How to Become a Private Banker

Private bankers (also called as relationship managers, personal bankers, and personal financial advisers) offer specialized services and attention to select, are usually very wealthy clients. High-Net-Worth (H.N.W.) clients, also known as High-Net-Worth Individuals (H.N.W.I.s) or Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals, (U.H.N.W.I.s) have special financial needs and requirements. What the services private bankers offer to H.N.W.I.s includes wealth, management, estate planning, tax advice, and investment portfolio management. Entering the field can be difficult and requires a great deal of networking, in addition to education and experience.

Part 1
Part 1 of 4:

Learning the Ropes

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    Get an educational degree. You must have at least an undergraduate degree in order to become a private banker. It is helpful (but not necessary) for the degree to have a concentration in a finance area because if you get a degree, it shows others that you are more professional. Good choices include finance, business administration, or economics.[1] Otherwise, the degree can be in any area you excel in.[2]
    • Many private bankers supplement their initial education with a master’s degree or even a P.H.D. in finance, business, or economics. This way, you will not only be prepared for your job but it will also make you get used to what you are doing.
    • An undergraduate degree is not a legal requirement, but may be the requirement of the bank for banking officers generally.
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    Seek internships.[3] It can be difficult to get an internship in private banking while you are still a student. However, any sort of experience in banking, investment, or related areas can be beneficial.[4] If you gain some experience, then you can prove your capability to private banking firms who might hire you in the future. In addition, you may have the chance to network with H.N.W.I.s while completing an internship.
    • Talk to professors, a university career center, and anyone you know working in a financial field about the possibility of doing an internship. Many private banking firms and other financial companies already have established internship programs, so you should check with these directly as well.
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    Get certified.[5] There are a number of certifications available to private bankers. These can raise your professional profile and the chances of landing your dream job.
    • The Wealth Management Institute (WMI) offers the 10-week Wealth Management Private Banking Programme and an associated certificate. This course is comprised of several sessions covering topics such as understanding the needs of business owners, private equity and hedge funds, estate planning, and asset allocation.
    • The Globecon Institute offers a nine-month course and certificate in “Private Banking and Wealth Management” as well as a three- to four-month course and certificate in “Operations in Investment Banking and Securities Markets.”
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    Get licensed.[6] In order to practice as a private banker in many areas, you must be licensed by a regulatory organization. In the United States, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) administer licenses that private bankers must have in order to collect commissions of the sale of financial products.[7] [8]
    • The Series 6 license permits private bankers to advise clients on “packaged” products such as mutual funds, annuities, and trusts. The licensed is awarded by passing a 135-minute exam on investing, regulations, and ethics. In order to apply for the license, you must be sponsored by a firm that is a FINRA member.
    • The Series 7 license allows private bankers to advise clients on individual securities such as stocks and bonds. The license is awarded by passing a 6-hour exam on securities trading. In order to apply for the license, you must be sponsored by a firm that is a FINRA member.
    • The NASAA administers the Series 63 license that every state requires private bankers to have in order to advise clients on investments. The license is awarded by passing a 75-minute exam. You must have the Series 63 license before you can apply for the Series 6 or Series 7 license.
    • The NASAA also administers the Series 65 license, which permits private bankers to advise clients for an hourly fee rather than a commission. This license is awarded by passing a 180-minute exam.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 4:

