Become a financial advisor
Start a career you love
Apply for our Advisor Development Program
Why become a financial professional?
As a financial professional, you can build a business that makes a difference in this generation and the next.
Help people and businesses become financially secure.
Over time, you can earn autonomy and set your own schedule.
Financial services are always changing, and you can be a part of a dynamic, evolving industry.
Even though you will be your own boss, you will never lose the support of colleagues and senior financial professionals.
As a financial professional, you will have unlimited earning potential throughout your career.
Who is a good fit to become a financial professional?
You don’t need to be a math whiz or have a degree in finance to succeed as a financial professional.
This business is about helping others, and if you are motivated to build relationships and coach others on their path to financial security, you may be a perfect fit as a financial professional.
We are looking for people who are:
- Entrepreneurial / self-starter
- Passionate about helping others
- Competitive and driven
- Well-connected in their communities
- Hard workers
- Coachable
- A team player
- Financially stable
Why choose North Star
rolling retention rate for financial professionals, years one through four in the business.
Our training program
Our comprehensive training program prepares you for running a financial services practice. In four years, you will learn the skills and confidence needed to excel in the financial profession. Throughout the training, you will have access to a senior financial professional and trainer, who are your coaches as you begin your career at North Star.
Internship
As an intern, you will get to see and experience how a financial practice is run so you can identify if this profession is right for you. This is a temporary position, with the opportunity to move into full-time engagement at North Star.
The internship is not required for employment at North Star.
101 Training
YEAR 1
Your first phase of training as a full-time advisor will last about six months. You will be trained in essential skills for growing and running your practice, while learning about products and services offered, including comprehensive financial planning.
201 Training
YEAR 2
Your next phase of training continues with you gaining the knowledge and skills to connect with clients in a more meaningful way by learning the psychology behind building trust.
301 Training
YEAR 3 AND 4
During this phase, you will deep dive into the complex facts of financial solutions. As you run your practice, you will participate in scheduled learning sessions to build your long-term success in financial services.
Ready to get started?
Our thoughtful selection process details the steps we take to educate you on what can be expected and what it takes to succeed as a North Star financial advisor.
Step 1
- Introductory interview / career overview
- Selection / career assessments
Step 2
- Interview with firm leaders and advisors
- Review of North Star values
- Get to know your senior advisor
- Understand financing / compensation
Step 3
- Background information booklet
- Criminal background report and credit check
- Contract and practice expectations
- Daily, weekly and monthly expectations
- Training calendar
- Insurance licensing and securities registration plan
Step 4
- Marketing and business plan strategies
- Market Surveys
- Your commitment to the career
- The business owner mindset
Connect with our team
Mariguax Childs
Associate Recruiter
Mariguax Childs
Associate RecruiterMariguax is an associate recruiter with North Star’s Recruiting department. Working out of the Minneapolis office, she brings her prior professional experience into her role as she helps the Recruiting department source excellent financial advisor candidates across the nation.
Prior to joining North Star in 2024, Mariguax served in professional roles in the hospitality, education, and finance industries. She uses each of these experiences in her role with North Star, where she helps find and recruit the next generation of financial advisors.
Born on the Caribbean Island of Jamaica, Mariguax now lives in Minneapolis. She is a 2013 graduate of Concordia University St. Paul, where she studied organizational management and leadership. In her time away from the office, she enjoys gardening, dancing, and swimming.
Robert Evans
Advisor Development Manager
Robert Evans
Advisor Development ManagerRobert joined North Star in 2019 to coach and train financial professionals to seek their clients’ success.
In over 20 years in financial services, Robert has played many roles, assisting clients with investments, trades, and retirement strategies. Now, as a member of the professional development department, Robert brings his firsthand experience and focus on client relations to training interns and new advisors.
Robert’s hope for each intern and advisor is that they learn through experience, and he believes in cultivating an environment where advisors at every level have a chance to collaborate with colleagues and make meaningful connections with clients.
Investment advisor representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC.
Nick Gonzales
Associate Vice President
Nick Gonzales
Associate Vice PresidentNick joined North Star in 2022 with over 20 years’ experience coaching and developing financial professionals.
Nick understands the challenges financial professionals face early in their career, having worked directly with client as an advisor at notable firms for nearly eight years before transitioning into a management role. As an advisor development leader, he finds and develops high-quality financial professionals who are empowered to impact themselves, others, and their communities.
