Compensation: Competitive Base Salary + Incredible Comprehensive Benefits Package
The Opportunity:
Our client, a successful boutique wealth management firm, is seeking an experienced, detail-oriented Financial Planning & Investment Operations Specialist to join its collaborative team in Hudson, Wisconsin. This is a unique, hands-on position that combines financial planning implementation, investment trading, client engagement, and wealth management operations. The ideal candidate enjoys working behind the scenes to ensure financial strategies are executed accurately, efficiently, and with exceptional attention to detail.
Working closely with Lead Advisors, this individual will serve as a key implementation partner, helping prepare for client meetings, coordinating follow-through on financial planning recommendations, managing investment trading activities, and ensuring operational responsibilities are completed seamlessly.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys both the technical and relationship-oriented aspects of wealth management but finds genuine satisfaction in implementation, trading, and operational execution. The firm is seeking someone who wants to build meaningful expertise and contribute long-term in an operations-focused role. While professional development and potential advancement opportunities exist, this position is designed for someone who is enthusiastic about remaining actively involved in trading, implementation, and operations for the foreseeable future.
Key Responsibilities:
Financial Planning & Advisor Support:
- Serve as a key implementation partner to Lead Advisors, helping translate financial planning recommendations into actionable steps.
- Prepare for client meetings by gathering relevant financial information, reviewing client accounts, updating financial plans, and organizing supporting materials.
- Assist with the preparation, maintenance, and implementation of comprehensive financial plans.
- Participate in client meeting preparation and follow-up, ensuring recommendations, action items, and responsibilities are clearly documented and executed.
- Manage financial planning implementation checklists, timelines, and CRM workflows to ensure timely completion of client deliverables.
- Identify opportunities to improve the efficiency and consistency of the financial planning and implementation process.
Investment Trading & Portfolio Operations:
- Serve as the primary resource for day-to-day investment trading activities, executing trades in accordance with Advisor direction, established investment strategies, and firm procedures.
- Monitor investment accounts, portfolio allocations, and cash positions to identify necessary trading or operational activity.
- Coordinate investment transactions, portfolio adjustments, rebalancing activities, and related operational requirements.
- Ensure trading activities are completed accurately, efficiently, and in accordance with applicable compliance requirements.
- Monitor portfolio management and custodial systems for account changes, exceptions, and other items requiring attention.
- Collaborate with Advisors and the operations team to support investment implementation and ongoing portfolio administration.
Client Service & Implementation:
- Serve as a trusted extension of the Lead Advisors, providing polished, professional, and responsive communication with clients.
- Coordinate the execution of financial planning recommendations following client meetings, ensuring appropriate follow-through across the team.
- Take ownership of more complex or client-facing implementation activities requiring additional financial planning knowledge or judgment.
- Support new account openings, client onboarding, rollovers, transfers, and ongoing account administration.
- Coordinate ACH transactions, wires, journals, and other asset movements.
- Prepare, process, and track client paperwork through DocuSign and traditional methods.
- Communicate proactively with clients and internal team members regarding outstanding information, next steps, and implementation progress.
- Help ensure clients experience a seamless transition from financial planning discussions to completed action items.
Wealth Management Operations & Team Collaboration:
- Work collaboratively with the operations team to support day-to-day account administration, processing, and client service activities.
- Manage workflows within custodial platforms, including transfers, work baskets, cash exceptions, and other operational requirements.
- Maintain accurate client information, documentation, and activity records within the CRM and related systems.
- Assist with operational tasks and service requests as needed, recognizing that exceptional client service requires a team-oriented, hands-on approach.
- Identify workflow inefficiencies and recommend opportunities to improve processes, communication, and operational effectiveness.
- Support the firm's commitment to delivering a consistent, thoughtful, and highly personalized client experience.
What We're Looking For:
Experience & Technical Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree
- 3+ years of experience in wealth management, investment operations, financial planning support, or a related financial services role
- Hands-on investment trading experience strongly preferred, including familiarity with trade execution, portfolio administration, and custodial trading platforms
- Experience supporting Financial Advisors with client meeting preparation, financial planning implementation, and post-meeting follow-through
- Strong understanding of financial planning concepts, investment products, asset classes, and account administration
- Experience with custodial platforms such as Pershing or NetX360+ preferred
- Experience working within a CRM and managing detailed client workflows
- Familiarity with financial planning and portfolio technology such as eMoney, Black Diamond, Holistiplan, or Pontera is a plus
- Series 65 license, ChFC, CFP® designation, or progress toward a relevant professional designation preferred
Professional Attributes & Cultural Fit:
- An implementer at heart: Enjoys turning financial planning recommendations into action and takes pride in seeing projects through to completion.
- Operationally minded: Genuinely enjoys the technical, transactional, and administrative responsibilities that support a successful wealth management practice.
- Comfortable wearing multiple hats: Equally willing to execute trades, coordinate complex financial planning activities, communicate with clients, and assist with routine operational tasks.
- Client-focused communicator: Polished, professional, and confident interacting with clients while understanding the importance of supporting the Lead Advisor relationship.
- Highly organized and accountable: Able to manage multiple priorities, track details, anticipate next steps, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
- Collaborative and team-oriented: Values shared responsibility, supports colleagues, and approaches responsibilities with a team-first mentality.
- Process-driven and detail-oriented: Committed to accuracy, consistency, and continuous improvement.
- Growth-minded and patient: Interested in developing a deep understanding of the firm's investment philosophy, financial planning approach, and client service standards over time.
- Long-term oriented: Motivated by becoming an integral part of a successful wealth management team rather than seeking an immediate transition into a Lead Advisor role.
Why This Opportunity?
This is an opportunity to join a close-knit, collaborative wealth management firm where your contributions will have a direct impact on both the client experience and the effectiveness of the advisory team. Unlike positions focused exclusively on financial planning, client service, or investment operations, this role offers the opportunity to work across all three areas while serving as a critical implementation partner to Lead Advisors.
You'll have meaningful responsibility for coordinating financial planning recommendations, managing investment trading activities, supporting client relationships, and helping ensure the operational details are handled with care and precision.
The firm is committed to developing its team members through mentorship, collaboration, and a thoughtful approach to professional growth. Individuals interested in eventually pursuing an advisory career may have opportunities to develop in that direction over time; however, advancement into an advisory role would depend on demonstrated mastery of operations, alignment with the firm's financial planning philosophy, business needs, and a deliberate development process.
For someone who enjoys being the person who makes everything happen, values long-term professional development, and takes pride in delivering an exceptional client experience, this is an opportunity to become an essential part of a growing wealth management firm.