Monthly Archives: July 2014

Closing Bell Opens Doors for A New Generation of Financial Planners

Landor Print Default

* TD Ameritrade Institutional’s 2014 Student Scholars and Grant Winners Head to Wall Street to Raise Awareness of Career Opportunities in Financial Planning

JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 23, 2014 — The job outlook for financial planners is bright, but Millennials have yet to see the light. In fact, fewer than 700 students completed bachelor’s degrees in financial planning last year, not nearly enough to address a growing demand for financial advice.1

The job growth rate for financial advisors is expected to be 32 percent by 2020, more than double the rate for all other occupations.2 Several factors are fueling the growth in financial planning careers. More than 75 million baby boomers are on the verge of retirement and their need for professional financial advice is expected to rise. Many of those boomers are financial advisors themselves and will retire at a faster pace than younger advisors will enter the business.3 Finally, younger investors in their prime earning years are building and inheriting trillions in wealth, creating job opportunities for future financial planners.4

To avert a talent shortage in the not-so-distant future, the industry must find a way to encourage more students to pursue financial planning careers and help more schools develop programs that can educate future advisors. With those goals in mind, TD Ameritrade Institutional will provide $1.25 million over 10 years through its NextGen Scholarship and Grant Program, now in its second year.5

“TD Ameritrade Institutional is committed to attracting talented students to the profession and supporting schools that offer innovative financial planning curriculum. With efforts like the NextGen Scholarship and Grant program, we can help fill the pipeline with individuals willing to lead our industry and continue the important work of caring for investors and their families,” said Tom Nally, president, TD Ameritrade Institutional. “Addressing the looming talent shortage head-on, we can help financial advisory firms remain ready to serve the next generation of investors.”

Saved by the Closing Bell

Ten deserving students received $5,000 to help them pursue a bachelor’s degree in financial planning. To celebrate their achievement and put a face on the future of financial planning, this year’s Next Gen Scholarship and Grant winners were invited to New York City as guests of TD Ameritrade Institutional for a visit to Wall Street. The group walked the famed trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange and rang the closing bell to help raise awareness of the career opportunities in financial planning.

Mariah Bausch
Kansas State University

Peter Blehl
William Paterson University

Kwame Boakye
University of Akron

Anne Marie Ihling
Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Timi Jorgensen
Utah Valley University

Lauren Loucks
Utah Valley University

Patrick Portman
Western Kentucky University

Tyler Quatraro
University of Oregon

Trent Strang
Olivet College

Catherine Traylor
Louisiana State University

A Rewarding Career

TD Ameritrade Institutional’s scholarship winners come from varied backgrounds and hail from all over the United States, yet they all emphasized a desire to use their skills to help their neighbors and families live better lives. Several of the scholarship winners said they had witnessed firsthand the consequences of poor financial planning.

Not only is financial planning a fast growing career, it can be both personally and financially rewarding for new entrants. The median total compensation for a Support Advisor, someone who prepares financial documents, participates in client meetings and completes follow-up work, was $58,000 last year, according to FA Insight. The median Associate Advisor, the next step up the ladder and more actively engaged in client relationships, earned $83,000 a year. 6

“For students who may be worried about their job prospects, we encourage them to consider a career in financial planning,” said Richard S. Brown, chief executive of JNBA Financial Advisors and a member of TD Ameritrade Institutional Next Generation Advisory Board. “Serving as a financial planner offers terrific opportunities in a fast-growing business but also the chance to truly help others live better lives.”

Expanding the Talent Pipeline Through Education

Across the country, fewer than 90 schools offer financial planning degrees.7 TD Ameritrade Institutional wants to change that by supporting established and emerging financial planning education programs through its NextGen Grant Program. TD Ameritrade Institutional’s 2014 grants went to two schools – University of Georgia and Texas A&M University – to help support the development of innovative programs that not only increase the ranks of talented scholars entering the industry, but also to help ensure graduates are better prepared to succeed in the workplace.

University of Georgia, which received a $50,000 established-program grant, will use its money to build a “Financial Communication & Training Lab,” where students can strengthen their networking, communication, marketing and other workplace skills so that they are more likely to be successful. The award will endow a revolving “practitioner-in-residence,” selected from local financial professionals who will mentor students.

Texas A&M received a first ever $25,000 award designed to help schools with emerging programs. The school intends to launch of a bachelor’s degree in financial planning program, expanding on an Extended Learning program in financial planning it offers to graduate students and career-changers. Grant money also will be used to develop recruiting materials to attract students, with an added focus on women and minorities.

For information about the TD Ameritrade Institutional NextGen Scholarships and Grant Program, please visit http://www.tdainstitutional.com/lp/nextgen-scholarship.page.

For more information, including updates on industry affairs and news impacting RIAs, visit our blog TDA4Advisors, follow us on Twitter @TDA4Advisors and connect on LinkedIn. For more information about TD Ameritrade Institutional, please visit www.tdainstitutional.com.

TD Ameritrade is separate from and not affiliated with researchers, educators, students and other third parties, and is not responsible for their statements, data, policies or content.

TD Ameritrade S&G NYSE exterior

SandG NYSE podium

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About TD Ameritrade Institutional
TD Ameritrade Institutional is a leading provider of comprehensive brokerage and custody services to over 4,500 fee-based, independent registered investment advisors and their clients. Our advanced technology platform, coupled with personal support from our dedicated service teams, allows investment advisors to run their practices more efficiently and effectively while optimizing time with clients. TD Ameritrade Institutional is a division of TD Ameritrade, Inc., a brokerage subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation.

About TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
Millions of investors and independent registered investment advisors turn to TD Ameritrade’s (NYSE: AMTD) technology, people and education to make investing and trading easier to understand and do. Online or over the phone, in a branch or with an independent RIA, first-timer or sophisticated trader, our clients want to take control and we help them decide how: We’ve been bringing Wall Street to Main Street for more than 39 years. An official sponsor of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, TD Ameritrade has time and again been recognized as a leader in investment services. Please visit TD Ameritrade’s newsroom or www.amtd.com for more information.

Brokerage services provided by TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA (www.FINRA.org) / SIPC (www.SIPC.org) /NFA (www.nfa.futures.org)

TD Ameritrade is separate from and not affiliated with researchers, educators, students and other third parties, and is not responsible for their statements, data, policies or content.

1 National IPEDS database, U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, 2013 Financial Planning and Services Program completions.
2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2014-15 Occupational Outlook Handbook, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/personal-financial-advisors.htm
3 Cerulli Associates, the Cerulli Report, Advisor Metrics 2013: Understanding and Addressing a More Sophisticated Population
4 Advent Software, Three Ways to Reach the Next Generation of Investors, November 2013. Millions of Americans 49 years and younger are expected to amass $28 trillion in assets by 2020, up from $2 trillion, through inheritance and their own wealth-creation.
5 TD Ameritrade Institutional is a division of TD Ameritrade, Inc., a brokerage subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation.
6 FA Insight, The 2013 FA Insight Study of Advisory Firms: People and Pay
7 National IPEDS database, U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, 2013 Financial Planning and Services Programs.

Source: TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation

Media Contact
Joseph Giannone
TD Ameritrade
(201) 369-8705
joseph.giannone@tdameritrade.com

Peace Corps Announces Historic Changes to Application and Selection Process, Releases New Public Service Announcement from President Obama Calling on Americans to Serve

Peace Corps Announces Historic Changes to Application and Selection Process

Also Releases New Public Service Announcement from President Obama Calling on Americans to Serve

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 15, 2014 – Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet today announced sweeping changes to the agency’s application process that will make applying to the Peace Corps simpler, faster and more personalized than ever before. Under this new recruitment initiative, applicants will now be able to choose their country of service and apply to specific programs, and do so through a new, shorter application. As part of today’s announcement, Peace Corps also released a new video from President Obama calling on Americans to serve. It can be viewed at http://1.usa.gov/1npfk1b.

“Today our world is smaller and more interconnected than ever before,” said President Obama in the new public service announcement. “And it presents us with an extraordinary opportunity: to connect with people in some of the most remote corners of the globe and show them that America is paying attention, that we care, and that we’re here to help. That’s what the Peace Corps is all about.”

“More than 50 years after its founding, the Peace Corps is revitalizing its recruitment and outreach to field a volunteer force that represents the best and brightest the country has to offer,” Director Hessler-Radelet (RPCV Western Samoa 1981-83) said. “A modernized, flexible application and placement system will help Peace Corps recruit Americans who are not just interested in imagining a better world, but rolling up their sleeves and doing something about it.”

The key recruitment reforms include:

• Peace Corps applicants can now choose the programs and countries they want to apply to – selecting the path that best fits their personal and professional goals. Applicants can apply to between one and three specific programs at a time, or they can choose to apply for service wherever they are needed most. The Peace Corps website (http://1.usa.gov/1tJU4wt) now lists all open programs by country, work area and departure date, so applicants can browse service opportunities.

• A new, shorter application is now available on the Peace Corps website (http://1.usa.gov/1wnd3cb) that can be completed in less than one hour. What used to be more than 60 printed pages that took more than eight hours to complete is now a short online application that focuses solely but rigorously on the most relevant information to help the agency select the best candidates.

• Each open Peace Corps position now has clearly identified Apply By and Know By deadlines, so applicants know when they can expect to receive an invitation to serve. If they apply on time, they’ll know if they were selected on time – just like applying to college or a job. These deadlines give applicants more certainty than ever and help them plan for the future.

View an infographic on Peace Corps’ new application and selection process at http://1.usa.gov/1oYHvqa

“With the tools, technologies and opportunities of the 21st century, the Peace Corps is giving Americans of all backgrounds the freedom to re-imagine their future and redefine their mark on the world,” Hessler-Radelet said. “I believe these changes will help re-ignite the passion of Peace Corps’ early days and that more Americans will seize the opportunity to make a difference across the world and here at home.”

Hessler-Radelet, who was sworn in as the agency’s 19th director in June and comes from a four-generation Peace Corps family, has led an extensive reform effort since joining the agency in 2010. In addition to the recruitment reforms announced today, the Peace Corps has dramatically improved the quality of support it provides to volunteers, strategically targeted its resources and country presence to maximize impact, and streamlined operations to create a culture of innovation and excellence.

About the Peace Corps: As the preeminent international service organization of the United States, the Peace Corps sends Americans abroad to tackle the most pressing needs of people around the world. Peace Corps volunteers work at the grassroots level with local governments, schools, communities, small businesses and entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions that address challenges in education, health, economic development, agriculture, environment and youth development. When they return home, volunteers bring their knowledge and experiences – and a global outlook – back to the United States that enriches the lives of those around them. President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 to foster a better understanding among Americans and people of other countries. Since then, more than 215,000 Americans of all ages have served in 139 countries worldwide. Visit www.peacecorps.gov to learn more.

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Media Contact
Maureen Knightly
pressoffice@peacecorps.gov
(202) 692-2230