The country and the financial industry are in perfect positions to foster the rise of minority financial planners, according to John Eing, financial advisor and partner at Abacus Wealth Partners, a financial firm with offices in California and Philadelphia.

“This is the right time in our history to make progress in adding” women and minorities to the ranks of financial advisors, Eing, an Asian-American, said today during the opening day of the CFP Board’s Diversity Summit.

He added that the country is changing and the RIA industry is going through a generational change from older advisors to a younger cohort. By 2050, the minority populations will outnumber the white population in the United States. In addition, Eing noted, the transfer of wealth from baby boomers to younger generations is a huge opportunity for advisors.

“For those under 18, the minority is already the majority,” said Rodolfo Rodriguez, vice president of diversity and inclusion at Ameriprise Financial, who moderated the discussion.

The transformation to more minority and women advisors can be accomplished, in part, by showing candidates “what a fantastic living a person can make in this industry, not just financially, but emotionally,” Eing said.

There is an opportunity and a need to understand the differences within the minority communities, he added.

Practical steps can be employed to engage clients from diverse communities, said Matt Aaron, founder of Aaron Financial, a Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company based in Washington, D.C.

“Sometimes there are challenges to connecting with people of color,” noted Aaron, who is Black. “As advisors, we need to slow down our approach. It is not necessarily how fast we can get a person to be a client but how we can help them understand the finances they might not have heard at the dinner table as children.”

From the recruits’ perspective, “we can show them there are many different career paths they can follow within the industry. We can let them choose their opportunity” within the finances, Aaron said.

Raising awareness of the availability of financial planning as a career among students is key, said Lauren Taylor, vice president of advisor diversity and inclusion at LPL Financial.

“We need to show financial planning is a viable career option,” she said. “It is also imperative for financial advisors who are part of minority communities to connect with their peers to exchange ideas on best practices on how they are helping clients and on how they are succeeding in their own practices.”

Taylor also had a word of advice for new advisors. “If you are one of those young talents, you should seek out a mentor. You shouldn’t go it alone.”