USM plans degree program in fast-growing financial planning field
File photo courtesy / University of Southern Maine
The University of Southern Maine, whose main campus is in Portland, is planning to launch an undergraduate degree program in certified financial planning.
Amid a bullish job outlook for personal financial advisors, the University of Southern Maine is planning an undergraduate degree program in the fast-growing field.
Though a time frame is not yet finalized, the plan is to register a program with the Washington,D.C.-based Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, according to Derek Tharp, an assistant professor of finance at USM leading the effort.
He does not expect any news on that front until late summer.
Though it's hard to predict numbers, Tharp told Mainebiz he guesses there will be five to 10 students in the first year. The school won't be able to start marketing the program until it gets approval from the CFP Board.
"We do have a number of students who are already very interested in careers in financial planning," he said, "so I'm already seeing demand for the program."
He noted, for example, that students are already taking courses in financial plan development, doing internships with local wealth management firms and pursuing careers in financial planning after graduation.
The move comes as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of personal financial advisors to grow 7% between 2018 and 2028, faster than the average for all occupations.
A CFP designation is a professional certification mark for financial planners conferred by the CFB Board.
Tharp said he expects a lot of overlap with USM's risk management and insurance, accounting and finance programs, "so I suspect we'll have students from each discipline who will see the value in studying financial planning."
In the long term, he sees the program growing to graduate-level courses as well. "Our initial launch will be at the undergraduate level only, but we definitely want to continue to grow the program and offer additional options for students," he said.
Promoting gender diversity
USM's program plans come as a growing number of women in Maine make their mark in the wealth management sector.
Tharp, a certified financial planner and chartered life underwriter, sees the planned USM program as another route for more women, as well as men, into the profession.
He also said he welcomed moves by the CFP Board and others to promote more gender diversity in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
His own research related to workforce issues includes a recently published study on the gender pay gap among financial planning professionals, and another one that's not yet been peer-reviewed that looks at differences in pay among advisors by marital status.
The latter found that male advisors who had previously taken a parental leave earned more than female advisors, suggesting that unequal treatment related to marriage and other family members is another consideration for promoting inclusion in the industry.
CFP Board data show that 23.2% of CFPs are women.
Wealth management firms in Maine led by women include Spinnaker Trust, headed by President and CEO Amanda Rand, and Cornerstone Financial Planning, founded and run by Susan Veligor and Jill Boynton.
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