More Women and Minorities Needed for Financial Planning Jobs
Special to The Truth
Americans’ need for
competent and ethical financial advice continues to grow,
but the population of professionals who can provide such
advice is shrinking.
At the same time, the
demographics of wealth in the U.S. are shifting. The average
net worth of African American families increased by 30
percent from 2013 to 2016, according to the Federal Reserve.
Women now control more than one-third of wealth in the
country, according to The Boston Consulting Group. And an
“InvestmentNews” report found the top-fifth of Latinos, or
more than 2.1 million households, have an average wealth of
more than $400,000.
Not reflecting these
changes, however, are the demographics of today’s financial
planning workforce. Less than one-fourth of the more than
84,000 Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professionals are
women, and only 3.6 percent are Black or Latino.
The gap between the
current state of the financial planning profession and what
is needed in this shifting landscape presents big career
opportunities for aspiring CFP professionals, particularly
female and minority candidates.
“We need more financial
planners,” says Brittney Castro, a Los Angeles-based Latina
CFP professional. “It’s such a great career. You’re helping
people with their money, you make good money, and you have
ultimate freedom over your time. That’s a win-win-win.”
Financial planners earn a
median pay of $89,000, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, which also projects that job opportunities
within the financial advisory industry are expected to grow
by 15 percent between 2016 and 2026. This means CFP
professionals can enjoy lucrative careers with long-term
opportunity and room for growth, all while helping others.
The ways in which diverse
financial professionals benefit their communities is
multifaceted, according to Justin Sullivan, CFP, an African
American investment advisor for a wealth management company
in Atlanta. Giving back is a central part of the work, he
says, whether through formal financial planning services or
simple conversations with people in the community. “I think
we take for granted what people know, especially when you
talk about groups that have not historically been exposed to
wealth.”
Becoming a CFP
professional also provides opportunities to serve as a
mentor for future generations of financial planners and
encourage even greater diversity in the profession. “There
are not many of us -- women of color -- who are financial
planners, so I have a responsibility,” says Rianka
Dorsainvil, a CFP professional in Washington, D.C. “I have
to volunteer and raise my hand for leadership positions so
other women of color can say, ‘I see her in me, so I can do
that too.’”
To learn more about
financial planning careers, visit cfp.net/become-a-cfp-professional.
Today’s CFP professionals
take pride in meeting the growing need for financial advice,
helping people in their community achieve their financial
goals, and making a positive difference in their clients’
lives.
Courtesy StatePoint
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