The money-whisperer.

Yeah, this is the person who actually manages the money. If you buy a mutual fund, for example, there's a distribution company that brings in customers like you and brings in the dough for investing. That company hires the advisors, who sit around in suits and decide what investments go where. The money you pay in fees for your mutual fund is used to pay for these advisors. 

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What's the difference between a...23 Views

00:00

Finance a la shmoop what's the difference between a financial adviser

00:06

and a financial planner? well here's the Venn diagram of a financial adviser in a [Venn diagram appears]

00:13

financial planner and yes you can see that the financial planner is kind of a

00:17

subset of the advisor but well you know pours better coffee in other words all

00:22

financial planners are financial advisors but not all financial advisors

00:27

are financial planners okay so the financial planner what do they do they

00:31

plan financially what does that mean? while the planner looks at your budget

00:35

your rent your insurance your likely taxes and a whole bunch of other little [Financial planner duties appear]

00:39

detailing things that you could probably do entirely on your own if you thought

00:43

about it for five minutes but whatever trauma happened to you and [Man with injuries laying on couch]

00:47

your childhood rendered you somehow incapable of doing so and you called in

00:51

Mommy financial planner who held your hand and help you fill out whatever

00:54

forms establish whatever goals and create whatever programs you needed to

00:58

create whether you're an individual pediatrician, a small business or

01:03

something bigger well financial planners come in a bunch

01:06

of certificated flavors like certified financial planner yeah that's a big

01:11

catchy one and then there's corollary sidebar ones like chartered financial

01:15

consultant and for the really heavy hitter investment planning people well

01:19

there's a chartered financial analyst levels one two and three which is the

01:23

full contact x-rated version of being a hardcore financial planner so then [Types of financial planner appear]

01:28

what's a financial advisor or FA? or FAH as the Dolphins like to call them well

01:34

essentially they are your investment whisperer

01:37

they sit on your left shoulder and your right shoulder whispering about greed [Angel financial planner whispering on mans shoulder]

01:41

and fear and have nothing to do with that scene in Animal House and if you

01:45

don't know what we're talking about go ask your parents right now hit pause go

01:48

ask them.... greatest college movie in history thank you

01:51

specifically a financial advisor is typically a broker in one form or

01:54

another who directly helps execute purchases and sales of securities while

01:59

knowing a thing or three about estate and tax planning, insurance and other

02:03

financial adventures like the joys of owning real estate so a FA must have a

02:08

series 65 license or more the good ones have all passed the series

02:12

seven exam which is the granddaddy and a few are also CPAs i.e hardcore

02:18

accountants if you like not just counting beans but swimming in them well [Man jumps into pool of beans]

02:22

then these are both probably good gigs for you

Up Next

Finance: What Does a Financial Analyst Do?
320 Views

What does a financial analyst do? Financial analysts research the market and recommend investments. There are quite a few licenses required to be a...

Finance: What Does a Personal Wealth Manager Do?
84 Views

What does a personal wealth manager do? A personal wealth manager helps individuals reach their financial goals. To do this, they ask questions lik...

Finance: What does a stock broker do?
19 Views

What does a stockbroker do? Stockbrokers use money from investors to invest in the stock market. Their first job is to go out and find these client...

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)