Episode summary
What Next-Gen Talent Really Wants—And Why Most Firms Are Missing the Mark
Summary
Advisory firms say they need next-gen talent, but the student pipeline is telling a different story: students say they cannot get jobs in the industry. Elise Rogers says FP Transitions and the FinServ Foundation found that only a small share of firms offer internships and mentorship, yet those are exactly the kinds of programs students want and the kinds of employers that attract and retain talent.
The research shows students want mentorship, professional development, and clear career growth, while 80% say base salary is the top compensation factor. Elise Rogers says that fits a broader pattern in which base pay matters most early on, while equity and performance-based compensation become more relevant later. Students also do not want to be pushed immediately into sales-heavy business development roles.
AI is another fault line. Students are already using it about 5 hours a week, but they worry it will wipe out entry-level learning opportunities such as note-taking and client meeting exposure. Elise Rogers argues firms should keep building hands-on pathways, because firms that invest in internships, mentorship, and broader exposure grow faster and are worth more. She also points to FP Transitions’ compensation database, built from 800 firms and 7,000 individuals, as a tool for benchmarking pay, equity ownership, and profit sharing.
Key takeaways
- Elise Rogers says the biggest mismatch is that firms want next-gen talent, but students say they cannot get jobs in the industry.
- The research found 80% of students prioritize base salary, while mentorship and professional development are also major draws.
- Elise Rogers says students are uncomfortable with being business developers and prefer firms that provide leads and learning opportunities.
- Students are using AI about 5 hours a week, but Elise Rogers says they worry it could remove entry-level tasks that build experience.
- FP Transitions’ compensation database now includes 800 firms, 7,000 individuals, and 30-plus roles for benchmarking pay and ownership.
- Elise Rogers says firms that invest in internships, mentorship, and exposure across the business tend to grow faster and be worth more.
Notable quotes
“students are saying they can't get jobs in the industry, right”
“they want mentorship and in the firms that they're that they're joining, that they want to join firms that have mentorship programs”
“they were also talking about not wanting to be salespeople”
“They are using AI. They're using it quite a bit. They're using it about 5 hours a week”
“Advisory firms that have multiple owners who grow faster and are worth more”
How the episode opens
Hi, I'm Suzanne Siracusa, CEO of Suzanne Siracusa Consulting, and I'm here at the Edge Conference with Alisa Rogers, who's head of marketing at FP Transitions. We just got out of a fantastic think tank with uh a lot of the students that are here from the FinServ Foundation. And actually, Alisa, you guys just released a uh research survey with the FinServ Foundation on what students are looking for in an employer of choice.
And there were some really interesting results. There was some discussion around compensation, and you also have a compensation database that you are um that's currently in market, and you're taking in those insights from financial advisors and firms. So, can you share a little bit about what you're finding both from the student perspective as well as from the firm perspective, and how they either align or don't align?
Yes, thank you, Suzanne, and thank you for having me at the conference. That think tank was really really amazing, wasn't it? — Yes, it was great.
I love to work with the students, first of all, and it's truly been a passion of mine to work on next generation pathways into the industry, and it's been a huge component of my career. And working with the FinServ Foundation has allowed me those opportunities. Um at FP Transitions, we really clearly see that uh succession planning.
Advisors tell us this all of the time. They struggle to find next gen talent, and it's been something that has thread through my entire career of if advisors are looking for next gen talent, why aren't they looking at the student population to develop and grow them into this absolutely amazing industry? And working with the FinServ Foundation last year, we really uncovered this one sort of difficult truth.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- next-gen talent
- advisor hiring
- student compensation preferences
- ai in career prep
- internships mentorship
Companies and tickers mentioned
- FP Transitions
- FinServ Foundation
Watch the episode
Watch “What Next-Gen Talent Really Wants—And Why Most Firms Are Missing the Mark” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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