For Release: September 15, 2010

Denver, Colo. – The Financial Planning Association^® (FPA^®) today released the 2010-2011 Financial Planning Salary Survey, a research study that details compensation and benefits, job characteristics and functions, and retention and turnover rates for 22 financial planning positions nationwide.

The “2010-2011 FPA Financial Planning Salary Survey: Compensation, Incentive and Benefit Data for Financial Planners, Technical Specialists and Support Staff,” published by FPA Press, reflects data collected from more than 1,000 respondents.

The Financial Planning Salary Survey presents a comprehensive, detailed report for a variety of firm sizes and careers, and provides specific information on compensation and benefits by various firm characteristics and region for a wide variety of practice types – from sole practitioners to firms who manage more than a billion in assets and serve hundreds of clients.

New this year, the Financial Planning Salary Survey compared male and female salaries and found that women working as a senior financial planner make about 96 percent of what their male counterparts make. Additionally, a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that women who work full-time make 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. In contrast, women senior financial planners make 96 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn and women junior financial planners make 95 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn. The BLS also reports that women financial planners make more than women in other industry careers.

Also new this year, the 2010 Comprehensive Interactive Compensation Calculator expands beyond basic firm characteristics and region to calculate national average salaries. This year, the interactive Excel file enables advisers to calculate a custom compensation range (including salary, bonus, incentive and total pay) based on firm and individual position characteristics. The calculator uses location, firm size, revenue, AUM, service model, number of client households served, individual years of experience and a variety of educational qualifications and licenses to determine what the appropriate compensation range is for advisers and their employees, if applicable.

“The 2010 Financial Planning Salary Survey reflects interesting trends for the financial planning profession,” said Marv Tuttle, Executive Director and CEO of the Financial Planning Association. “As the profession continues to expand and grow, the survey is a valuable practice management tool to help advisers analyze where their practice or firm ranks locally and nationally, and evaluate and plan their business accordingly.”

Additional survey findings include:

• Student and Career Changer Expectations – The majority of college students plan to begin a career as a junior financial planner and expect to earn $52,500 each year. The survey reports that junior financial planners with one to three years experience earn about $48,500 each year.
• Loyalty pays off – Financial planners earn more in annual salary, benefits and bonuses the longer they’re with a specific firm.
• Nearly half of financial planning firms report they plan to hire additional staff in the next 12 months. The Financial Planning Salary Survey electronic version is available for pre-order for $350 (non-FPA member) or $125 (FPA member) at the online FPA Store. Individual salary surveys for various job positions are also available (e.g. senior financial planner, specialist, general practice, etc.) for purchase at the FPA Store. Hard copies of the survey will be available in October for $375 (non-FPA member) or $350 (FPA member). Purchasers of the full report will also receive access to the Comprehensive Interactive Compensation Calculator.
  

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