Financial Planner

The employment outlook will be Moderate for financial advisors (NOC 11102) in Ontario for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• The majority are employed in the financial services, mainly in banks and financial investment activities
• Insurance carriers are also key employers

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Major layoffs in the banking industry
• As older generations prepare to transfer wealth, the demand for financial planning will support opportunities for financial advisors  

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• Certification in financial planning is typically required
• Selling regulated financial products requires licensing, such as the Canadian Securities Course

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

• Self-employment is relatively common among workers in this occupation.

Here are some key facts about financial advisors in Ontario:

• Approximately 47,350 people work in this occupation.
• Financial advisors mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Monetary Authorities - central bank and securities, commodity contracts and other intermediation and related activities (NAICS 521, 522, 523): 77%
  • Insurance Carriers and related activities (NAICS 524, 526): 9%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 93% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 7% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 82% of financial advisors work all year, while 18% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 48 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• 30% of financial advisors are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 56% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 43% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 12% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 21% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 45% compared to 24% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 18% compared to 13% for all occupations