A leading provider of wealthtech solutions and an internship program that supports aspiring Black and Latinx advisors are joining forces to give the next generation of underrepresented planners access to pro tools at no cost.
This week, participants in the
eMoney has been partnering with universities across the country since 2015 to provide students pursuing financial planning degrees access to its platform. Students get hands-on experience with software that veteran advisors use daily to run and grow their businesses.
According to the company, more than 98,000 financial professionals across firms of all sizes use the eMoney platform to serve more than 5 million households throughout the U.S.
Because accessing this kind of software is typically an expensive prospect for an upcoming or still-learning advisor, BLX Internship Program co-founder Luis Rosa told Financial Planning that the partnership has the potential to change the complexion of wealth in this country by helping more people enter the industry.
“It definitely helps them stand out because normally, a lot of the minorities that come through our industry usually come through some form of sales channel. Whether it's selling insurance or annuities, this gives them that direct access to financial planning and how advisors work with software within their practice,” Rosa said. “And being able to have that certification gives them a leg up because in reality, one of the complaints that we hear from firms usually is that they don't know how to access the pipeline of diverse talent, even if they want to be more diverse.
“This is a complaint that we hear all the time … but now we're creating a pipeline so we're taking that excuse off the table and we're providing qualified candidates that have access to all of these tools.”
In conjunction with the partnership, eMoney will host a webinar featuring former BLX intern and current eMoney Manager of Advisor Sales Kristina Gudelis about the eMoney Fundamentals Certification and careers on June 9.
"We're proud to partner with BLX and support efforts to attract and develop diverse talent in the industry," Celeste Revelli, director of financial planning and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Leadership Council member at eMoney, said in a statement. "DEI is one of our core values, and we hope the next generation of financial planners can rely on our technology to serve an expanding and evolving demographic of Americans seeking financial advice."
Born in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and in the spirit of the Black Lives Matter movement, the BLatinX Internship Program was
Known as BLX for short, the organization's goal is to provide an opportunity for underrepresented financial planners to secure internships at fee-only financial planning firms. The organization notes that just 1.8% of CFPs are Black and 2.7% are Hispanic, according to the
For Rosa, gaining access and understanding of the kind of technology that eMoney provides is crucial for students. He said because many colleges still lack financial planning programs, Black and Latinx students who may be perfectly suited for the profession are never exposed to it and finish school without direction.
Rosa adds that in addition to bringing in talented students, firms have provided great feedback in regards to career changers who become planners after working in another industry. Through partnerships like these, more people historically shut out of the profession can see if becoming a planner is what’s best for them.
“There are so many people that have never been in financial planning, but they have a set of transferable skills. And some firm owners might be hesitant to hire them since they may not know about financial planning,” Rosa said. “But now we can say this person went through this internship program. They have the eMoney certification. They have made an effort. You can always teach the technology to somebody, but I feel like those transferable skills can sometimes be overlooked. So when we couple it with some technical skills too, we kind of open that door a little further.”
