LeCount R. Davis, CFP®

 

LeCount R. Davis, CFP® has spent nearly five decades helping financial planning reach farther — into new communities, new classrooms and the lives of people who had too often been left outside the profession’s reach.

In 1978, Davis became the first Black person to earn CFP® certification. It was a historic first, though Davis himself has never defined his career by being first. What mattered was what came next.

He built LeCount R. Davis & Associates, a financial planning and consulting firm he founded in 1970 and established himself as a respected practitioner and leader. He served as president of the National Capital chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning and became a visible advocate for financial planning as a profession capable of changing people’s lives.

Davis also understood that financial knowledge had little value if it did not reach the people who needed it. He taught at Howard University, hosted the financial education television program Common Cents, and published Finance and the African American Family. In 2020, he told the story of his own journey in his autobiography, One Step Back — Two Steps Forward: The Dance of My Ultimate Plan. Across classrooms, television screens, newsletters and community gatherings, Davis has made financial concepts practical, understandable and relevant to everyday life.

In 2001, Davis founded the Association of African American Financial Advisors (Quad-A), creating a national community for mentorship, professional development and connection. His commitment to the profession’s future continues through the LeCount R. Davis, CFP® Endowed Scholarship, supporting students pursuing CFP® certification.

Davis has opened many doors for others, but his greater contribution has been building what lay beyond them: stronger networks, broader access, deeper understanding and new pathways into the profession.

His legacy can be seen in the professionals he mentored, the communities he served and the generations who followed.