Personal Financial Planning, Personal Statement Example

Our world has been changing at a tremendous pace due to rapid progress in almost every field including computing technologies and health sciences. Information now exists at finger tips and people are living longer and healthier. These trends only increase the importance of sound financial planning because retirement time horizons will only become longer over time. At the same time, one may suspect that more people are financially savvy now since it is so easy to access knowledge and information. Unfortunately, the reality could not have been more different as evident by the statistics that indicate declining savings trends and rising debt levels. The frequency of financial crisis also reminds us that most people still do a poor job of financial planning including investing. This may be due to several factors including being influenced by group-thinking or being advised by financial advisors who are either incompetent or do not adhere to the ethical standards of their profession.

All of these trends have inspired me to pursue the career of personal financial planner so that I do not only contribute towards strengthening the ethical value of the profession but also use my knowledge and expertise to raise awareness about the importance of financial planning. A formal education in personal financial planning will equip me with the knowledge and values required to achieve my professional and social goals.

I believe in continuous self-improvement and regularly read on personal finance and demographic trends on the internet, thus, my unique perspectives will enable me to make valuable contributions to class discussions. I also hope to interact with people from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds and expand my own thinking horizon. I have researched many personal financial planning programs and this program particularly stood out for its innovative curriculum as well as the ability to network with leading industry professionals.

The program will also help me learn about the latest trends in the personal financial planning sector. U.S. is increasingly becoming more diversified in cultural aspects and in addition, geographical limitations regarding investment opportunities have been disappearing. I hope to use the knowledge from the program to better service cultural diverse group of customers and gain a better understanding of global investment opportunities. I also believe the additional knowledge and expanded thinking horizon will help me design innovative products for clients that may never have been offered before. I am determined to identify and prevent conflict of interest with my clients which is why my focus will be on building long-term relationships and develop business on the strength of personal integrity and credibility. In this regard, I am inspired by Warren Buffet’s philosophy to business that reputation is probably the most precious asset one has and while other losses can be recovered, reputation cannot be rebuilt once it has been damaged.

I am overall disappointed by the performance of the financial planning profession over the last few decades as most of the financial planners have simply become marketers who recommend solutions without taking into account the clients’ unique circumstances and long-term interests. This is why I will never endorse commission-based products and services and work with each client on one-to-one basis. Similarly, I will also help raise awareness regarding the importance of financial literacy, even among young people, so that financial security becomes a reality rather than a dream for as many people as possible.