The Financial Alliance for Racial Equity’s (FARE) progress in executing its mission to grow the number of diverse professionals entering and advancing in the financial services industry has led it to win the Diversity Champion Award at the InvestmentNews Excellence in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Awards event for the second consecutive year. The award honors firms and organizations that seek to raise awareness, educate and inspire the financial advice profession to embrace diversity.
FARE was formed in late 2020 when a group of nine leading financial services organizations, associations and six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) joined together to initiate change by removing barriers that prevent diverse students and financial professionals from either entering the industry or advancing in their careers.
FARE’s efforts include initiatives that focus on engaging directly with Black students to create awareness of the opportunities that exist and to connect them with FARE member firm internships and career opportunities. Recently, FARE launched scholarships created to ease the financial burden diverse students and professionals experience when seeking a CFP® certification. FARE also has a partnership with HBCU Connect and hosted the first in a series of educational panel discussions with financial executives to provide career advice and networking opportunities for diverse students and young professionals. After the first session, more than 40 diverse students applied for open roles at FARE member firms.
“It’s wonderful to see FARE honored at this prestigious event that has the shared goal of driving diversity in the financial services industry and better addressing the needs of underserved communities,” said Kristi Rodriquez, senior vice president of the Nationwide Retirement Institute. “I want to thank every FARE coalition member for their strong commitment to our goal and their continued support of important initiatives that create a direct pipeline of diverse talent.”
Congratulations to the entire FARE coalition, which includes: Morgan Stanley, M Financial Group, NFP, Employee Benefit Research Institute, Huntington Bank, Franklin Templeton, Miami Life, Advisor Group, DCIIA, the American College of Financial Services, Capital Group, American Retirement Association, CFP Board and Nationwide, in partnership with six HBCUs, including Hampton University, Howard University, Lincoln University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University and Winston-Salem State University.
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