How the Center for Financial Planning is Improving Financial Advice — One Certificant at a Time

As we were putting together our first-ever AdviceTech.LIVE online conference and developing the accompanying AdviceTech Compass, which includes all the critical software platforms an advisor could use and how they connect with each other, we realized how homogeneous our fintech population really is.

Conversations with our technology partners showed us, though, that many in the industry are committed to and motivated by the ability to support more women and people of color coming into the advice business.

We realized that we could do more with AdviceTech.LIVE than simply create a great day of technology conversations—we could rethink the purpose of the program and bring light to a cause the Asset-Map team believes in. As a result, we chose the CFP Board as our 2020 benefactor partner and donated 50% of all ticket sales to their Diversity & Inclusion initiatives. 

So we kicked off the first-ever AdviceTech.LIVE online conference with a conversation with D.A. Abrams, CAE, the Managing Director of the CFP Board’s Center for Financial Planning.

He spoke to us about their mission and what advisors can do to help, which you can see in this video replay:

A Quick Look at the CFP Landscape

The business case for the Center of Financial Planning is to continually make small improvements to diversity and inclusion efforts to help make the financial services industry more reflective of the general population.

Age Differences
There are more CFP professionals over the age of 70 than under the age of 35.

People of Color
People of color are nearly 32% of the U.S. population but just under 4% of all CFP professionals.

Women
Women make up at least 51% of the U.S. population, but only 23% of CFPs.

A Vision, Mission, and Philosophy

The Center for Financial Planning hopes to address these types of discrepancies with a bold vision, mission, and philosophy.

Vision
We want every American to have access to competent and ethical financial planning advice.

Mission
Create a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession.

Philosophy
Create programs and services responsive to the needs of our stakeholders.

Center for Financial Planning’s Impact

Since its founding in 2015, the Center for Financial Planning has worked intentionally to make an impact in financial planning—and the results are showing encouraging progress.

  • A 75% increase in CFPs under the age of 30 since 2016

  • The growth of people of color becoming CFP professionals was 3X the rate of all other CFP professionals in 2019

  • Over 4,900 new women CFPs since 2016

Three Areas of Focus

The Center for Financial Planning’s three areas of focus include Talent Pipeline, Diversity and Inclusion, and Knowledge for Practice.

  • Talent Pipeline focuses on building the next generation of talent.

  • Diversity and Inclusion focuses on helping firms and advisors leverage D&I for positive business impact. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s also the right thing for your business.

  • Knowledge for Practice focuses on furthering the body of knowledge for the financial planning profession.

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How You Can Get Involved

If you want to help further the mission of the Center for Financial Planning, there are two things you can do right now.

Join the Virtual Diversity Summit and Career Fair on November 18-20

The Diversity Summit is in its third year and is unique in that it ties its content to specific recommendations for how to move forward through the release of a thought leadership paper attached to the event.

Click here to register.

Become Part of the Candidate Referral Program

This program links individuals with companies interested in sourcing their talent. Right now, 9 firms are signed on and over 1,700 individuals participate in the program. There is no cost for firms to join, and the Center for Financial Planning is dedicated to growing the numbers on both sides.

Visit the Center for Financial Planning website.

TJ Hill