Will Kinder is on his way to holding CFP certification before age 30

Editor's note: This story and headline have been updated to correctly show that Will Kinder is in the process of becoming a certified financial planner and that Kinder was a senior at Butler University when he had an intership for Valeo Financial Advisors.

It's an unusual person who, at 23, has already joined a financial planning firm and passed the Certified Financial Planner exam -- so unusual, in fact, that only approximately 4.25 percent of people who hold CFP certification are under 30. But for Notre Dame Regional High School graduate Will Kinder, the path was there, and he is taking it -- he'll be a certified financial planner after two additional years of practice, now that he's passed the exam.

Kinder says he was interested in finance and foreign languages from a young age. His mother spoke fluent French and conversational Italian, and he learned from her and from his coursework in high school. He now holds three bachelor's degrees from Butler University in finance, international business and French. Kinder says this was a good combination since he didn't want to be pigeonholed when seeking a job, so he went for it.

"I was really interested in marketing, but I had a professor who suggested I get a degree in accounting instead since I was already in those courses. That seemed doable in the time frame I wanted," he says. "So I graduated with three degrees."

He says this combination, which is very open-ended, will allow him to go anywhere.

Will Kinder

"But I'm not an overachiever, I'm just casting a wide net," he says.

When Kinder was a senior at Butler University, he had an internship for Valeo Financial Advisors in Indianapolis, Indiana. It went well, but he wasn't sure that was the company for him.

"At first, I was pretty sure I was going to join a bigger firm with more name recognition," he says. "This company's mission was interesting, but I had this perception that since I was younger, I wouldn't be taken as seriously by clients at this firm, but my supervisor told me that wouldn't be the case at all. That's been true for me."

In December of Kinder's senior year, his internship ended, and Valeo offered to pay for the CFP exam preparation course.

"The books were pretty expensive, so I had them pay for those," he says. "There's a handful of colleges where you can take a four- or five-year track for the CFP exam, and you have to complete the coursework just to be eligible to sit for the exam. I took the courses through the University of Georgia during my senior year while I was getting ready to graduate with three majors."

Kinder says any extra time he had after he completed his required coursework went to studying for the CFP exam.

"The CFP was the worst thing I ever had to go through but also best thing," he says. He knew he would have to give up his life for a few months, but in the end, it would pay dividends.

Kinder says the course covers income tax planning, investment, insurance, retirement, principles of etiquette and rules for dealing with clients and with regulatory agencies.

"The board really likes to test you on rules and economic principles," Kinder says. "It can be tedious, take a lot of time."

At the end, he says, is an exam for each section, and test-takers must do a case study and present it to the board, which is made up of five people, all CFP holders.

"The case study was thorough but almost like a template where I sort of filled in the blanks. Everyone at work told me to just get through and submit it, because the review courses needed to be my focus."

His case study was approved in late June, and he sat for the exam in November.

"It's only offered three times a year," he says. "Once the case study was done, then the real studying started." Kinder says he passed the exam the first time he sat for it, fortunately.

"I think the studying I did and the courses I took in college really helped," he says.

Once he had earned CFP certification, Kinder says it was much easier to relax into what his job at Valeo requires of him.

"I think a lot of people my age, only 23, people view their first job as a stepping stone for a year or two, but I really see myself building a career here," he says.

Kinder says he had his own ideas about what it took to be a financial adviser.

"This industry does have some women, but it's dominated by older gentlemen," Kinder says. "But at Valeo, they were willing to invest in me and my success."

One of the more appealing aspects of the business model at Valeo, in Kinder's mind, is that each adviser works with a maximum of 40 clients.

"That's not dollar amount of their net worth, which might be how another firm would do it," he says. "That's 40 people, total."

Kinder says Valeo does not charge based on assets under management, but there is a flat fee system based on a client's entire net worth

"I also saw that and thought, 'This is really different.' No one else is doing what we're doing, no one else is doing it better."

He says that since Valeo does not have its own financial products to offer clients, they can offer truly independent advice, whereas at a larger, big-name firm, the adviser has an incentive to get the clients to purchase the company's products. Since Valeo's advisers do not earn commissions, their incentive is to increase a client's overall wealth, Kinder says.

"We really believe we can add value in a lot of areas," he says.

Kinder says he sees two types of clients: emerging and traditional. Emerging clients, he says, "might not jump off the ledger-book page from the outset, but we're about careful planning and discipline."

A lot of emerging clients are younger clients looking to start a portfolio, retirement accounts and asset planning.

"We can track their account history in our system, see performance over time," he says. "It's cool to see these little projects. We're making an investment in that person, moving them to traditional client status."

Traditional clients are those who have amassed more personal net worth, and those assets need to be tracked and plotted out to maximize performance over time, Kinder says.

When asked what he wished people knew about financial planning, Kinder says, "There's a different way to approach things. It's not something to be scared about. At the end of the day, we just want to help your life get better. That's our incentive. You get better, we get better."

He says if an individual or business does feel behind, there are a lot of resources available to help right the ship.

He chose this field in part because, he says, "No matter what you go to school for, finance will be required in life."

He's learned about taxes, insurance, trusts, financial products such as annuities and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), retirement planning and more.

"People just don't know what all there is to know," he says. "We go to market and to training to learn about all the new products coming out, how to navigate them, how to understand ways to maximize profits."

Kinder said this is done not to maximize the company's profits, but so the advisors can help make a decision on what is best for each client's individual situation.

He says his job offers stability, but also a wide variety of tasks.

"I'll be getting quotes on life insurance one day, refinance a mortgage the next day," he says. "I'm building contacts for myself and to help clients manage their teams. I'm looking globally. As a financial planner, I work with a client's CPA, attorney, insurance agent, human resources contact at their business -- a little of everything."

Kinder says the best advice he has for anyone looking to plan their financial future is to just start.

"For young people, I would recommend not paying too much attention to add lines," he says. "Don't just go with your parents' financial adviser unless you really feel comfortable working with that adviser. Start conversations about advising fees, and ask a lot of questions. This is your financial future." Kinder says getting a handle on debt is paramount.

"Track your spending," he says. "Start saving money. Don't feel like you have to do this alone. Ask your friends. Search online. Talk to an adviser you trust to be sure you're getting good information. Build a solid team. It's a process."

Kinder says he's pretty young in this industry.

"But at the same time, I like that my work adds value and I have credibility," he says. "I really enjoy it."