Is being a CPA before PWM a good idea?
Hi everyone.Im currently majoring in Accounting with a minor in Econ at a semi-target in Canada with a pretty high GPA. My school has good recruiting for the Big 4 so I'm planning on going into tax and earning my CPA but my overall goal is to get into PWM.The reason I’m doing accounting beforehand is that PWM is hard to start out as a 23 year old fresh from college and the Big 4 is more of a sure thing than finance. Also CPA/tax experience might make me seem more trustworthy and reliable to potential clients in PWM as tax planning is involved in financial advisory. A lot of wealth managers fail too and having a CPA + Big 4 experience can allow me to just jump back into a job if PWM doesn't work out.
Is going into Big 4 tax for a few years then exiting into PWM with my CPA a bad idea? Should I be entering it as early as I can? Also, are there any certs/degrees that most wealth managers have? Should I aim to get a CFA or MBA as well? I know MBAs have nothing to do with PWM but simply because clients must see education as an extra reason to trust you as their advisor.
Gonna try to break down your best as best I can.
You should network with some tax associates at a big 4 and ask them about their day to day AND their end deliverable. I don’t think it’s exactly what you think it will be. (Even if you talk to someone who is in the high net worth group or estate planning group)
Im a stranger on the internet so take this with a grain of salt but i think it’s almost always better to go directly into the field you’re trying to do. What if you do 2 years at big4 just to try PWM and you hate it?
Try to network with people in the industry too. And maybe try to get an internship.
TLDR: go do PWM if you wanna do PWM. Don’t waste your time with unrelated credentials.
How plausible would it be to land a PWM job out of Uni if all your internship/college work experience is accounting and your degree is accounting instead of finance?
tagging thebrofessor on this.
it's impossible to say whether or not it's a good idea. I've seen CPA, CFA, CFP (yes all 3) fail and I built my practice without any credentials (now have my CFP due to a requirement but that's another story). PWM has a 95% fail rate among rookies, and luck has a lot to do with it. if you want to go into big4 and build up a safety net as well as get some work experience, that's fine, but it's no guarantee potential clients will give a shit.
couple closing thoughts
Thanks for the response, it clears a lot of it up especially coming from a professional in the industry.Though one thing, you mentioned recruiting at a PB, do you mean working as a recruiter for private bankers? As in more of an HR/sales role? Or being recruited for a PB and working in a PB as opposed to a wire house/FA firm?
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