In a new episode of the Financial Planning Podcast, an executive leading Merrill Lynch’s strategic growth explained how inclusion fits into the wirehouse’s expansion plans.
Jennifer Auerbach-Rodriguez, Merrill Lynch’s head of acquisition, strategic growth and retention, began her career with the firm right after college as an intern in 2007. Following her prior roles in options trading, product development team member and impact investing, Auerbach-Rodriguez now manages Merrill Lynch’s client addition and retention, along with its outreach to historically excluded groups such as Black Americans, Latinos and other minorities.
In the podcast, FP Chief Correspondent Tobias Salinger asked Auerbach-Rodriguez the following questions on Merrill Lynch’s approach and how it and other wealth managers are trying to set a new course with clients often locked out of the financial system in the past.
1. Merrill Lynch is one of the largest wealth managers in the country. How are you helping it grow even bigger?
2. How long have you served on the Merrill Lynch Diversity & Inclusion Council and what are some of its most significant accomplishments?
3. Merrill Lynch became one of the first, if not the first, large wealth manager
4. Financial services firms have terrible legacies when it comes to ensuring access among historically excluded groups like Black Americans, Hispanics and other minorities. In the present time, financial advisors and clients have alleged that there are still a lot of discriminatory practices in the industry. How are Merrill Lynch and other firms trying to confront the problem and how do you measure success?
Listen and subscribe to the FP Podcast on