NAPFA's Diversity & Inclusion Initiative
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is the country’s leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
Through its long-range planning process, NAPFA identified encouraging and promoting inclusivity in the field as a strategic imperative for the association. This led to the creation of the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative and the formation of a steering committee to steward any associated activities.
This Initiative operates under the following directives.
Our Mission
Our mission is to create a more inclusive membership by becoming a beacon for diversity within the financial planning profession by building and strengthening relationships between financial planning professionals and the diverse populations they serve.
Our Vision
Our vision is to become the standard for diverse advisors. We will do so by creating and promoting programs for underserved professionals to participate in career development and enrichment opportunities and championing their success within the profession and the communities they live in.
Diversity & Inclusion Programs
Steering Committee
NAPFA has a steering committee dedicated to fulfilling the mission and vision of the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative. For more information about the Committee, please visit this page.
Scholarship Program
The D&I initiative now sponsors several merit-based Diversity Scholarships for both NAPFA members and non-members to:
- Attend a NAPFA National Conference (two are held per year, spring and fall):
For more information on the scholarship program, please visit this page.
- Take the CFP exam or a CFP review course:
Submission Open Window: June 15-August 17, 2020
Recipient Notification: Mid-September 2020
Please click here to apply.
DiversiFi LinkedIn Group
DiversiFi is a virtual community dedicated to cultivating diversity & inclusion within the financial planning profession. If you'd like to become a member and become part of this conversation, please visit the group here.
Webinars
How Implicit Bias Impacts Conflict, and What You Can Do About It, Kwame Christian
The Importance of Gender & Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Your Firm, Meredith Jones
Other Resources
Many organizations continue to do the important work of diversifying the financial planning profession and making it a more inclusive community for everyone. NAPFA encourages you to explore some of the programs and resources that other groups are doing.
Center for Financial Planning
As consumer demand for financial advice grows, it is imperative that the financial planning profession work toward expanding and diversifying the ranks of financial planning professionals who can meet the needs of increasingly diverse consumers. However, based on self-reported data provided to CFP Board, less than 3.5 percent of all 82,000 CFP® professionals in the United States are Black or Latino, which is significantly less than the representation of Blacks and Latinos in the U.S. population.
To address this challenge and its root causes, the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning commissioned a comprehensive research study in 2017 to identify the barriers to racial and ethnic diversity in the financial planning profession. To review this research click here.
The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning encourages firm leaders and CFP® professionals to read Financial Planning Career Paths: Building More Sustainable and Successful Businesses and share it within your networks. The guide is designed to help employers attract and develop talented professionals while giving financial planners a roadmap for navigating their own financial planning careers. Establishing and communicating clear career paths is crucial to helping today’s professionals achieve their full potential and to attracting the next generation of talent our profession needs. Download the guide here.
Association of African American Advisors
The Association of African American Advisors (AAAA) vision is to be the leading organization for African American financial advisors by promoting meaningful networks among peers, sponsors and affiliated professionals. With a commitment to learning, business development, outreach, and support, our members are empowered to advance themselves and the financial planning profession. To learn more, please click here.
