Associate Advisor

Location: Woodbury, MN (In-office, Mon-Fri)

Type: Full-Time, In Person

Hiring Firm: GFC Planning 

Reporting To: Founder/Lead Advisor

Experience: 2-5+ years in a planning-centric wealth management firm or RIA, with CFP designation earned or actively in progress.

Join Our Team at GFC Planning - GFC Planning is an independent advisory firm based in Woodbury, Minnesota, dedicated to helping clients transform financial complexity into clarity and confidence. “GFC” stands for God, Family, and Community, a quiet reflection of the firm’s foundational purpose and the values that guide how we serve our clients and one another. 

We believe in delivering high-quality work, doing the right thing, treating everyone with respect, and giving generously where we can. As a growing planning-first firm, we're creating an environment where advisors can continue developing professionally while making a meaningful impact on the families they serve.

Position Overview - GFC Planning is seeking an Associate Advisor on the CFP® track to support comprehensive financial planning and client relationships within a planning-centric RIA. This role is ideal for an advisory professional who has already participated in financial planning and client meetings and is ready for greater responsibility in plan delivery, implementation, and relationship management.

As a member of a small and growing team, you'll contribute across financial planning, client service, operations, and practice support while gradually becoming the primary advisor for client relationships entrusted to you.

This is more than a support role, it's an opportunity to have meaningful involvement in client meetings, financial planning, and relationship management, with increasing responsibility as your experience and confidence grow.

What Success Looks Like in Your First 12 Months

By the end of your first year, a successful Associate Advisor will:

• Serve as the primary advisor for an assigned segment of client relationships, with the Founder providing support and oversight as appropriate.
• Own the preparation, maintenance, and implementation follow-through for assigned client financial plans.
• Deliver a consistently exceptional client experience through thoughtful meetings, proactive communication, and advice that reflects our commitment to clarity and confidence.
• Demonstrate sound judgment by identifying planning opportunities, anticipating client needs, and knowing when to act independently and when to involve the Founder.
• Take ownership of planning and service workflows, creating additional capacity for the Founder to focus on the firm's highest priorities.

 Your Role & Responsibilities

Client Relationship & Meeting Support

• Participate in discovery, planning, annual review, and follow-up meetings alongside the Lead Advisor. 
• Prepare meeting agendas, planning summaries, presentation materials, and follow-up documentation. 
• Build trusted client relationships through proactive communication and consistently exceptional service.
• Maintain accurate client records, meeting notes, and workflows within the firm's CRM. 

Financial Planning & Implementation

• Analyze client financial information and develop planning recommendations alongside the Lead Advisor. 
• Build retirement, tax, investment, insurance, estate, cash flow, and education planning analyses using financial planning software. 
• Coordinate implementation with clients, custodians, CPAs, attorneys, insurance professionals, and other partners. 
• Track planning recommendations through completion while maintaining organized documentation. 
• Identify planning opportunities that improve client outcomes and strengthen relationships. 

Practice Support

• Support prospect meeting preparation and ongoing client relationship activities.
• Assist in improving planning templates, workflows, client communications, and internal processes.
• Help build scalable systems that enhance both the client and advisor experience.
• Contribute wherever needed as part of a small, growing advisory team.

What We’re Looking For

Required Qualifications

• 2-5+ years of experience at a planning-centric RIA or similar financial planning environment.

• CFP designation, or actively pursuing CFP certification. 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional background in finance or financial planning.

• Experience participating in client meetings and financial planning conversations.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex planning concepts in simple language for clients.

• High attention to detail, organization, and follow-through.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities while working independently.

• Proactive, resourceful working style with a bias for action and comfort taking ownership without waiting to be told.

Preferred Qualifications

• SIE, Series 7, Series 65/66 FINRA licenses preferred.

• Prior paraplanner, client service associate, or operations support experience within a small advisory team is a plus.

• Familiarity with financial planning software such as eMoney or similar platforms.

• Exposure to CRM systems.

• Comfort using portfolio reporting, investment, and risk tools. 

• Experience preparing client meeting materials, planning summaries, implementation notes, prospect materials, or advisor follow-up items

• Experience coordinating with CPAs, attorneys, custodians, and other outside professionals.

Key Traits For Success

• Clear communicator who can turn financial complexity into clarity and confidence for clients

• Intelligent, fast learner who self-initiates, uses multiple resources, and communicates in concrete next steps

• Bias for action with the ability to identify problems and move them forward without waiting for direction

• Coachable, low-ego teammate who accepts feedback, owns mistakes, and adjusts quickly

• Detail-oriented and system-minded, with a natural tendency to build checklists, workflows, and repeatable processes