Do you know how to manage your wealth? Many people don’t.
If the nuances of investment portfolios, asset allocation, and revenue sharing make your head spin, you’re not alone. Most Americans haven’t yet built up the essential wealth management skills they’ll need to get the most out of their money.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) showed as much with its latest five-question test of basic financial literacy questions. The quiz found that only 34% of Americans could answer at least four of the five questions correctly. This is a concerning result; poor money management skills can complicate retirement plans or expose your money to unnecessary risks.
At the same time, many people are hesitant to trust someone else with their wealth. Retaining a personal financial advisor is a large commitment, especially when you’re “handing the keys” to someone you barely know.
That doesn’t need to be your first step, though. The research shows that most Americans — from Millennials to current retirees — could benefit from financial education classes. And the more you know, the more you’ll be comfortable making decisions about your financial future. Even a couple sessions of a single wealth management course can offer you a plethora of resources and insights that will help you protect and grow your wealth.
But how do you find the right wealth management course for your needs and goals? It all starts with asking the right questions.
Where are you at in your financial journey? Pick a course that matches your needs.
The stage of your career and the lifestyle you’re leading will have a big impact on the type of wealth management course that will be best for you. Are you in your 30s, 40s, or 50s? About to retire? Select a course that caters to the challenges and opportunities that will be most relevant to your current situation and lifestyle.
In the early stages of your career, you may be more interested in long-term saving strategies, what it takes to get started with personal investments and employer retirement options, or how to synergize wealth building and family building goals. If retirement is on the horizon, you’re more likely to be concerned with securing your assets, ensuring you’re set up for a sustainable retirement income, and achieving ambitious retirement goals.
The below resources can give you a better idea of the subject matter you’ll want to prioritize in your peak wealth building years.
- How to build wealth in your 30s. Make sure you look out for “lifestyle creep” while maximizing available benefits and starting an emergency fund.
- How to build wealth in your 40s. Tackle home and family finances that range from funding college to cash windfalls, diversifying your portfolio, and protecting aging parents from scams.
- How to build wealth in your 50s. At this stage, you’ll want to review your portfolio for risks and market volatility, take advantage of IRA catch-up contributions, and plan ahead so you don’t outlive your retirement funds.
How much do you know about investments? Fill the gaps in these topic areas.
A big part of wealth management is wealth building. The best way to amass wealth over time is generally to invest your money — through vehicles such as employer 401ks, private IRAs, and personal investments in stocks and bonds — rather than letting it sit in the bank. You may have worked for your money, but it can also work for you. Investments help your wealth to passively grow itself, even as you continue to contribute and save.
Not all strategies for building wealth are created equal, however. Your individual situation should inform the way you balance risks with potential returns. Your income, existing assets, and other factors will also help you select the investments that offer the highest possible tax advantages.
The best investing courses should always cover the following six broad topics at minimum:
- Life and wealth planning
- Barriers to wealth accumulation
- Tax-advantaged investment vehicles
- Managing your wealth and family finances
- Investment strategies
- Risk management strategies
Are you hoping to retire early? The right tools could get you there.
The option to retire early can be a major upside for individuals with excellent wealth management skills. If you aim for it well ahead of time and leverage the appropriate strategies, an early retirement might become a realistic and achievable goal.
You’ll want advice and guidance on smart investments with well-balanced risks. Working with a personal financial planner is one route to take, but you can also get started on your own. Quality instruction from a financial professional in a wealth management course can give you all the tools you need to plan a well-informed timeline for an early retirement.
Look for a course that can give you wealth building tips about diversifying your assets, so that your wealth is secure and market fluctuations are less likely to threaten your timeline. You may also want to learn more about what it would take to develop multiple income streams and accelerate your ability to save — or even to continue making money in retirement.
Who’s teaching? Experienced financial advisors make the best course instructors.
A proper financial education course is more robust than the basic “money management” units delivered in some high school classes. However, it doesn’t have to require the level of commitment and time investment of a full-length college course, either.
