Here's how top wealth managers use summer interns to fill talent pipelines

There’s more to summer interns than iced coffee delivery vehicles.

At least that’s what the top wealth management shops say.   

The academic year is almost over which means it’s almost intern season across Wall Street. And with the financial advisory industry in particular facing a well-documented shortage of young talent, internship programs should be more than simply a way to do favors for clients by employing their kids to do busy work for a few months.

Stacey Turner, chief talent & culture officer at wealth manager Pitcairn, says the firm’s internship program is not about filling immediate hiring needs, but about building a thoughtful pipeline into a highly specialized and often hard-to-access part of the industry. Pitcairn keeps its cohorts small, typically three to five interns, so each individual gets meaningful exposure and offer real contributions across different teams such as wealth management, investments, talent and culture, and marketing.

“Internships are an important part of how we think about long-term talent development, even though historically we haven’t hired at the entry level. We’ve often encouraged interns to build experience elsewhere after graduation, with the hope that they may return to us later with a stronger foundation. That reflects the reality that this is a career built over time, particularly in a trust-based, relationship-driven environment,” Turner said.

Elsewhere, Gregg George, founder and managing director at Crescent Grove Advisors, offers interns a 10-week, in-person immersive program beginning in June and running through mid-August. By design, the program exposes the interns to every aspect of the firm to help them fashion a 360-degree view of what happens on a daily basis at an RIA.

“Any organization, from sports to wealth management with a goal of achieving continuing excellence, has to take this endeavor seriously. The long-term objective of an internship for our company is to find those individuals who will contribute to the organic growth of the organization over the next decade. Importantly, having our interns be rising seniors affords us the opportunity of extending offers to worthy candidates that we have effectively interviews for a ten-week period,” George said.

And on the flip side, adds George, the interns will have a basis to know his firm meets their long-term career aspirations.

Almanza Wealth Management, which is an affiliate of Private Advisor Group, has had 14 interns in 12 years, with five staying on beyond the internships, and three becoming full-time employees. Almanza’s president Ener Almanza says the three who are now full-time have enhanced the firm’s “mission by expanding our niches and helping us expand our areas of specialization.”

“Our firm is based in East Lansing, Michigan, home of Michigan State University. Most of the young adults graduating from Michigan State want to start their careers in big cities like Chicago, New York, or Atlanta. For our firm, our internship program has been the easiest way for us to attract, train, and retain the next generation of advisors. It is no surprise to us that the last three hires have been previous intern candidates,” Almanza said.

Finally, Craig Ferrantino, president and founder of Craig James Financial Services, intentionally structures his firm’s internship program like a college course, a blend of practical and traditional education. Interns typically spend 2 to 3 days a week in the office, working on a variety of projects from developing marketing materials to analyzing portfolios.

In addition, he asks his interns to progress through a series of presentations to his staff on a variety of topics, starting with basic Wall Street fundamentals and leveling up to more complicated discussions of financial policy. Through these presentations, he tries to give his interns a fundamental understanding of the world of finance, while also giving them practice with public speaking.

“Interns usually learn a lot and, in some instances, receive college credit. They typically go on to either keep working with our company or find jobs elsewhere in finance or law. Because our internship experience is so valuable to students, many past interns keep in touch with the firm, and it's heartwarming to see how they've made in impact in their careers,” Ferrantino said.