How advisers really use interns

Since InvestmentNews announced the launch of our Next Generation of Financial Advisers initiative, I have had a number of conversations about internships and how different types of advisory firms and brokerages actually use interns. Some common questions: Are they paid? What type of pay should an intern typically receive? What should an intern actually do? Fortunately, we can provide some real clarity on almost all of these issues, thanks to research conducted last year by our IN Adviser Solutions team. In the 2011 Adviser Compensation & Staffing Study, RIA firm owners provided some valuable data on internships - data that should be useful and interesting to both firms seeking to employ interns, as well as students looking for internship opportunities. Overall, 43% of the firms that participated in the study said that they employ interns - and nearly all of these firms (88%) pay their interns for their work. The average salary across these firms? $13.49 an hour, according to the study. Getting into even more detail, the IN Adviser Solutions team came up with a list of 13 tasks that interns typically handle and asked firm owners to indicate which ones their interns perform most frequently. Here's the list: Source: The 2011 InvestmentNews/Moss Adams Adviser Compensation & Staffing Study No surprise that clerical duties are at the top of the list. But data gathering, investment research and client prep are tasks that interns are actively performing for many RIAs; these are the types of tasks, in many cases, that can actually give an intern a feel for the profession and the firm. And on the other side, advisers can also meaningfully evaluate their interns for future full-time or part-time positions. “Treat your interns like employees,” said Jon Yankee, chief financial officer, director of human resources,partner and co-founder of Fox, Joss & Yankee LLC, an RIA in Reston, Va. RELATED ITEM The staffing evolution of an advisory firm “We expect them to take an ownership mentality about their internship,” continued Mr. Yankee, whose firm has outline their internship best practices and procedures in a recent white paper. “You have to give them real responsibility if they are going to have a meaningful experience.” Specifically, Mr. Yankee added that his firm's interns typically help to prepare for client meetings and shadow certain advisers. They also sit in client meetings, largely as an observer rather than a participant. “They're there to learn about the business and what it's like to be a financial adviser,” Mr. Yankee said. “There's no better way to learn.”