Getting Started as a Financial Planner [Hardcover]

Jeffrey H Rattiner CPA CFP (Author), Jeffrey H. Rattiner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1576600351 | ISBN-13: 978-1576600351 | Publication Date: July 2000 | Edition: First Edition

Growth in the financial planning field has skyrocketed -- drawing professionals from accounting and financial services to investment management. Now there is a book that addresses the needs of individuals contemplating or beginning careers in financial planning. This book presents a blueprint for launching a successful future in a lucrative, exciting profession.

Noted financial planning practitioner Jeffrey Rattiner covers everything aspiring and beginning planners need to know. He takes the reader through the basics of what financial planners do and provides insight about where the field is headed. Topics include education and certification requirements, options for specialization, fee structures, logistics and technology, compliance, and legal issues. Rattiner also shows planners the best methods for client prospecting and marketing, and lists helpful resources for ongoing education.

This easy-to-use guide gives a direct, turnkey approach to entering the field and setting up a financial planning practice. Special forms, checklists, and other useful tools reinforce the hands-on appeal of this practical guide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A must-read for emerging financial planners. -- Advisor Today, November 2000

[S]o much of what the new practicioner needs to know is readily available in [this] volume. -- Horsemouth.com, September 2000

Review

"Jeff Rattiner has been intimately involved with the development of the financial planning profession for nearly twenty years as a planner, teacher, author, and educational innovator.  For anyone who is serious about entering financial planning as a first or new career, Getting Started as a Financial Planner provides great insight from someone who can really say he's been there and done that.  It's a must-read." 
- Marvin W. Tuttle, Jr., CAE
Executive Director/CEO Financial Planning Association


"Getting Started as a Financial Planner is a must-read for any professional interested in a career in financial planning. As one of the industry's most respected teachers and practitioners, Jeff's book is packed with useful insights that every newcomer needs to be successful." 
- John Whelan
Publisher, Financial Planning

"Right now, many people want to get into the field of financial planning but may not know how. Jeff's easy-to-read, comprehensive primer is an excellent tool for those looking to get started in the profession, and highlights the client-centered approach that is crucial to the success of any financial planning practice."
- Robert P. Goss, JD, PhD, CFP
Former President and CEO, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards

"Thinking of becoming a financial planner or adding the planning discipline to your current professional practice? Jeff Rattiner has written the perfect cookbook for those who want to enter the financial planning profession. His book is chock full of winning recipes that will undoubtedly help newcomers create truly successful financial planning practices. You could probably make the leap without his book, but why would you want to?"
- Deena Katz, CFP
President, Evensky & Katz
Author of Deena Katz on Practice Management and Deena Katz’s Tools and Templates for Your Practice

"I wish this book was available when I started in financial planning. The book manages to integrate how to be a financial planner with the academics of financial planning. The step-by-step programmed approach can serve as a daily guide. Rattiner's extensive experience as a teacher, resource person, and planner gives a perspective lacking in today's curriculum."
- Steven I. Levey, CPA/PFS
Managing Director, GHP Horwath, P.C.

"If you truly want to serve your clients successfully, then you owe it to yourself and your clients to read this book. It's a step-by-step guide that will help your clients achieve their financial dreams."
- John Bowen
President and CEO, CEG Worldwide --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press; First Edition edition (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576600351
• ISBN-13: 978-1576600351
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #876,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Marginal Value If You Don't Know Anything, March 30, 2007

By 

Robert Croft (Columbus, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting Started as a Financial Planner: Revised and Updated Edition (Hardcover)

Bottom line up front - you will not gain a top down view of the industry, the understanding of the types of businesses within it, or the nitty gritty of the components needed to do financial planning or run the business. From the other reviews, most that liked this book didn't have much perspective in this category.

I've bought a number of books to familiarize myself with the financial planning industry before setting off on an educational track. This book has been my only complete disappointment. I'm sure Mr. Rattiner knows his business, but this book does not serve any particular purpose. The scope is too broad and the depth of analysis to shallow to be helpful. No one will "Get Started" in one book. Many parts of the book are more like bulleted/paragraphed lists which can't possibly reveal the extent of the author's knowledge on any of the topics. Other parts skim through the technical parts of financial planning (e.g. types of life insurance policies) which have to be learned later in official certification courses. The aspects of running a small business he mentions don't reveal anything significant or truly specific to this type of business - you could get as much from a good article on the subject.

If you have not yet read anything on the industry, try In Search Of The Perfect Model which gives an excellent overview of very successful and inspiring corporate visions of real financial planning businesses from sole practitioners to regional firms. An alternate bottom-up book which does not sugar coat anything and will specifically point you toward further research in a variety of areas is So You Want To Be A Financial Planner. If you are looking for how the business should be structured for financial success under any model, Practice Makes Perfect written by industry consultants (no "this worked for me" bias) is phenomenal. For office operations, Virtual Office Tools for a High Margin Practice will get your mind spinning with what technology can do for you as a planner. For marketing, I recommend The Brand Called You which gets down to what weight of card stock you should have for mailings.

Sure it's better than nothing but...

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!, October 26, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting Started as a Financial Planner (Hardcover)

How can you plan other people's financial futures without a firm grip on your own professional plan? If you are trained and ready with the know-how and skills to be a financial planner, but could use some help getting your professional practice together, here's the book you need. Author Jeffrey H. Rattiner guides you through the basics of setting up your business. While he doesn't teach you how to be a financial planner - that would be an entirely different book - he does cover everything else you need to open your office, including an explanation of the education and certification process in the U.S.. He shows you how to create a business and marketing plan, how to deal with clients and understand their needs, how to comply with regulations and how to protect yourself legally. His book is filled with useful lists and charts; We [...] were particularly impressed with his excellent resource section. Fledgling financial planners, line up here.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jeffrey Rattiner's book hits the mark, March 13, 2002

By 

PTHahn (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Getting Started as a Financial Planner (Hardcover)

When I started out as an independent financial planner almost 8 years ago there was little on the market in terms of well written, content-rich references on financial planning. I recently came across Jeffrey Rattiner's "getting started" book for financial planners. First, I wish I had this book 8 years ago. It would have saved me time and mistakes when I got started. The second point to make is that Rattiner's book, especially the sections on managing client relationships and marketing, is thorough and practical. For example, as Rattiner points out there are important psychological issues at play (denial,guilt,avoidance, etc.) between planner and client that affect the relationship.These issues need to be recognized and managed to forge a productive, long-term association. The section on marketing is also right on target. While Rattiner's advice largely focuses on the new planner, I found his range of marketing strategies to be a good reminder of the broad approach the financial planner needs to take to get the best ROI on marketing spending. Overall, Rattiner is very successful in presenting the various challenges and solutions the new(and experienced)planner needs to address. "Getting Started as a Financial Planner" is money well spent.