As talent shortages loom, interest in Externship’s development program booms

Nearly three-quarters of new financial advisors quit before their career even gets off the ground. At the same time, McKinsey estimates that the industry will be short 100,000 advisors in the next decade.

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It’s no wonder that a professional development opportunity like Amplified Planning’s Externship  program is seeing increased interest. This summer, a record 2,700 externs — up from 2,078 last year — have enrolled in the virtual eight-week program designed to provide hands-on training and mentorship.

“There’s such demand for financial planning,” said Hannah Moore, founder of Amplified Planning and creator of the Externship program. “So many Americans need help, and we don’t even have the infrastructure to support the demand that’s out there for this field. We need these people coming in and doing the [program.]”

In 2020, as firms shuttered their in-person internships due to COVID-19, Moore, was part of a team that offered the alternative virtual program. Since replacing the in-person format with a fully virtual offering, the Externship has evolved from a COVID experiment where “nobody knew how to do an internship,” according to Moore, into a results-generating industry game-changer with 6,500-plus grads. 

This year, alongside its 13 well-known sponsors including the CFP Board and Charles Schwab, the program continues to bring together firms and externs across a variety of demographics and career levels, including career-changers. Externs gain practical experience, guidance and exposure to the industry with the goal of discovering where and how they can best fit in the advisor landscape.

Getting to the practical

From the moment they log in to their first program module, externs receive practical lessons.

For Amanda Totten, a returning extern and advisor at Akron, Ohio-based True Wealth Design, the hands-on approach sets the program apart. In the real world, where soft skills sometimes take a back seat, meaningful human interaction remains both an Advisor 101 need and a roadblock for some. 

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“It’s nice to see the real world and how these people run their business or serve a niche,” Totten said. “They don’t hold anything back. They’re very honest.”

Each themed week demystifies another layer of financial advising, starting with onboarding and client care. In addition to gaining knowledge from reading and quizzes, externs also “sit in” on live sessions between advisors and clients to observe their interactions and gain practical skill applications. 

“These are real people that give their OK that thousands of people can watch these videos,” said Totten.   

Externs also have access to software programs “you would never be able to get a login [for] and use it for a month or two,” said Totten. “You see what’s new and on the market. You never know if you’re going to end up wanting those in your firm or if they could be a resource for a client.”

Career changers want in; rookies want resources, connection

Many programs target participants near traditional college ages, but Externship participant demographics include a much broader group. While high schoolers and university students certainly make up a swath of externs, the program also sees its fair share of middle-aged career-changers — 38% of the 2025 class. 

“We’ve created a pathway for folks to do this while they’re working full time or staying home with their kids, to see if this is a career they want,” said Moore. 

If they decide they want to stay in financial planning, the program can help them map out how to do it.   

Externs point to the desire to help others followed by an interest in personal finance as significant reasons for exploring careers in financial planning. According to Moore, career-changers are especially impacted by that desire to help and understand the power of financial planning and its importance.

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It is one thing to participate in a program and another to then bring what was learned to a firm. Rookie failure has many culprits, but the lack of training and proper mentorship once they get on the job are just two of several repeat offenders.

What Totten might have missed as an advisor without externship experience has been replaced in part due to the camaraderie she feels. 

“You can run ideas by the alumni forum and you have a group that you can lean into if you need ideas or have a difficult situation,” she said. “There’s a real collaboration even after the Externship is over amongst the alumni, which is invaluable.”