Wealth Planning Associate, Akeiva Thomas, MSFP, CPA/PFS, will be a featured panelist in the Financial Planning Association of Massachusetts’ Career Transitions event.  She will discuss how to successfully join the financial planning industry at a young age, sharing her perspective and advice for college students interested in entering the field.

Akeiva’s journey to financial planning began at a young age. After laboring through the financial aid application process as she began college and watching others struggle financially, she found herself researching the web on how to help people thrive, financially. Google became her best friend as she began to research careers where she could help and that’s where she stumbled upon the field of financial planning. She knew right away that it was the right choice for her.

In terms of finding the right fit, Akeiva recommends that job candidates look for a firm that suits their core values and needs.  She was searching for a company that was fee-only (as opposed to commission-based) that would give her the necessary flexibility with time so she could pursue her graduate degree, and would support her in other professional endeavors such as her CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner certification as well as provide her with a transparent path to career development.

While there are a number of possible avenues to choose from when entering the financial planning industry, Akeiva advises that planners own their career paths and urges them not to feel boxed in by one particular route.

Read more about Akeiva M. Thomas, MSFP, CPA/PFS.

Event Details (from the FPA of MA)

The FPA of MA NexGen and Women’s Committees have teamed up to host an exciting event with a focused theme of “Career Transitions”.  This panel event will provide the unique insights and stories of three different panelists and how they successfully entered into the financial planning industry.

This event is for you if:

  • You are early in your career and are contemplating entering the financial planning industry at a young age.
  • You are in the middle of your career and are contemplating entering the financial planning industry as a “career change”. You may have limited prior experience in the financial services industry but have valuable work and life experience to share.
  • You have worked in financial services during your career, but want to transition into the financial planning industry. You may have valuable investment or other financial experience and are contemplating a career transition to work for an independent RIA, wirehouse, etc. to directly advise clients.

Panelist 1: Akeiva Thomas, MSFP, CPA/PFS is a Wealth Planning Associate at Ballentine Partners located in Waltham, MA. Akeiva will share her story and recommendations for people that may still be in college or recently graduated, and are searching for the best way to enter the financial planning industry.

Panelist 2: Elizabeth McVittie, CFP® is the owner and lead advisor of McVittie Financial Advisors located in Auburndale, MA.  She is excited to share her story of entering the financial planning industry in the early 2000s after spending seven years at home as the primary caregiver for her three children.  She will bring to the panel her insight on how to navigate the challenges of the planning profession later in life and what helped propel her from office manager to a successful planner and business owner.

Panelist 3: Martin Shore, CFA, CFP® is a Personal CFO at Single Point Partners in Boston, MA. Martin will share his story and recommendations for people with prior financial services experience that are contemplating making the transition to work for an independent RIA, wirehouse, etc.  and the learning curve required to gain the financial planning skills needed to directly advise clients.

Moderator: Clare Ciervo. CFP®

Event Details:

  • Date & time: September 24th from 6 pm – 8 pm
  • Location: CIC Boston, 50 Milk Street, 20th Floor- Light House Room, Boston, MA
  • Sponsors: BMO and Russell Investments

The FPA of MA NexGen is the FPA community dedicated to serve aspiring and early-career CFP® professionals. If you’re new to the industry, or want to stay informed about NexGen, you can reach out to Jake Northrup at jnorthrup17@gmail.com and you can request to join the FPA of MA NexGen’s Facebook page by searching “FPA of MA NexGen” in Facebook.

The FPA of MA Women’s Committee is dedicated to serving women in the financial planning community. If you would like to be more involved in supporting women in our field, or you are a woman looking for support in your financial career, please reach out to Karen Van Voorhis at karen@djgalli.com.

Register for the upcoming Career Transitions event.

Learn more about the Financial Planning Association of Massachusetts.