Finding a Job

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    Network extensively.[9] To work as a private banker, you must become acquainted with HNWIs and UHNWIs, and get them to entrust you with servicing their financial needs. Get to know some of these individuals and their needs very well. If you do not already know potential clients, then you will need to seek some through networking. Much of the networking for private bankers might take place in social or informal settings.
    • Start by working with any HNWIs that you know. Have lunch with them, try to get invited to events they might attend with other HNWIs, etc.
    • When you meet HNWIs, make sure to get their contact information (including social media profiles), and share yours with them.
    • Once you form initial connections with HNWIs, begin asking them about meetings or informal events like a round of golf. Use these as an opportunity to get to know each other better.
    • Be present at any events that HNWIs are likely to attend, such as fundraisers. These are opportunities to meet potential clients, but also to learn about what is important to them.
    • Be firm about how you can help HNWIs with private banking services, but don’t be pushy. Show genuine care for their work and interests.
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    Decide if you want to work on your own or join an existing private banking firm.[10] If you can develop a list of potential or current clients, this will vastly increase your chances of getting a job as a private banker. You can work with these clients on your own, essentially setting up your own business. However, you may be more likely to attract and retain clients if you have the name recognition and security of an existing private banking firm, and so you may want to seek a job at one of these.
    • If you do have a list of potential or current clients, ask them about whether or not they would be willing to have you continue advising them if you moved to an existing private banking firm. If so, mention this to firms that interview you or that you approach about a job.
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    Make use of social media like LinkedIn to search for jobs.[11] In today’s world, employers often seek out job candidates through social media and other networking venues. If you create a professional profile and make connections with others in private banking and other financial fields, then you have a better chance of being contacted about jobs that open up.
    • Keep things professional. If you have social media accounts with public or semi-public profiles, make sure there is no content on them that you would not want clients to see.
    • A general rule of thumb is if you would not share it with your grandmother, it should not appear on your social media profile.
    • Focus on forging worthwhile, meaningful relationships rather than on increasing the sheer numbers of your followers, friends, or connections on social media. If you intend to use your social media accounts for professional purposes, then those relationships should be professional.
    • If you have social media accounts and intend to use them professionally, then it is important to regularly check and update them. If an account has not been updated in awhile, it will look odd, and if you don’t check it regularly, then you might miss out on important communication or potential connections.
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    Send out lots of resumes.[12] Most people that look for a job in private banking will send out many resumes before they find one. Make sure that yours emphasizes your skills and experience in private banking and/or other financial fields, so that you increase your chances of landing an interview and your dream job.
    • You can send out resumes to apply for any posted openings in or related to the private banking field. However, you can also communicate with institutions that aren’t currently hiring. Let them know you are working in or looking to enter the field. Give them a copy of your resume, and ask them to keep it on file in case they hire in the future. Showing initiative like this can be beneficial and make you a memorable job candidate.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 4:

Entering Private Banking in Non-Traditional Ways

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    Start off in personal banking.[13] Private banking can be difficult to enter because there are relatively few positions in the field, and because private bankers must develop a network of HNWIs. One alternative is to get a start in personal banking, providing services (investing, retirement planning, etc.) to regular individuals. While you wait for a job in private banking to materialize, you will gain useful banking experience.[14]
    • Personal banking is not a direct or obvious path to enter private banking. While serving in personal banking, you will still need to focus on networking with HNWIs who can potentially become your clients.
    • In addition, you will need to aggressively seek any opportunities to move out of personal banking into private banking. Keep sending out resumes and holding informational interviews, let supervisors at your current institution know that you are looking to enter private banking, and keep offering to work with any HNWIs that you know.
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    Move up to privilege banking.[15] If you gain enough experience in personal banking, you may be able to move up within your firm to a position providing privilege banking services. These are offered to select clients with larger portfolios or net worth (though not as high as HNWIs). Many of the same products and services offered to HNWIs are also offered to privilege banking customers, with the exception of hedge funds and private equity.
    • Privilege banking can offer more opportunities to meet or network with HNWIs, so actively seek out these individuals while working in the field.
    • In addition, continue to send out resumes and otherwise seek jobs in private banking. Stress how the skills you have developed in privilege banking will make you an effective private banker.
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    Start off as a private banker’s assistant.[16] You may also be able to work toward gaining a job as a private banker by first working as a private banker’s assistant. These help with scheduling, documents, and other demands of private banking. There may also be occasional opportunities to meet with HNW clients, although assistants do not normally advise them on financial matters.
    • If you are good at your job, your firm may eventually offer you some clients to service, or you may be able to take over the position when one of the firm’s private bankers retires or leaves.
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    Enter private banking from another area of finance.[17] [18] Some individuals break into private banking by first working in another area, such as investment banking. While this can provide you with knowledge and experience in the financial world, it will not provide the same opportunities to develop relationships with HNWIs. Thus, if you want to enter private banking from another area of finance, you will have to work hard to network with potential clients in addition to performing your regular job duties.
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Part 4
Part 4 of 4:

