Kamila Elliott said the full impact of her latest career achievement didn’t hit her until Monday of this week.
That was when a friend of hers made a public Facebook post expressing excitement that Elliott is the first Black woman to lead the CFP Board, a position for which her peers tapped her
What followed that post was a deluge of support and encouragement from other Black and brown Facebook users — many of them individuals Elliott did not know and had never spoken to.
She said the response was both overwhelming and reaffirming.
“There were so many messages about how inspiring this is and how much this means, particularly in financial services. It’s an industry that many people of color were prohibited from really engaging in and seen as very exclusive,” Elliott said Thursday morning. “You know how you kind of go through the motions and the process? Well, when someone stops you and says how inspiring it is, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is a heavy weight.’
“This is something that I've always taken seriously. But now there are so many people looking and wanting change. And I'm happy the CFP Board has been a leader in driving this change.”
More diversity and better communication
History aside, Elliott says she is eager to get to work and has a long list of goals for the
But service remains at the core of her mission. It is what motivated her to get into the business, and it is what drives her to keep pushing for a better industry for all advisors and their clients.
“I'm elated. I'm nervous. And one of the things I tell people is I'm not Kamila Elliott as chair. I'm here representing the public and I'm representing individuals who want to achieve financial success,” Elliott said. “I'm really here for you. And I'm your advocate for all of 2022.”
Elliott, president and partner of
The bulk of her professional career was spent at Vanguard where she worked with ultra-high net worth individuals, endowments, major universities, charitable organizations and foundations. Elliott also spent two years at Dimensional Fund Advisors.
Outside of her responsibilities as an advisor, Elliott serves on the Investment Committee for Women Against Abuse; as a member of the Association of African American Financial Advisors; and as a volunteer with the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
“Kamila is a champion for a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession,” CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller said in a statement. “She also believes strongly in showcasing how competent and ethical financial planning by CFP professionals benefits clients’ well-being. Her continued leadership and counsel will provide great value to CFP Board as we work toward a day when every American has access to financial planning.”
From part-time teller to board chairwoman
Elliott said her mission to make sure everyone has access to sound financial advice began when she was an undergrad at Penn State University. She was working part-time as a teller at a PNC Bank branch and noticed an older woman who came into the branch on a regular basis.
“This woman was on social security and she would come in at the first of the month. She would get a lump sum of like $500 to pay for her rent, and towards the end of the month, she would come in every day to take out five dollars. Two dollars. Three dollars,” Elliott recalls.
As a curious student who loved to talk to people, Elliott asked the woman why she came in each day to withdraw such small amounts from her account. The woman explained that she was a retiree who worked as a maid cleaning homes and hotels.
Elliott inquired about the woman’s savings or investments, and the woman responded that the money she brought into the PNC branch at the beginning of each month was all she had. She pulled out small amounts to keep from losing the little money she had left after a lifetime of hard work.
No matter how high she ascends in the industry, Elliott said she often thinks of that woman and how access to proper financial guidance could have changed her life. She maintains that image to ensure she is always putting people first.
“This is a woman who worked over 40 years, and at the end she was taking out three dollars to eat for the day,” Elliott said. “In my mind I said I never wanted to be like that, and how can I help people not be like that? People work really hard, and I think it's important that we think about retiring with dignity and living with dignity.”
Big plans for 2022
With improving industry diversity as a primary goal for 2022, Elliott is focused on CFP Board’s future financial planner program. She wants to increase awareness of what it means to be a financial professional, and the positive impact it can have on underserved communities.
She says that starts with more active engagement of the next generation.
“I didn't know what this profession was when I was in college, so one of our goals is to go into high schools and colleges,” Elliott said. “I live in Atlanta, and one college that we're looking to support is
Another focus for Elliott is research. She holds all of her clients accountable for reaching their financial goals with discipline, education and support. But there is a lack of research that shows how working with a financial planner can improve outcomes.
“So how do we share resources with the public —particularly members of the public that have been underrepresented in financial services — to say here is why you should hire a financial advisor or financial planner? This is how it helps you,” Elliott said. “Many of my clients are first-time users of financial planning and there is some level of initial skepticism.”
There is a belief among many that they can achieve all of their financial goals on their own, a mindset that grows stronger with the rise of social media, Elliott said. She wants to let people know that accountability leads to a higher probability of success, and support that messaging with sound research.
Elliott also sees 2022 as an important year for the Center for Financial Planning. The center gives Elliott access to a database of individuals eager to break into the profession, and she wants to help these people find homes at major firms looking to build more inclusive staff through development.
“Being a financial planner is very complex. I feel like I'm a counselor and a therapist. There's a lot of technical knowledge you have to have about investments about taxes, so we need more education in universities and we need to have programs that are supporting the next pipeline of talent,” Elliott said.
Embracing change
CFP Board’s new leader believes the industry is at an inflection point. Technology and regulation is raising the bar for advice, and a lot of firms are reevaluating their business models.
Elliott said there has been a change in focus from being a broker and buying and selling securities, to really working with their clients forging real relationships.
As CFP Board chair, Elliott wants to encourage advisors to embrace change and use it to elevate.
“I really feel that our profession has to understand the way things were done in the past 20 years isn't what's going to make you successful in the next 20 years,” she said.
Still, doing right by people is what powers Elliott. She believes that by sharing stories of success beyond ballooning AUM figures, the industry will continue to change for the better.
“We're not all about making the rich richer. It’s not just, ‘We got a 25% return on your portfolio. That's great. But I think that it’s more, ‘We helped someone purchase their first home. We helped someone pay for their child to go to Penn State University and it's all paid for because they had a 529 plan. We helped someone retire at 65,” she said. “It's changing how we talk about what financial success looks like, moving it away from numerical statements and more into helping people reach their personal goals.”
