. Most participants said mentorship, firm culture, structured training and clear career progression as the most crucial factors in where they chose to work.
The report goes on to warn that, if firms “don’t understand the motivations, needs, and goals of incoming talent, that talent will go elsewhere.”
It said, “Understanding these factors — and implementing changes in your own firm to support them — can reduce turnover, build stronger client relationships, and accelerate growth. You’ll gain a competitive edge both in your market and in talent acquisition.”
The report then cited four action recommendations that firms should take to attract the best talent: change recruitment strategies, show your employee value proposition, create clearer career paths and invest in training and mentorship.
The report drew from Amplified’s quantitative and qualitative research conducted in 2025, which included a nationwide survey with almost 1,800 Externship participant responses; focus groups with students, career changers and financial services professionals; and a comparative analysis of trends from 2023 to 2025.
The research was also based on insights from surveys completed during The 2025 Externship, which hosted more than 2,000 aspiring and new planners from June to August, the firms said.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jeff.berman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