Succeeding as a Private Banker

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    Research the banking world constantly.[19] HNWIs typically ask private bankers to manage very large amounts of money, and so you must always be highly knowledgeable of the financial world. This means constantly reading financial news and reports, keeping up with the fine details of investments, staying abreast of financial laws and regulations, etc. If you do not keep up with this knowledge, then you risk providing your clients with bad advice and losing them; without your clients, you will not be able to work as a private banker.
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    Practice superior customer service.[20] HNWIs look to private bankers to provide a great deal of personal attention, since they may be entrusted with large portfolios and investments. To keep your clients happy (and gain new ones), you must be prepared to work very closely with them.
    • Make sure that your clients can reach you at any time, and in many ways (phone, text, email, etc.).
    • Be prepared to work long or odd hours in order to work around your clients’ schedules.
    • Private bankers will benefit from knowing about their clients’ personal lives, family, businesses, etc. This knowledge can help you provide services and products that are tailored to a client’s specific situation.
    • Be able to engage with clients about the world in general—current events, hobbies, politics, etc. HNW clients often want to see that their private bankers are well rounded, knowledgeable, and trustworthy, since that implies that they will provide excellent service.
    • Don’t be surprised if your clients ask you to do things that may not seem directly related to financial matters. This may mean they ask you to discuss a deal over a round of golf; it might also mean that they ask you to pick up their pet from doggy daycare so that they will have time for a meeting. Remember that your clients are your number one priority, and be flexible in meeting their requests.
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    Learn how to manage portfolios well. Private bankers have to offer their clients excellent discretionary portfolio management.[21] This service is “discretionary” in the sense that it is up to the portfolio manager (the private banker) to determine how to best maintain and grow a client’s assets. This involves:[22]
    • Understanding the whole range of investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), etc.
    • Having an in-depth knowledge of domestic and global markets, business trends, and investment strategies.
    • Making superior buy and sell decisions of investment products, based on the private banker’s analysis of markets and trends.[23]
    • Determining how to allocate a client’s assets among different investment products in order to ensure that the client’s investment or personal goals are met.
    • Working with clients to explain the risks of any investment, and how to recover from any losses.
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    Help clients with wealth structuring.[24] Managing a HNWI’s wealth involves not only finding ways to protect and grow that wealth, but also understanding the context of that wealth, and how it may change over time. Each HNWI has different goals and needs, and your account management strategy will need to take these into account.
    • Understand the different components of an individual’s wealth and estate, which may include retirement accounts, insurance packages, annuities, real estate, personal assets (such as homes, vehicles, art or other collections), etc.
    • Advise your clients with both short-term and long-term goals in mind. Clients are interested in finding ways to make their wealth grow (short-term goals), but also think about how to maintain it for retirement, to pass on to descendants, etc. (long-term goals).
    • Develop a flexible strategy for managing your clients’ wealth, since their needs and goals will change over time.[25] For instance, you might advise a client to invest more aggressively when they are younger, in order to take advantage of opportunities for growth; as the client ages, however, you might advise them to stabilize their investments in order to protect them.
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    Offer estate and trust planning services.[26] Many clients seek advice on managing their estates or trusts—those assets which they plan to leave behind or distribute to others. Laws, regulations, and strategies regarding estates and trusts can be complex and very particular, and so a private banker will have to work hard to advise clients well in these areas.
    • Private bankers may advise clients on financial aspects of wills and choosing an executor.[27]
    • Since different assets are subject to different regulations and strategies, private bankers assist clients in planning for each asset class. For instance, you may help a client decide to leave real estate as an estate for heirs, while utilizing other investments as a philanthropic gift.
    • Many HNWIs plan to create trusts for their dependents, and a private banker will assist in the creation and management of these.
    • Charitable gifts are another common part of estate planning, and private bankers are called upon to help clients select and structure these.[28]
    • Estate and gift taxes can be substantial, and so a major part of a private banker’s job can be helping clients plan to minimize these costs.[29]
    • Estate and trust plans will have to be reviewed and updated regularly, since clients’ needs and circumstances change over time.
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    Keep your Assets Under Management (AUM) high and growing. A key performance indicator (KPI) of private bankers is the amount of AUM they have.[30] This refers to the amount of clients’ money and investments that you manage. It is directly related to the fees that you or your firm charges your clients, and thus to your commission and salary. To succeed as a private banker, you will need to keep your AUM high and growing by providing services and products to established and new clients.
    • The salaries of private bankers working with established firms can vary widely, with estimates ranging from $30,000 to well over $100,000. Much of a private banker’s salary is determined by the value of AUM.
    • In order to succeed in the long run, private bankers must always be thinking about the needs of their current clients as well as attracting new ones.[31]
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Expert Q&A

