Emeri Johnson, a 22-year-old finishing her undergraduate degree in personal planning and wealth management at Utah State University, represents exactly the kind of talent the wealth management profession is racing to recruit and keep. She participated in the Schwab Wealth Management Academy, a 15-month hands-on learning program, and recently completed a fellowship with the FinServ Foundation. Both programs are designed to help early-career participants earn industry licenses, pass the CFP exam and build careers that can go the distance.
For Johnson, the FinServ fellowship did more than open a door. It reoriented her.
“One of my professors suggested I apply,” she said. “Doing so changed the trajectory of my career.”
The program’s “Discovering Your Path” module helped her identify not just what she was good at, but what she wanted to do.
“I was familiar with the analytical side of the industry,” she said. “What surprised me was how much the relationship-building aspect appealed to me.”
She now envisions a career built on prospecting, client relationships and referral networks, preferably at an independent RIA. She plans to take the CFP exam in November 2027.
A Profession at Risk of Hollowing Out
The financial planning profession is graying faster than it can replenish itself. The average age of a practicing financial advisor in the United States is now 57. Within the next decade, an estimated one-third of all practicing advisors are expected to leave the field through retirement, burnout or career change. The pipeline of young professionals succeeding in the profession is not keeping pace with those departures.
The numbers tell a sobering story. The CFP Board certifies roughly 8,000 new planners each year, a figure that falls well short of the number needed to replace the advisors expected to exit. Meanwhile, the demand for financial planning services continues to grow, driven by an aging population and the largest generational transfer of wealth in American history. A younger generation seeking guidance on managing student debt, housing costs and wealth-building amid an uncertain economy is driving demand for more financial planners.
Even if raw recruitment numbers increase, insufficient preparation and support mean high rates of attrition among new entrants. Studies suggest that a substantial share of new advisors leave the profession within their first three to five years, often citing inadequate mentorship, unclear career pathways, and the steep learning curve between classroom training and client-facing practice. Entering the profession without a structured support system is, for many, a discouraging experience that ends prematurely. The profession’s challenge, in other words, is not simply filling the pipeline. It is keeping high-potential talent in it.
Victoria O’Tool is the FinServ Foundation’s executive director and herself a fellowship graduate.
The FinServ Foundation was created specifically to close that gap, with a focus not just on recruitment but on retention. Founded in 2019, it has a mission to strengthen the pathway from university education to sustainable careers in wealth management. The fellowship is free and open to college students across the United States, primarily sophomores and juniors from any major or background. Each year, two cohorts of 100 fellows are admitted, for a total of 200 new fellows. Roughly 700 have completed the program to date.
“We are looking for students with genuine passion for the industry who may not yet have the resources to access it,” says Victoria O’Tool, the foundation’s executive director and herself a fellowship graduate. Applicants submit an essay and complete a formal interview with an advisory board member. Grades matter, but focus, determination and passion matter more.
O’Tool’s own path illustrates who the program is designed to serve. She was studying business and finance at the University of Alabama when she became president of the university’s Financial Planning Club. That leadership role caught the attention of the CFP program director, who recommended she apply to the FinServ Foundation Fellowship. She was the first University of Alabama student admitted.
After two internships at Northwestern Mutual and JPMorgan, she joined Mercer Advisors as a client service specialist while also taking on the part-time role of executive director of the FinServ Foundation, a dual commitment that Mercer Advisors actively supports. O’Tool is scheduled to sit for the CFP Exam in July 2026.
What the Program Actually Does
The two-year fellowship is built around four core learning modules delivered through monthly virtual coaching and development meetings: Discovering Your Path, Industry Knowledge, The Business of You and Business Development. The first six months focus on career exploration and professional identity, giving fellows time to understand the industry before committing to a direction within it.
Mentorship is central to the model. Each fellow is paired with a volunteer industry mentor for a structured six-month experience. Samantha Allen, director of mentorship, manages all pairings and supports each one with monthly worksheets, discussion prompts and optional resources. Fellows who complete the mentorship phase are invited to attend an industry conference, all expenses paid.
One resource O’Tool credits as particularly transformative is the “12 Tribes of Financial Planning,” a framework developed by Luke Dean, CFP program director at Utah Valley University. The model maps the industry’s distinct cultures, business structures and career paths, challenging the assumption that financial planning means working for a large brokerage or insurance firm.
“I had two very different internship experiences and wasn’t sure where I fit,” O’Tool said. “Working through that model introduced me to the RIA industry for the first time, and it clicked immediately. Those conversations led to my internship and eventual full-time position at Mercer Advisors.”
Built to Scale
The fellowship costs the foundation about $2,000 per fellow to deliver, an investment offset by donations from industry participants who recognize that recruiting the next generation of advisors is not a problem any single firm can solve on its own. The foundation’s long-term goal is to expand to 2,000 new fellows annually, a scale that would meaningfully shift the profession’s odds of replacing the advisors it stands to lose.