His mission is to develop financial professionals who care and to build communities that challenge possibilities.
Nick is a graduate of Greensboro College, where he played varsity baseball. He works out of Durham, NC, where he and his wife raise their three kids.
Investment advisor representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC.
Emilee Gregory
Talent Acquisition and Recruiting Associate
Emilee Gregory
Talent Acquisition and Recruiting AssociateEmilee is a talent acquisition and recruiting associate working out of North Star Resource Group’s Minneapolis headquarters. Using her professional experience in the hiring, recruiting, and marketing fields, she supports our Recruiting team as they locate financial advisor talent across the nation. She is currently seeking advisor candidates at our Durham, N.C., and Richmond, Va. offices.
Emilee hails from Campbell, Calif., part of the San Francisco Bay Area. After graduating from Marquette University with a B.A. in writing-intensive English and a minor in marketing, she obtained a role as a social media strategist for Metropolitan Supply, where she honed her skills in marketing, sales, and content creation.
It was in this role that Emilee was introduced to the world of recruiting, through utilizing her writing skills to create job descriptions and assemble new hire materials. With this newfound passion for helping companies find quality candidates for their needs, she transitioned to her current role with North Star in 2024. Here, she actively recruits candidates dedicated to serving the financial needs of a diverse range of clients.
Emilee resides in Minnetonka, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. In her free time, she enjoys running, baking, writing, listening to music, and spending time with her friends and family. She is also an avid reader and has made it her personal goal to visit all the libraries across Hennepin County within her first year of living there.
Grace B. Torres Kilpatrick, CEPA®
Associate Vice President, Advisor Development
Grace B. Torres Kilpatrick, CEPA®
Associate Vice President, Advisor DevelopmentGrace has spent over a decade in wealth management, and she is a third-generation financial advisor. She describes herself as a lifelong learner and encourages academics.
Grace received her master’s in Executive Coaching and Consultation from Concordia University Irvine. She has a bachelor’s in mass communication from Menlo College, Silicon Valley’s Business School. Grace played four years of NAIA soccer for Menlo College and remains active in the soccer community.
Grace has spent her whole life surrounded by the markets. Whether it is ESG investing or emerging technology, Grace is passionate about understanding change and innovation in the financial industry. She has an innovation certificate from Dartmouth and environmental research certificate from Stanford.
As a member of the professional development department, Grace searches out career changers and experienced financial professionals and nurtures their diverse backgrounds and talents to better serve their clients.
Grace and her husband have two daughters. Grace has coached her daughter’s soccer team and plays in a futsal league. She cares about helping families impacted by dementia and enjoys participating in community events like the Walk4ALZ for Alzheimer’s San Diego. Grace loves taking her daughters to Sunday school.
Grace is a registered representative and investment advisor representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC.
The charitable entities and/or fundraising opportunities described herein are not endorsed by or affiliated with (BD name) or its affiliates. Our philanthropic interests are personal to us and are not reviewed, sponsored or approved by Cetera.
Thomas Kuykendall
Associate Vice President, Twin Cities Advisor Development
Thomas Kuykendall
Associate Vice President, Twin Cities Advisor DevelopmentThomas joined North Star in 2018 with over 20 years’ experience launching the careers of financial professionals.
He began his career in finance as a financial advisor and was consistently promoted at several well-known firms. As a member of the professional development department, Thomas searches out career changers and experienced financial professionals and nurtures their diverse backgrounds and talents to better serve their clients. His mission is to support the growth of each individual and team in a career and leadership path they want for themselves as financial services professionals.
Outside of his work at North Star, Thomas is a board member of several organizations including Minnesota Youth Athletic Services.
Thomas is a registered representative and investment advisor representative of Securian Financial Services, Inc.
Elizabeth Kult
National Recruiting Specialist
Elizabeth Kult
National Recruiting SpecialistLiz started working in the Recruiting Department at North Star in 2022 where finds and hires high-quality talent in the industry.
Working out of North Star’s offices in Minneapolis, Liz recruits interns interested in learning more about the career, as well as those ready to start their path to becoming a financial advisor.
