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Progress On Diversity In Advice Industry Is Slow: CFP Board

By Tracey Longo November 19, 2019 Financial Advisor

A variety of initiatives have increased diversity in the advisor industry, but progress has been slow, according to new research from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

The challenges have been especially tough for the advisor industry, “which has a legacy of dominance by white males and an exclusion of women and people of color, in both executive and staff positions,” the board said in a new report.

Despite the growing evidence that more diversified teams offer measurable financial benefits, “everyone is still struggling to move the needle,” said Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis, executive director of the board’s Center for Financial Planning, in an interview with Financial Advisor.

“Even large firms that have large [diversity and inclusion] departments and initiatives are still struggling with increasing their metrics,” she said.

Mohrman-Gillis led the CFP Board’s Diversity Summit in Washington, D.C., last week...