Two financial-advice-centered organizations are teaming up to help diversify the workforce of certified financial planners.
The College for Financial Planning (CFFP) in Centennial, Colo, and the Association of African American Financial Advisors (AAAA) in Capitol Heights, Md., will jointly offer a scholarship for AAAA members pursuing the CFP certification.
CFFP President John Sears said that both organizations share the goal of diversifying the population of CFP professionals.
“The scholarship program is very consciously aligned with the college’s mission,” Sears said. “People should be able to trust their financial futures to a knowledgeable and ethical community of professionals."
The scholarship will be awarded annually to a AAAA members and will cover all costs associated with enrollment in the CFFP’s CFP Certification Professional Education Program. Applicants already enrolled in the program will not be eligible for the scholarship.
The organizations asked that candidates “demonstrate a strong dedication to bettering the financial planning industry as a whole.”
The CFFP’s program costs students $4950, says Sears, and i includes six courses—five at the masters level and a capstone course.
The financial industry continues to lag the workforce as a whole in diversity. Just 8 percent of brokers and financial advisors were minorities, according to a 2011 report on diversity within 18 large financial firms from SIFMA. Data from the 2010 U.S. Census also places the proportion of minorities within the greater financial industry at 8 percent.
AAAA President James Brewer said the financial burden of pursuing an education and then achieving professional credentials could present an obstacle for some minorities.
“Unfortunately, prospective African American CFP certificants may be deterred from pursuing certification because they could already be saddled with student loan debt,” Brewer said in a prepared statement. “This scholarship removes that barrier.”