Merrill to Be Lead Sponsor of CFP Board Diversity Efforts for Next Four Years

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning (“Center”) announced today that Merrill Wealth Management has pledged $1.25 million to support the Center’s various initiatives, including the annual Diversity Summit and 16 scholarship awards over the next four years for diverse individuals pursuing CFP® certification.

Merrill has been a longtime supporter of the Diversity Summit, and with this gift becomes the newest Founding Sponsor of the Center. This gift will allow the Center to further grow its event series. For example, this year, university students from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing CFP® certification will be granted stipends to attend the Diversity Summit in Washington, D.C.

“The Center was founded to address systemic challenges within the profession and build a more inclusive talent pipeline, welcoming people with diverse backgrounds as well as attracting younger financial planners,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “Merrill’s support helps to ensure that Center initiatives continue to foster progress and positively impact CFP® professionals and those considering CFP® certification.”

The Center relies on corporate contributors such as Merrill, as well as individual donors, to support meaningful initiatives to achieve its mission: to create a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession.

“We partnered with the Center many years ago to advance our shared goal of increasing diversity within the wealth management profession,” said Andy Sieg, President, Merrill Wealth Management. “Merrill financial advisors are on the front lines in our efforts to improve the financial lives of our clients. We are pleased to help the CFP Board support a new generation of CFP® professionals that better reflect the diverse communities we serve.”

This additional support from Merrill directly addresses two of the Center’s main strategies — Talent Pipeline and Diversity and Inclusion. Since its founding in 2015, the Center’s initiatives have made a measurable impact:

• The number of CFP® professionals under 30 increased by 83% and, as reported in January, the number of female CFP® professionals increased to an all-time high of 21,504 (23.4% of all CFP® professionals).
• Further, at the end of 2021 the number of Black and Hispanic CFP® professionals had increased over 2020 by 13.8% — nearly four times the growth rate of all CFP® professionals.