  • Question
    What do you need to become a personal banker?
    Michael McCutcheon, PhD
    Michael McCutcheon, PhD
    Career Coach & Psychologist
    Dr. Michael McCutcheon is a career coach, psychologist, and award-winning public speaker who specializes in procrastination elimination, goal achievement, and increasing life satisfaction. With a background as a counseling psychologist, he guides clients toward becoming more aware of their desires and anxieties to break old patterns, create new habits, and achieve life-changing results. He also helps clients improve organization skills, embark on a new career, get promoted, get admitted into graduate schools, and transition from school to the working world. He is a published author and lecturer in graduate psychology courses at New York University (NYU), a position he has twice won the Teaching Award (2014 & 2019). His work has appeared in the press as a lifestyle and career expert for The Washington Post/The Associated Press, The New York Post, Scholastic, Lifehacker, and The Coca-Cola Company. He has served as a contributing writer for Out Magazine and featured panelist on National Public Radio (NPR).
    Michael McCutcheon, PhD
    Michael McCutcheon, PhD
    Career Coach & Psychologist
    Expert Answer
    You need an undergraduate degree in economics, finance, or some other related field, and a certification to buy and sell securities (stocks, bonds, etc.).
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References

  1. ↑ Michael McCutcheon, PhD. Career Coach & Psychologist. Expert Interview. 24 February 2021.
  2. ↑ http://www.bankersumbrella.com/blog/how-to-get-your-first-job-in-private-banking
  3. ↑ http://www.financialplannerworld.com/private-banker/
  4. ↑ Michael McCutcheon, PhD. Career Coach & Psychologist. Expert Interview. 24 February 2021.
  5. ↑ http://www.financialplannerworld.com/private-banker/
  6. ↑ http://www.financialplannerworld.com/private-banker/
  7. ↑ http://www.finra.org/industry/qualification-exams
  8. ↑ http://www.nasaa.org/industry-resources/exams/
  9. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  1. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  2. ↑ http://www.bankersumbrella.com/blog/how-to-get-your-first-job-in-private-banking
  3. ↑ http://www.bankersumbrella.com/blog/how-to-get-your-first-job-in-private-banking
  4. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  5. ↑ Michael McCutcheon, PhD. Career Coach & Psychologist. Expert Interview. 24 February 2021.
  6. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  7. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  8. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  9. ↑ http://www.financialplannerworld.com/private-banker/
  10. ↑ http://www.bankersumbrella.com/blog/how-to-get-your-first-job-in-private-banking
  11. ↑ http://www.bankersumbrella.com/blog/how-to-get-your-first-job-in-private-banking
  12. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  13. ↑ Michael McCutcheon, PhD. Career Coach & Psychologist. Expert Interview. 24 February 2021.
  14. ↑ http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/discretionary-investment-management.asp
  15. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  16. ↑ https://www.rbcwminternational.com/discretionary-investment-management.html
  17. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  18. ↑ https://www.fidelity.com/estate-planning-inheritance/estate-planning/overview
  19. ↑ https://www.firstmerit.com/privatebank/legacy-long-term-planning/trust-estate-planning/index.html
  20. ↑ https://www.fidelity.com/estate-planning-inheritance/overview
  21. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/
  22. ↑ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/private-banking-careers/

About This Article

Michael McCutcheon, PhD
Co-authored by:
Michael McCutcheon, PhD
Career Coach & Psychologist
This article was co-authored by Michael McCutcheon, PhD. Dr. Michael McCutcheon is a career coach, psychologist, and award-winning public speaker who specializes in procrastination elimination, goal achievement, and increasing life satisfaction. With a background as a counseling psychologist, he guides clients toward becoming more aware of their desires and anxieties to break old patterns, create new habits, and achieve life-changing results. He also helps clients improve organization skills, embark on a new career, get promoted, get admitted into graduate schools, and transition from school to the working world. He is a published author and lecturer in graduate psychology courses at New York University (NYU), a position he has twice won the Teaching Award (2014 & 2019). His work has appeared in the press as a lifestyle and career expert for The Washington Post/The Associated Press, The New York Post, Scholastic, Lifehacker, and The Coca-Cola Company. He has served as a contributing writer for Out Magazine and featured panelist on National Public Radio (NPR). This article has been viewed 102,410 times.
2 votes - 100%
Co-authors: 14
Updated: January 15, 2023
Views: 102,410
Categories: Finance Careers
Article SummaryX

To become a private banker, stay up to date with news and legal developments in the financial world by reading newspapers and reports. Additionally, be prepared to work long or odd hours in order to work around your clients' schedules. Then, get familiar with the different types of investment strategies and products, including bonds, stocks, and mutual funds. You'll also need to complete an undergraduate degree in a finance-related subject, and get certified by an organization such as the Globecon Institute. For tips on how to network and how to build your presence as a private banker on social media, read on!

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