P.Q. Le
Managing Director
P.Q. Le
Managing DirectorP.Q. Le, ChFC®, CLU® joined North Star Resource Group as a Managing Director on Monday, January 2, 2023. Le’s key responsibilities will include developing and supporting financial advisors at North Star’s office in Atlanta.
P.Q. entered the financial services industry in 1985 and has since acquired market experience working with multinational and multicultural firms. He has been involved with launching and developing several market startups and has been invited numerous times to present seminars and workshops on various topics related to Financial Wellness Education. Additionally, P.Q. has helped train and mentor local leaders to become successful financial professionals.
Registered Representative of Cetera Advisor Networks.
Josh Oberheide
Regional Recruiting Manager
Josh Oberheide
Regional Recruiting ManagerJosh is a regional recruiting manager at North Star Resource Group’s Minneapolis headquarters. He leverages his prior experience in the recruiting field to help the Recruiting department locate quality financial advisor candidates. He is currently seeking talent for North Star’s Milwaukee and Minneapolis offices.
Josh grew up in Central Ill., a few hours outside of Chicago. After obtaining an associate degree from Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, he began work as an account manager for a technology company in the mobile phone space.
Eventually, Josh transitioned to the recruiting field in 2017, where he sourced talent for insurance and wealth management firms. Now at North Star (where he joined in 2024), he uses his ability to connect with prospective financial advisors to help recruit the next generation of professionals dedicated to helping clients achieve financial freedom.
In 2010, Josh moved to St. Paul, Minn. with his wife of 19 years, Molly, three children (Ian, Claire, and Owen), and two Labradoodle dogs (Sequoia and Birdie).
In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his family (especially at dog-friendly parks around the Twin Cities), catching a Saint Paul Saints baseball game, or playing competitive cornhole in local leagues.
Tony Ross
National Director of Professional Development and New Advisor Liaison
Tony Ross
National Director of Professional Development and New Advisor LiaisonTony develops lasting connections with advisors at North Star to see them through to a successful career.
Joining North Star in 2010, Tony has an extensive career in sales management and customer relations, and he is passionate about helping emerging advisors learn the communication and marketing skills needed to serve their clients in life-long relationships.
Along with one-on-one coaching, Tony also introduces new advisors to North Star’s extensive training and development program. He works with industry organizations, division specialists, and tenured advisors to provide interns and advisors the education needed to master the complex topics of financial services.
Tony works out of North Star’s headquarters in Minneapolis, but he enjoys connecting with advisors throughout the nation on his weekly mentoring and coaching calls with advisors at all stages in their careers.
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Mosha Schwartz
Regional Recruiting Specialist
Mosha Schwartz
Regional Recruiting SpecialistMosha is a regional recruiting specialist, working out of North Star’s office in Austin, Texas. Using his educational background and experience as a student-athlete, he helps the Recruiting department find and recruit excellent financial advisor recruits interested in making an impact and experiencing independence in their careers.
Mosha joined North Star in 2024, shortly after graduating from the University of Oklahoma. Here, he competed as an NCAA Division I wrestler, which instilled a passion for working with student-athletes that he carries forward into his work with North Star. This pairs with his natural drive for perseverance and teamwork and allows him to help graduating student-athletes build successful financial practices.
Mosha grew up in Colorado and now lives in Austin, Texas. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outside and mentoring fellow student-athletes, especially emerging wrestling leaders. He is also deeply committed to continuous growth and development in his professional and personal life while remaining a resource for all the advisors he works with.
Eliot Searls
National Director of Recruiting
Eliot Searls
National Director of RecruitingEliot is the National Director of Recruiting at North Star Resource Group’s Minneapolis office. In addition to leading and supporting the Recruiting department, he helps recruit financial advisors at each of our offices nationwide.
Eliot grew up in Golden Valley, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis. After graduating from Hampton University, he began his career as a financial advisor. Eventually, he transitioned to the recruiting side of the business at Ameriprise and Equitable Advisors, where he spent nearly 10 years using his knowledge and passion for the industry to connect with prospective financial advisors.
Now at North Star, he uses this same knowledge and passion to partner with the Recruiting department as they recruit experienced financial advisors, career changers, and recent college graduates to the firm.
Eliot continues to call Golden Valley home today. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, gardening, spending with his family, and cheering on the Arsenal FC soccer team.
Registered representative of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.
