The first graduates of the College for Financial Planning's Diversity Scholarship program have now entered the advisory field as certified financial planners (CFPs).
In January 2021, the Kaplan Company’s College for Financial Planning in Centennial, Colo., announced the first 20 recipients of its nearly $500,000 Diversity Scholarship Program, which offers up to 60 scholarships annually to underrepresented individuals pursuing the education requirement necessary to earn the CFP certification. Each scholarship, valued at about $7,600, covers the full cost of a one-year program for CFP certification education, consisting of required education and CFP exam preparation.
Of the first 20 scholarship recipients to began the online educational program in March 2021, 14 completed it one year later, according to Gregory Ten Eyck, director of communications for Kaplan North America.
Out of those 14, eight sat for the CFP exam in March 2022 and six of them passed it, Ten Eyck said.
Four of those six discussed the impact it has had on their lives and their careers with Financial Advisor magazine.
Andy Leung is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics, Leung served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. He received an M.B.A. degree in finance from the University of Connecticut. He currently resides in Wilton, Conn., with his wife and three children.
A financial services industry veteran with more than 20 years experience serving institutional clients for UBS Investment Bank, Leung is a private wealth advisor with Procyon Partners LLC in Shelton, Conn., which he joined in 2018. Leung, a former independent business owner and operator, said he has an understanding of the financial needs and challenges of franchising and small business ownership–an asset in his new line of work as a private wealth advisor.
“Working directly with people and developing real personal relationships is very rewarding,” he said in an email. “Fiduciary responsibility should be something that all clients should expect of their advisors."
Leung said he had certain career goals in mind when he set out to gain the CFP certification.
“My goal was to serve two groups that I represent, and I feel are underserved: Chinese and U.S. military personnel," he said.
The accelerated learning offered by the scholarship program was a key benefit, he said.
"Oftentimes, people take 18 months to three years to study for and sit for the exam," he said. "The Diversity Scholarship Program was condensed and accelerated so that participants could complete the study material and sit for the final exam in 12 months.”
Leung said his prior experience in the financial services industry enabled him to smoothly transition to his new career, but not without encountering some bumps in the road along the way.
“Balancing building a practice and studying for the CFP definitely challenges one’s time management skills,” he said in the email. “Having a supportive work environment and family life is critical to one’s success in the program.”
Javier Lugo has worked for Prudential Advisors in White Plains, N.Y., where he was born and raised and where he now lives with his wife Maura and their son and daughter. He graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor's degree in economics.
Lugo said he is on a mission to provide his clients with the tools and education they need to navigate life’s financial challenges.
“At a young age, I was always very conscious of saving my allowance and money I earned from part-time jobs,” he said. “My father was a family physician and helped people directly by providing healthcare. I liked that, as well as the idea of being in business for myself, but couldn’t stand the sight of blood. My mindset was on helping people like my father did, but by focusing on their financial health, rather than their physical health.”
Lugo said he graduated from Fordham University in the spring of 2008 and began working with Prudential that September. The year was a challenging one for him, Lugo said.
“The financial market crash of 2008 had just begun,” he said in an email. “Aside from the bad economy, there was a very large personal learning curve when it came to putting into real world practice what I had learned about the financial services industry in college.”
He decided in 2018, at the age of 30, that pursuing the CFP certification would be an important step in his career.
“I had already completed my CLU, ChFC, passed my Series 65 and Series 7 exams,” he said. “After speaking with my wife, who was four months pregnant at the time with our second child, we agreed that I should apply for the scholarship and dedicate the entire year to the program, despite knowing that it would be a grueling process.”
Lugo said that having his family’s support was a key reason he decided to apply for the scholarship and the work it entailed.
“If you’re married like me, then you’re going to need to make sure the entire family is on board with you investing the required time it takes to study, prepare, and complete the entire Kaplan course, as well as sit for and pass the CFP exam,” he said. “Managing your time is the biggest challenge because your business still demands your time, and your clients still need to be serviced.”