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The Future of Financial Planning is Diverse!

Among the many initiatives at the Center for Financial Planning, increasing diversity in the financial planning profession is paramount. In 2017, the Center launched its Racial and Ethnic Diversity Initiative and assembled the Diversity Advisory Group.

Currently, less than 3.5% of the 80,000 Certified Financial Planners™ in the United States are black or Hispanic. Women comprise just 23% of CFP® professionals. In the face of changing demographics, it is important that the profession expand and diversify its ranks. The field of financial planning faces an exodus of aging and retiring employees and will need a new, young and representative workforce in order to stay relevant. What is more, a diverse workforce offers opportunities to serve a growing community of expanding wealth while fostering innovation and creativity through varied perspectives and experiences.

In light of this, the Center for Financial Planning has introduced a number of actions to serve as a catalyst for research and engagement.

  • “Racial Diversity in Financial Planning,” a thought leadership paper[1] that looks at barriers to racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. The paper revealed key insights based on surveys and interviews with 2,276 individual stakeholders.
  • The first-ever Diversity Summit, held on October 23 in New York City, provides a platform for the discussion of further initiatives to be undertaken by the Center.
  • Expansion of the “I Am A CFP® Pro” program, an educational campaign to raise awareness of financial planning careers among young people.
  • The Women’s Initiative, including the WIN Advocate Program to educate women and girls about financial planning careers, and the WIN-to-WIN Mentorship Program.

Read more about the important diversity initiatives at the Center for Financial Planning. Boston University strongly supports the Center’s initiatives and offers additional mentoring and career counseling services to all students enrolled in its financial planning program.

Best regards,

Carolynn Tomin, CFP®, Program Director

Boston University Online Financial Planning Program

Enrollment Advisor: 617-502-8822

[1] “Racial Diversity in Financial Planning: Where We Are and Where We Must Go,” Center for Financial Planning, accessed November 12, 2018, https://centerforfinancialplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Racial-Diversity-in-Financial-Planning.pdf.