Certified Financial Planner

Job Description

ZACKS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

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Client Service - Certified Financial Planner

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Job Description

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The Zacks Client Service Certified Financial Planner role is built for a planner who wants to do planning. You will develop, deliver, and maintain comprehensive financial plans for an established base of high-net-worth clients, translating portfolio strategy into retirement income, tax, estate, and legacy decisions clients can act on. Join our team as a Client Service CFP® at Zacks Investment Management (ZIM), where we cater to a distinguished portfolio of high-net-worth clients through our distinct approach tailored specifically for private clients. At ZIM, we emphasize a structured separation between sales and client services, allowing you to focus solely on your expertise without the multitasking demands of prospecting.

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In your role as a Client Service Certified Financial Planner, you will serve as the planning resource for an assigned book of relationships, collaborating closely with our internal portfolio management and research teams, tax consultants, and our external sales force. Plans you build inform how clients are positioned across our strategies, and the conversations you lead deepen the relationship well beyond performance reporting. You will benefit from support and guidance from seasoned team members, whose experience and established client relationships are instrumental in facilitating your success in this role.

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This is an exceptional opportunity to apply your CFP® training in an environment where planning is the job rather than an add-on to production, aimed at optimizing client outcomes and advancing your professional growth.

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Key Responsibilities:

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Financial Planning

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• Build comprehensive financial plans for existing clients, covering retirement income, cash flow, tax efficiency, risk management, education funding, charitable giving, and legacy objectives.

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• Conduct discovery conversations that surface a client's full financial picture, including assets held away, income sources, obligations, and family circumstances.

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• Model retirement income and distribution strategies, including Social Security timing, Roth conversion analysis, required minimum distributions, and tax-aware withdrawal sequencing.

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• Present plans directly to clients and their families, and revisit them on a defined cadence as circumstances, markets, and tax law change.

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• Document planning assumptions, recommendations, and client decisions to firm standards.

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Client Relationship Management

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• Establish and nurture long-term relationships with clients, understanding their unique financial needs and objectives.

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• Proactively resolve client issues and concerns, ensuring a high level of client satisfaction and loyalty.

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• Conduct regular, in-depth conversations with clients regarding market conditions, asset allocations, and investment strategies, framed against the client's plan.

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Collaboration and Coordination

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• Work with portfolio managers and research to align account positioning, allocation, and tax-lot decisions with each client's plan.

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• Coordinate with clients' outside CPAs, estate attorneys, and insurance professionals to implement recommendations, and identify where outside counsel is warranted.

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• Partner with senior team members and the sales force on planning support for complex relationships.

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• Participate in ongoing learning and development and maintain CFP® continuing education requirements.

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Operational Excellence

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• Help develop and standardize the firm's planning deliverables, templates, and review cadence as the planning function grows.

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• Independently improve and streamline service models and operational procedures to enhance efficiency.

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• Provide excellent telephone coverage, managing priorities and handling urgent calls with professionalism and good judgment.

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• Comply with all industry rules, regulations, and firm policies, including fiduciary standards and the firm's compliance review process for client-facing planning materials.

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Administrative Support

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• Perform administrative duties such as handling telephones, processing forms, and completing travel and expense reports as needed.

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• Produce plans, reports, and docume