Valeo Financial Advisors

Financial Planning Intern

May - August 2022 • Carmel, IN

What I liked

The Financial Planning Internship at Valeo gave me real-world, hands-on experience to the world of financial planning within a cohort of 15 other interns my age! I worked directly with Lead Advisors to prepare deliverables for client meetings through an in-depth analysis of each client's situation. While there is almost always work to be done, I never felt overly stressed or overwhelmed. The people at Valeo are top-tier and this internship prepared me to go back to school and engage well with all finance-related coursework!

What I wish was different

While working in-person is the right environment to build one's network and receive job training, this full-time in-person internship demanded more hours spent at the office than I initially anticipated. However, with work to be done and peers around, the summer flew by! And the freedom that one has to arrive earlier (and leave earlier) or arrive later (and leave later) served me well when I needed more sleep or had post-work conflicts.

Advice

To be the right fit for this internship, one must be willing to exhaust all of his or her resources before seeking help from a Lead Advisor, Support Advisor, or a Training Advisor. Though this seems intimidating, learning to use my resources and find the answer myself was rewarding and gave me confidence to answer others' questions.

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Financial Advisor Intern

May - August 2022 • Carmel, IN

What I liked

This internship was a great experience because of our ability to work directly with advisors. We were preparing deliverables that were actually being used in meetings. Also, the advisors were all extremely good mentors. They took the time to sit down with us to review and explain the tasks we had completed for them. Valeo also set up a couple opportunities for us to serve the community, which were extremely rewarding and helped our intern class become closer.

What I wish was different

Advice

One piece of advice that I would give to interns is to communicate with advisors. Make sure to reach out to advisors and see if they need help on any projects. Also, when you have completed a project, make sure to communicate with them anything you might have been confused on. This will give them a good idea of your understanding of the assignment and show them that you were critically thinking. Lastly, make sure to exhaust all your resources before asking the advisor. This shows your ability to take initiative, work hard, show that you care, and expand your knowledge of financial advising.

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Financial Planning Intern

May - August 2022 • Carmel, IN

What I liked

I got to work under several advisors and get experience in a wide range of subject matters. As an intern, you do most of what the entry level position (Support Advisors) do which allows for an easy transition into a full time roll. You get experience with investments, estate planning, insurance and much more! Valeo also provides your first CFP module which is a great way to start your CFP journey while you have down time during the internship. Advisors were very willing to meet for lunch/coffee and give advice. I also enjoyed sitting in on a client meeting.

What I wish was different

Advice

Make sure you take advantage of networking opportunities as much as possible. Your success in this industry and firm are highly dependent upon networking. In the internship, you will get more work form advisors if you are able to do good work for as many advisors as possible.

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Financial Advisor Intern

May - August 2022 • Carmel, IN

What I liked

I enjoyed the lively atmosphere inside the office. Networking was highly encouraged throughout the firm and leadership clearly cares about development of interns/new hires. Completed a wide range of tasks including meeting agendas, performance reports, estate document outlines, investment allocation summaries, and custom client deliverables.

What I wish was different

Advice

To be successful you must be comfortable asking lots of questions. You learn the most when you ask about the deeper meaning behind a simple task or project.

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Financial Planning Intern

May - August 2022 • Carmel, IN

What I liked

I loved working at Valeo Financial Advisors! I enjoyed being able to work on different tasks such as: • Preparing reports for routine analysis of clients’ comprehensive financial well-being • Attending client meetings and supporting advisors with follow-up materials • Researching and writing an internal report on economic cycles • Completing administrative tasks including record entry, database maintenance, and filing If you are interested in financial planning as a career, I would highly recommend working here. The training and tasks I received gave me confidence that this is a good career path for me!

What I wish was different

Advice

A piece of advice for this internship is to go in with confidence each day. You will make mistakes along the way, but learn from them and you will be better for it.

1 One person found this helpful

Financial Advisor Intern

May - August 2022 • Carmel, IN

What I liked

Great company to work for, mentorship and advisor development are very important parts of the office culture. Valeo is reshaping the service industry of wealth management through their company model which was really cool to be a part of.

What I wish was different

A little more consistency of workload assigned throughout the internship.

Advice

The main focus is on education and experiencing what it would look like to work at an RIA firm. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you don't know something. They encourage you to speak up as it shows you are attentive and interested.

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Financial Planning Intern

June - August 2021 • Carmel, IN

What I liked

The unique business model at Valeo creates a welcoming entrepreneurial culture. Everyone on the team is willing to offer their time to tell you about Valeo and their experiences. It is a very open environment in that people are willing to help you, so long as you reach out to them.

What I wish was different

I wish there were more opportunities to explore the other Valeo offices outside of the Carmel location.

Advice

Take it upon yourself to engage with as many people within the firm as possible. The experience you get out of the internship will be dependent on how much effort you put forward.

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