CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Expands “I am a CFP® Pro” Campaign to Attract Young, Diverse Talent into Financial Planning

Educational campaign includes new day-in-the-life video and promotional
toolkits for academic institutions and CFP® professionals

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning today expanded its “I am a CFP® Pro” educational campaign to attract young people, particularly women and people of color, to consider a career in financial planning with a new, day-in-the-life video featuring CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional Matt Aaron, Jr.

Based in Washington, D.C., Aaron is the founder of Aaron Financial, a financial planning practice with Northwestern Mutual. He helped unveil his campaign video to students, faculty and leaders of financial planning education programs across the U.S. at CFP Board’s Registered Programs Conference, being held through Friday in Arlington, Va.

“I am a CFP® Pro” was launched in 2017 to raise awareness of careers in financial planning among young people, specifically women and people of color. At www.CFPPro.org, people can find video stories from Aaron and the other spokespeople, and resources to encourage individuals to pursue a career as a CFP® professional. 

“Matt is an example of how he’s used his training, knowledge and CFP® certification to help others while also building a successful career for himself,” said Kevin R. Keller, CAE, CFP Board’s Chief Executive Officer. “He is a true embodiment of the ‘I am a CFP® Pro’ campaign.”

“From his beginnings as an intern to launching his own practice at Northwestern Mutual, Matt has been a role model for his colleagues, as well as those who are following in his footsteps,” said Paul Shane, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition & Onboarding of Northwestern Mutual, a Founding Sponsor of the Center for Financial Planning. “We are grateful to have him be part of an important Center campaign that seeks to make an indelible impact on the overall diversity of the financial planning profession.” 

"Being a CFP® Professional shows my commitment to being a knowledgeable and trusted advisor. Clients, the community—everybody recognizes that mark, and that they can expect nothing but excellence."

— Matt Aaron, Jr.

The campaign also includes customizable toolkits that academic institutions and current CFP® professionals can use to promote financial planning careers to students and young people in their communities.  The toolkits contain a variety of promotional materials that can be co-branded with the academic institution and that feature the campaign spokespeople.  Also included is a customizable presentation that CFP® professionals can use to promote the profession by telling their story, and highlighting the Center’s career resources available to young people, including scholarships, mentorships, internships and the online Career Center.  

Social media toolkits for CFP® professionals and Registered Programs are newly available on CFPPro.org. Individuals or schools can join the conversation on social media and share their stories by following the campaign on Instagram (@cfpboard_center) and Twitter (@CFPBoard) using the hashtag #CFPPro.

Since the launch of ‘I am a CFP® Pro,’ schools around the country have taken advantage of the campaign by using the promotional materials and organizing campus events with campaign spokespeople to attract new students into financial planning. CFP® professionals have also been engaged, sharing hundreds of stories on social media.

“The campaign has successfully highlighted how CFP® professionals can make a difference in peoples’ lives, enjoy work-life balance and grow their careers,” said CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Executive Director Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis. “Yet, there is still a critical need to raise greater awareness of this profession, particularly among young women and people of color, to better position financial planners to serve our growingly diverse public. We look forward to engaging with more schools and CFP® professionals through ‘I am a CFP® Pro’, and are thrilled to have Matt join our exceptional cadre of campaign spokespeople to share his own journey and inspire young people to consider a career in financial planning.” 

There are currently more CFP® professionals over the age of 70 than under the age of 30, while only 3.5 percent of the 83,000 CFP® professionals in the U.S. are black or Latino. In October 2018, the Center released a thought leadership paper, “Racial Diversity in the Financial Planning Profession: Where We Are and Where We Must Go,” in which it pledged to expand the “I am a CFP® Pro” campaign. Among the paper’s other recommendations for attracting more black and Latino CFP® professionals, CFP Board Registered Programs were encouraged to raise awareness of financial planning careers and to offer support to those on their way to the profession.

In addition to the support from Founding Sponsor Northwestern Mutual, the Center is thankful to Lead Founding Sponsor TD Ameritrade Institutional, Founding Sponsors Envestnet and Charles Schwab Foundation, in partnership with Schwab Advisor Services, and its other corporate and individual sponsors for their generous support of the “I am a CFP® Pro” campaign and other Center initiatives.