Planner finds need for financial advice. (People).

DEAN McGill, an 18-year veteran of American Express Financial Advisors, has a lot to do as new vice president of the company's Los Angeles market group.

McGill said there's a growing need for financial advisers as the average American develops a new attitude toward financial planning, especially given the market turmoil.

"This is a time when people, because of Sept. 11 and the current volatility of the stock market, are choosing to step back and re-evaluate how they are planning for the future," McGill said. "It used to be that people could make a lot of money quickly on the market, but now they are looking for a more structured, long-term approach to educating their kids and retiring."

McGill will be responsible for leading more than 300 advisers and managers in the Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara area. He will be looking to recruit more than 100 new advisers by the end of the year, with a goal of 1,500 advisers over the next five years.

Because AEFA hires people without prior advising experience, McGill said the company offers intensive three-year training on how to be a financial adviser.

Named by Worth Magazine in 1996 and 1997 as one of the 200 Best Financial Advisors, McGill began his career with AEFA in San Francisco in 1984 as a financial advisor. He later was promoted to field vice president for the firm's San Francisco Bay Area.

McGill said most people believe they don't make enough money to need a financial planner, but the opposite is true.

"The ultra wealthy can lose 40 percent of their portfolio and still be able to retire very comfortably," he said. "Really, it's the regular people who need to make every dollar to work hard to reach their financial goals."

McGill, who graduated from Cal State University-Chico with a B.S. in business administration, is married and lives with his wife in Santa Monica.