The growth in the number of colleges that offer financial planning as a major is giving financial advisers who are looking for new hires a lot to cheer about.

The number of colleges that have registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. to offer approved planning programs has grown to 130, up 20% from two years ago, and dozens more schools are in the process of registering, said Charles Chaffin, manager of academic programs at the CFP Board.

The growth in interest is largely being driven by job growth in the advice industry, he said.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the number of financial services jobs to grow by 32% over the next 10 years.

"Colleges are having to look very pragmatically at programs that are going to place students into lucrative and growing careers," Mr. Chaffin said. Read more >

Investment News
Jason Kephart
April 29, 2012