The CFP Board’s Center for Financial Planning announced on Thursday that it is creating a new Diversity Advisor Group to provide guidance as it attempts to diversify an industry often criticized as being too white, male and old.

The group will review findings of a study sponsored to help identify barriers to racial and ethnic diversity in the financial planner workforce, then provide input for a paper recommending solutions for increasing diversity among financial planners.

“With the growing consumer demand for financial advice, it is imperative that we work toward increasing the ranks of financial planning professionals who can meet the needs of an increasingly diverse American public,” said Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis, executive director of the Center for Financial Planning, in released comments. “The Diversity Advisory Group is comprised of some of the brightest and most knowledgeable minds in the areas of diversity and inclusion, academic research and financial planning, and will guide the center in forming actionable, research-based solutions.”

The CFP Board estimates there are roughly 1,200 African-American and 1,500 Latino or Hispanic CFP professionals, representing less than 3.5 percent of all CFP certificate holders.

The Center for Financial Planning was launched in 2015 with an academic bent, in part as a venue for research on planning and advice, but also with a mandate to improve diversity among CFP professionals. Since that time, the center has also become a focal point for the CFP Board’s diversity initiatives, including “I Am a CFP Pro,” an advertising campaign targeted toward aspiring young, diverse advisors; WIN-to-WIN, a mentoring program for woman advisors; and the Eleanor Blayney Gender Diversity fund, which helps support the CFP Board’s Women’s Initiative.

Members of the Diversity Advisory Group include:

  • Cy Richardson, senior vice president, National Urban League (Chair);
  • Louis Barajas, CFP, financial advisor and author with Louis Barajas Inc.;
  • Danielle Beyer, interim chief executive officer, New America Alliance;
  • Lazetta Rainey Braxton, CFP, past president, Association of African American Financial Advisors; founder, Financial Fountains;
  • Catalina Camoscio, vice president of recruiting and development, Prudential Insurance Company of America;
  • Marguerita Cheng, CFP, chief executive officer, Blue Ocean Global Wealth;
  • Rianka Dorsainvil, CFP, founder and president, Your Greatest Contribution; “I Am a CFP Pro” campaign spokeswoman;
  • Roberto Fernandez, professor of organization studies, MIT Sloan School of Management;
  • Jamie-Clare Flaherty, director, strategic initiatives, the Obama Foundation;
  • Kate Healy, managing director, Generation Next, TD Ameritrade Institutional;
  • Gerald Loftin, CFP, president, Association of African American Financial Advisors
  • Phuong Luong, CFP, financial planner, Just Wealth LLC;
  • Jorge Quezada, director of leadership development, diversity and inclusion, Northwestern Mutual;
  • Gary Rozier, senior vice president of institutional marketing and client services, Ariel Investments;
  • Leslie Tabor, managing director, Schwab Advisor Services Business Consulting & Education, Charles Schwab;
  • Kara Underwood, head of wealth management, diversity and inclusion, Morgan Stanley; and
  • Jocelyn Wright, CFP, State Farm Chair in Women and Financial Services and assistant professor of women’s studies at the American College of Financial Services.