A New Addition: Bourke Wealth Management Scholarship

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One of the hardest things about going to college—besides finding out how to pay for it—is choosing a major. Will it be the right one to launch a career? Will it put a student on the path to success? Is there a need for more people in that field?

Those are some of the questions that Kevin Bourke, after whom the new Bourke Wealth Management Scholarship Fund is named, wants to answer for students in Santa Barbara County.

“There aren’t very many young people coming into the financial advising industry,” explained Bourke. “With this scholarship, I want to encourage the younger population to look at finance as their future career.”

And money-minded students headed for college would be smart to look at becoming a financial adviser. According to consulting firm Moss Adams, the U.S. wealth management industry is likely to face a shortfall of at least 200,000 advisors by 2022.

Research firm Cerulli Associates reports that only 11 percent of current U.S. financial advisors are 35 or younger, and 43 percent are 55 or older—i.e. reaching the age where they’d be looking carefully at their own retirement accounts.

Financial security during retirement can be more important than being healthy for many people. In fact, six out of 10 people fear running out of money in retirement more than death, according to financial firm Allianz.

As a 30-year veteran of the industry, Bourke feels strongly that financial advising is a valuable profession. Bourke hopes that his firm’s scholarship fund will prompt others in wealth management to form their own scholarships for future financial advisors.

Does becoming a financial advisor sound interesting to you? If so, then don’t forget to fill out the Scholarship Foundation’s online application this fall and indicate your interest in becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional. The Bourke Wealth Management Scholarship Fund will award one student per year, and here are the eligibility requirements:

• Applicants must be attending or have attended a high school in southern Santa Barbara County (Carpinteria to Gaviota).

• High school applicants must have earned a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants continuing their higher education must also have earned a college GPA of 3.0 or higher.

• Applicants must be majoring in finance, economics, or business/business administration.

• Applicants must demonstrate financial need.

If you have any further questions about applying for scholarships or financial aid advising through the Scholarship Foundation, please call for an appointment with one of our Program Advisors: 805-687-6065.