Teachers and professors both deliver valuable education for the community, but they are not the best qualified resources for this kind of sensitive financial advice. A practicing, licensed financial advisor is always the most reliable choice — and many of them also teach classes for the local community. Some even offer wealth management courses online that you can attend from the comfort of your own home.
Only a professional advisor can provide experienced guidance and lessons drawn from real-world examples in their own practice. Advisors also make natural instructors, since their business is already built on educating clients about their financial options.
For you, a wealth building course taught by a licensed advisor is the perfect place to pick an expert’s brain in a no-pressure, non-sales, classroom environment. Since an investment education course is about teaching rather than promoting a financial product, the instructor can offer you personalized financial advice even without a client relationship — among other benefits.
Find a Professionally-Instructed Course With FEN
At the Financial Educators Network (FEN), our instructors are all licensed financial professionals. Each instructor is carefully trained to deliver objective wealth management education courses with rich insights and tools for you to take home. It’s critical for wealth management courses to include carefully developed, FINRA-reviewed resources that you can trust for accurate insights. All of our courses have abided by this important standard for more than 20 years. Half a million attendees have mastered new investment strategies in FEN courses since 2001.
Browse our investment education courses today and start learning how to invest money to make money under the guidance of an expert practitioner.
Have you considered online courses? They’re exploding in popularity.
In the aftermath of the worldwide pandemic in 2020-2021, the technologies and methods we use to communicate and learn have changed. Financial education that was once primarily delivered through in-person classroom experiences is now often available in virtual environments with the same quality content.
Both in-person and online financial education are viable and effective approaches to mastering wealth management. You’ll have to choose the style that best fits your comfort level, preference, and goals.
- In-person courses enable you to engage directly with local licensed financial practitioners and expand your resource network within the community. It’s always good to know the financial advisors in your area should you need further guidance in the future.
- Online courses have grown wildly in popularity since 2020. Virtual courses with FEN, for example, now see 20% more registrations than the norm for our pre-pandemic in-person course options. FEN course attendees continue to discover the simplicity and convenience of wealth management courses online that they can attend in the kitchen — while still getting to know advisors face-to-face through a video-enabled platform.
Whether you’re interested in online or in-person options, there are many upcoming courses of each type available for registration through our online course locator. You can easily filter by geographic location to find a course delivered by a practicing local financial advisor.
Master your financial future with a complete wealth management course
No matter what stage of life you’re in, a wealth management course with FEN is designed to help you make informed financial decisions on your own. We believe in objective financial education for adults instructed by trusted, licensed experts in the format that best suits your needs.
Each FEN course delivers custom-tailored, FINRA-reviewed content that you can take home and reference as you move forward with your financial life. Wealth management is complex. Inflation, interest, insurance, stocks, bonds, taxes... How does it all fit together? And what’s the right path for you? Our proven courses will help you better understand where you are today — including potential gaps in your current plan — and ways you can strengthen your future.
FEN instructors have taught over 200k courses since 2001. Lean on their expertise to learn smart strategies, make informed decisions, and improve your financial future.
What to expect in an FEN course
Our financial education courses range from 4-6 hours in duration, spread across two sessions in an interactive, lecture-based format. All students receive a comprehensive workbook so you can follow along, make notes and revisit key concepts. Each course is packed with objective, unbiased knowledge you can apply to your unique financial situation. Create a personalized plan and achieve your goa
Classroom and virtual options available: Wealth Creation Today® is an interactive, two-session course that is taught through both in-person and online formats.
Comprehensive, objective financial education: Attendees trust FEN for a comprehensive, unbiased approach without a sales pitch or the promotion of any financial products.
Highly qualified instructors: Sessions are taught by licensed, real-world financial practitioners. Participation is highly encouraged and personalized questions are always welcome. Face to face interaction with an experienced instructor is your chance to get the answers you need.
Individual lab sessions: Was one of your questions not adequately covered in class? Do you need to discuss a personal wealth management matter or specific investment strategy? Each wealth creation course includes a completely optional one-hour private lab session.
When it comes to wealth building, there’s no time to waste. The earlier you kick-start the process of purposeful wealth planning and goal-setting, the greater the potential of your results.
Get started with expert guidance and browse our personal financial planning courses today.
