Annual Diversitas Symposium promotes diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry

The sixth annual Diversitas Symposium, held by The University of Akron's College of Business (CoB), is open for registration. The free virtual event, which serves as a forum for wealth management veterans and emerging talent to discuss the opportunities for next generation advisors in the financial planning industry, will take place on Feb. 8, 2023, from noon to 3 p.m. The organization is dedicated to bringing greater age, gender and racial diversity to the financial planning and wealth management industry to secure a brighter future for the industry and the clients it serves.

“As the financial planning profession and the wealth management industry continue to move forward in many ways, an area of extreme importance is the movement to a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive profession and industry,” said Barry Mulholland, Ph.D., lead organizer of Diversitas and director of the CoB’s financial planning program. “While improvement is slow, programs like Diversitas need resources and industry involvement to grow their enrollments. We are incredibly grateful to our sponsors, speakers, and partner universities – without them, none of this would be possible.”

The Diversitas Symposium is a gathering of wealth management industry leaders, career influencers, and undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students to discuss the evolving financial services industry. The Symposium moved to a virtual format with the ongoing pandemic, and the event will feature virtual panel discussions and breakout sessions, enabling attendees to network and engage on the range of challenges and opportunities in the wealth management industry.

Speakers include some of the financial services industry's top thought leaders and advocates, including Head of Wealth & Advice Solutions at Charles Schwab, Neesha Hathi; Head of Wealth Management Practices and Talent Development at Charles Schwab, Stephanie King; First Vice President, Legal at Cambridge Investment Research, Andrea Shafer; Vice President at Nationwide Annuity Distribution Brokerage, Rich Porter; Managing Director and Senior Managing Counsel at BNY Mellon | Pershing, Tonia Bottoms; Director and Business Development Officer at BNY Mellon | Pershing, Becky Kariuki; Financial Planning Program Director and Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Craig Lemoine; SVP, Finance and Operations at Lenox Advisors, Marvine Laurent; and Hannah Moore, CEO of Amplified Planning and creator of The Externship. Diversitas’ keynote sponsor is Charles Schwab along with presenter sponsors: the Financial Alliance for Racial Equity (FARE), BNY Mellon | Pershing, Cambridge Investment Research, and Cetera Financial Group. Supporting sponsors include the Center for Financial Planning (CFP) Board, The Externship, Jumpstart, and the BLX Internship Program.

In addition to The University of Akron, partner universities include financial planning programs at leading programs around the U.S., including: Arizona State University; California Lutheran University; California State University Northridge; Kansas State University;  Minnesota State University, Mankato; The Ohio State University; Olivet College; Pennsylvania Western University;  Prairie View A&M University; Purdue University; Texas A&M University; Texas Tech University; UCLA Extension; University of Georgia; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; University of Maryland Global Campus; University of North Florida; University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; University of the Incarnate World; University of Wisconsin Green Bay; University of Wisconsin-Madison and Virginia Tech University, to name a few. View a list of all partner universities.

"The University of Akron College of Business strongly believes in the tenets of Diversitas. Educating students about career opportunities and welcoming diversity into the wealth management industry is important work," said Dean R.J. Nemer. "Representation matters, and we are happy to serve as the host for the 2023 Diversitas National Virtual Symposium. I extend my gratitude to the program organizers, the partner universities and all of this year's sponsors." 

For more information or to register for Diversitas, click here.  Professionals can also join the conversation on social media by following Diversitas (@Diversitasfp) on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and using the hashtag #diversitasFP.

About Diversitas

Diversitas is an organization run by The University of Akron’s College of Business focused on making the financial planning profession and the wealth management industry more inclusive through education, mentorship, and human connection. Diversitas runs local and nationwide events in an effort to attract underrepresented groups to the financial advisory profession and industry by mitigating the leading barriers to entry – a lack of education, understanding and awareness.

For more information on Diversitas, visit: diversitasfp.org.

Media contact: Cristine Boyd, 330-972-6476 or cboyd@uakron.edu