CFP Board Center for Financial Planning and Edelman Financial Engines Launch Scholarship to Advance Profession Diversity

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning  (“Center”) and Edelman Financial Engines announced today the launch of the Edelman Financial Engines CFP® Certification Diversity Scholarship. The initiative aims to support the development of aspiring financial planners from underrepresented communities.

The scholarship will award up to $5,000 per individual working to complete a certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program that qualifies the recipient to take the CFP® exam. As part of Edelman Financial Engines’ We Aspire Financial Planner Development Program, scholarship recipients will also have the opportunity to interview for full-time employment in a rotational program at the firm.

“As part of our mission to strengthen the financial planning profession’s talent pipeline, we are partnering with Edelman Financial Engines to support diverse candidates for CFP® certification,” said D.A. Abrams, Managing Director of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning. “The additional opportunity offered to scholarship recipients for employment in the firm’s rotational program is an exciting way to apply their learnings to a role in the profession and receive mentorship from senior professionals.”

“We’re pleased to partner with the CFP Board on this scholarship, which aligns with our broader mission to help more people move their financial lives forward,” said Jason Van de Loo, executive vice president and head of Wealth Planning and Marketing at Edelman Financial Engines. “This program not only provides financial assistance to deserving candidates from underrepresented communities, but it creates an opportunity for exceptional talent to join our early-career financial planner development program. We see this as a true ‘win-win’ effort to create a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession.”

Eligible candidates are U.S. residents with at least two years of financial services industry experience and enrolled in a certificate program. The scholarship will support students with demonstrated financial need from an underrepresented population within the financial planning profession in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, veteran status, disability or sexual orientation.

The deadline to apply is April 3, 2022. The application and further information about the Edelman Financial Engines CFP® Certification Diversity Scholarship can be found on CFP Board’s website.

About Edelman Financial Engines
Since 1986, Edelman Financial Engines has been committed to always acting in the best interests of our clients. We were founded on the belief that all investors – not just the wealthy – deserve access to personal, comprehensive financial planning and investment advice. Today, we are America’s top independent financial planning and investment advisory firm, as recognized by Barron’s,1 with 145+ offices2 across the country and entrusted by more than 1.3 million clients to manage $291 billion in assets.3 Our unique approach to serving clients combines our advanced methodology and proprietary technology with the attention of a dedicated personal financial planner. Every client’s situation and goals are unique, and the powerful fusion of high-tech and high-touch allows Edelman Financial Engines to deliver the personal plan and financial confidence that everyone deserves.

1 The 2021 Top 100 Independent Advisory Firm Ranking issued by Barron’s is qualitative and quantitative, including assets managed, revenue generated, regulatory record, staffing levels and diversity, technology spending and succession planning. Firms elect to participate but do not pay to be included in the ranking. Investor experience and returns are not considered.
2 Data as of Dec. 31, 2021.
3 Data as of Dec. 31, 2021.