Financial Services · Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL
South Florida's 8,390 personal financial advisors earn a median of $125,670, about 20% above the U.S., and the metro has a deep compliance bench. As a national, remote agency, Careerscape pairs employers from Miami to Palm Beach with recruiters who focus on financial services.
Pay signal
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro has 8,390 personal financial advisors, a location quotient of 1.73. Their $125,670 median is about 20% above the U.S. median of $105,070, the fifth-highest of the 29 metros on our financial services pages, behind New York, San Francisco, San Diego and Boston.
Large investment firms have chosen Miami too. Citadel and Citadel Securities announced in June 2022 that their global headquarters would move from Chicago to Miami, and Brickell remains the core of the city's banking, investment and finance work.
Compliance is the other deep pool: 10,530 compliance officers, an LQ of 1.39, at a $79,770 median close to the U.S. figure. That gives banks, broker-dealers and advisory firms a local bench for regulatory and anti-money-laundering roles. A compliance officer search here rarely needs to start out of state.
Registration
A new advisor or broker cannot work with Florida clients until the right registrations are in place. Build them into the start date.
| Who it applies to | What is required |
|---|---|
| Dealers and their associated persons | Must register with the Office of Financial Regulation before selling securities from Florida offices or to Florida residents, unless an exemption applies (s. 517.12, 2026 Florida Statutes). |
| Investment advisers and their associated persons | The adviser registers or makes a notice filing, and its associated persons register, before doing business from a Florida office or advising Florida clients (s. 517.12). |
| Advisers to private funds | May be exempt from registration if they meet the conditions in s. 517.12 and file the required reports with the Office of Financial Regulation. |
| Entry-level brokerage candidates | The FINRA Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam is open to anyone 18 or older without a sponsoring firm, and a pass is valid for four years. |
| Advisory representatives | The Series 65, a NASAA exam administered by FINRA, is the exam tied to investment adviser representatives. |
| Florida CPAs | The 2026 Florida Statutes still require 150 semester hours, a bachelor's degree or higher and one year of experience (s. 473.308). |
Summary only, not legal advice. Dealers and advisers with Florida branch offices must also notice-file each branch under s. 517.12. Source: 2026 Florida Statutes, s. 517.12 (Registration of dealers, associated persons, intermediaries and investment advisers).
Talent map
BLS May 2025 estimates for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro, all industries. LQ above 1 means more concentrated than the U.S.
| Occupation | Jobs in metro | Median pay · vs. U.S. | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial and Investment Analysts | 6,400 | $105,160+2% | 0.97 |
| Accountants and Auditors | 30,950 | $80,920−3% | 1.18 |
| Financial Managers | 14,540 | $164,230−1% | 0.95 |
| Loan Officers | 4,190 | $71,510−7% | 0.84 |
| Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents | 14,190 | $63,790−19% | 1.60 |
| Credit Analysts | 940 | $77,750−7% | 0.80 |
| Insurance Underwriters | 1,220 | $79,460−2% | 0.64 |
| Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators | 5,210 | $78,730+1% | 0.89 |
| Personal Financial Advisors | 8,390 | $125,670+20% | 1.73 |
| Compliance Officers | 10,530 | $79,770−1% | 1.39 |
| Actuaries | 310 | $139,810+8% | 0.63 |
Thin pools: insurance underwriters (LQ 0.64), actuaries (0.63), credit analysts (0.8) and loan officers (0.84). For those roles, plan to recruit from other Florida metros or out of state; our Tampa Bay page shows far deeper underwriting and claims benches. Securities and financial services sales agents are plentiful (14,190, LQ 1.6) but earn less than the U.S. median ($63,790 vs $78,660). Jobs and median annual pay for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area, all employers, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). “Vs. U.S.” compares with the national median. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: above 1.0 means the job makes up a bigger share of local employment than it does nationally.
Who hires
Employer types, not a client list. Each recruits from the pools in the table above.
Citadel's 2022 headquarters move brought a global fund manager and market maker to Miami. Fund employers hire investment, quantitative, operations and fund-accounting staff.
Brickell's towers hold much of Miami's banking and investment work. The above-U.S. advisor median shows what these firms pay for client-facing talent.
Every representative working with Florida clients needs the right registration, so candidates who are already registered can start sooner.
The metro has 30,950 accountants and auditors and 14,540 financial managers across every industry. Controller and FP&A searches draw on this pool.
Search advice
Most of the people you want are employed, registered and bound by agreements. Plan around all three.
Ask which FINRA exams and Florida registrations the candidate holds. An unregistered hire needs sponsorship and exam time before client work begins.
Have counsel review any non-solicitation, garden-leave or non-compete terms in the candidate's current agreement before you discuss moving clients.
Advisors and compliance staff rarely want an employer to know they are looking. Careerscape keeps candidate searches confidential and charges job seekers nothing.
Underwriting, actuarial and credit roles have below-average local supply. Price relocation or remote work into those searches from day one.
Use executive search for a CIO or chief compliance officer, direct hire for advisors, and contract staffing for a regulatory remediation or KYC refresh project.
Request talent
Tell us the role, registrations required and pay range, and a financial services recruiter will reply with next steps.
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FAQ
Yes. BLS May 2025 data puts the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach median for personal financial advisors at $125,670, about 20% above the $105,070 U.S. median. The metro also has more advisors relative to its workforce than the U.S. (LQ 1.73). Our financial planner salary guide shows national ranges by experience.
Usually. Under s. 517.12 of the Florida Statutes, an investment adviser must register or notice-file, and its associated persons must register, before doing business from a Florida office or advising Florida clients. Some exemptions exist, including one for certain private fund advisers. The Series 65 is the exam tied to investment adviser representatives. Check the statute and the Office of Financial Regulation before an offer.
Usually, yes. The metro has 10,530 compliance officers, a location quotient of 1.39, and a $79,770 median close to the U.S. $80,730. That is a large local bench for AML, KYC and regulatory roles. Senior specialists in narrow areas may still need a wider search, and contract staff can cover a project while you hire.
Yes. Careerscape recruits remotely, so we cover the whole Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro the BLS data on this page describes, and candidates willing to relocate from elsewhere. Our financial services recruiters specialize by industry, not by city, and you review every candidate in a private Employer Portal.
Our Miami staffing page covers hemisphere-facing hiring across trade, finance and technology, including how to specify and test language skills lawfully. This page sticks to wealth, compliance, fund and corporate finance hiring. For the full list of finance roles we recruit nationally, see our financial and banking staffing service.
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