Transitioning from Engineering at Barista FI
To the financial planners/advisors out there, I have a (possibly dumb) question.
I feel like I’ve reached “barista FI” and would really like to step away from my unfulfilling engineering job. I think I know what I’d like to do next, but I have no clue if it’s feasible, so I was hoping for some insight into the financial planning world. I'd prefer to be laughed at on a digital forum than in-person from a financial advisor...
Here's my idea. I would work in the background for some fee-only advisor making spreadsheets and coming up with asset allocations, tax optimizations, withdrawal strategies, etc. for clients. I have severe social anxiety, so the idea of fetching new clients is a non-starter. Working with existing clients would be out of my comfort zone, but definitely easier than trying to “sell” them on working with me. My hope would be that offering to do these background services at ~$30/hour(?) could enable the advisor to lower their costs and be accessible to more middle-class families. Seeing a price tag of $150+ for a meeting with an advisor must scare a lot of people in the 60-100k income range away, but I think it’s these people who have the most to gain from some simple portfolio advice. My concerns, however, are that a financial planning company would be unable to hire someone without a financial degree/titles or that the spreadsheet work I enjoy is fully automated at this point.
Is this even feasible? How would I approach a financial advisor about this?
Thanks
Join the conversation
Sign up to reply, follow discussions, and connect with the ChooseFI community.
Comments
Congratulations on reaching barista FI! No one here will laugh at you. This is the most supportive community ever!
I totally agree that there is a need out there for those who have not already won the game.
Something to think about: I've worked as a tax manager for a financial advisory firm. Since the conventional pricing model is based on AUM, advisors tend to aspire to serve high net worth individuals. I have yet to meet one who prefers "down market" clients unless they think they will have more investible assets in the future.
And yes, having letters after your name helps.
I don't claim to have any answers; just sharing my experience as you think it through.
Go on facebook and join the XYPN VIP group. That's where you'll connect with Fiduciary Financial planners. You can ask questions and see what needs are out there. You may also want to follow Kitces.com to see what's going on in that world. I'm already FI and I'm an expat financial coach. I would be happy to talk with you about options over a call. You can schedule one on my site
I'm in a similiar boat. Stuck in a corporate job needing adequate health insurance ( type 1 Diabetic ) but wanting to step away and be an affordable financial coach.
Maybe you would like being a paraplanner?
A paraplanner is a financial professional who supports financial advisers by conducting research, preparing reports, and ensuring compliance, enabling advisers to focus on client relationships and strategic planning.
A lot of the work you are referring is no big capacity drag for FAs. For tax strategies you would have to have a pretty strong foundation. Most folks are very tax savvy when it comes to their own or similar situations - but things can get complex for some clients, and you would have to know how to handle that as well (maybe you can of course). Individuals who consider $150-ish a high fee for (needed) financial advice probably have a portfolio that is not very large yet. They are probably better helped with free education resources, online groups and the like. It's not that hard to find out the personal finance and investment steps that get their portfolio jump started.