CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Hosts Summit to Increase Diversity in the Financial Planning Profession

Summit hosts industry leaders to discuss a more inclusive profession

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning is hosting its first-ever Diversity Summit today at the Times Center in New York City. The Summit brings together leaders from financial services, academic institutions and non-profit organizations to discuss research-based initiatives that will increase racial and ethnic diversity in the financial planning profession.

“The Center and the Summit participants are taking a proactive approach to addressing diversity – not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because the market demands it. As the country becomes increasingly diverse and wealth continues to accumulate among people of color, savvy firms will diversify their ranks to reflect the diversity of the public,” said Richard Salmen, CFP®, Chair of the Board of Directors for CFP Board.

At the Summit, the Center is releasing Racial Diversity in Financial Planning: Where We Are and Where We Must Go, a thought leadership paper that outlines actionable solutions for industry stakeholders to create a more inclusive profession, based on findings from a comprehensive research study on the underrepresentation of blacks and Latinos in the financial planner workforce.

The Summit agenda also features distinguished speakers, panels and breakout sessions to facilitate discussion on diversity in financial planning and to inspire commitment and action from participants to build a more inclusive profession. A livestream of the Summit can be accessed here.

“CFP Board created the Center for Financial Planning to facilitate increased diversity in the financial planning profession, expand opportunities for academia and ensure a sustainable workforce,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “To ensure the long-term viability and continued success of the profession, the Center has committed to a number of initiatives to increase diversity including maintaining a Diversity Advisory Group to advise on progress toward diversifying the profession, raising awareness of the profession among young people through the ‘I am a CFP® Pro’ campaign, establishing and administering scholarship programs, and connecting candidates for CFP® certification with experienced professionals through the CFP Board Mentor Program.”

The Summit, thought leadership paper and research are key elements in the Center’s diversity initiative, one of three core pillars of the Center’s work, along with developing the workforce of the future and increasing the academic rigor of the discipline of financial planning by conducting and publishing research.

“The financial planning profession needs to mirror the diverse population it serves. Our objective with the Summit is to build awareness and engagement that inspires all stakeholders to take meaningful action to advance diversity and inclusion in our profession,” said Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis, Executive Director of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning.

The Summit is made possible with the support from Signature Sponsors Merrill Lynch, the Charles Schwab Foundation and Fiserv; Major Sponsors Prudential and Morgan Stanley; as well as the Center’s Lead Founding Sponsor TD Ameritrade Institutional and the Center’s Founding Sponsors Northwestern Mutual and Envestnet.