Improving the pipeline for young Black financial professionals: A Q&A with NFP Life Solutions’ Mike James

Despite efforts from many firms to increase the racial diversity in wealth management, progress remains slow.

Fewer than 1.7% of CFP holders are Black, according to CFP Board data. And out of an estimated 514,000 financial advisors in 2020 tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 8% were Black.

Part of the problem is an under-developed pipeline to expose Black students to the financial industry, get them interested in planning and guide them into a career track, says Mike James, executive vice president and head of individual solutions at NFP Life Solutions.

To help advance diversity in the industry, James joined The American College of Financial Services, a nonprofit educational institution, and helped with the 2020 Conference of African American Financial Professionals.

Financial Planning spoke with James about the conference and how the financial services industry can improve diversity and help young Black professional find their way to a career in wealth management and planning.

This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.

Financial Planning: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your firm and your role there?

Mike James: I am executive vice president and head of our individual solutions business segment. I’ve been with the company 15 years. NFP is an insurance brokerage and consulting company. We are approaching 6,000 employees worldwide, we have a market value approaching $7 billion dollars and we operate the company in three business segments: corporate benefits, property and casualty, which is our fastest growing, and individual solutions, which I run and houses our wealth management and life insurance.

Mike James, executive vice president and head of individual solutions at NFP Life Solutions

FP: You’re also on the Board of Trustees of the American College of Financial Services?

MJ: I am. The college is higher education for financial services. We have a broad array of certifications from [Chartered Life Underwriter] to [Certified Financial Planner] and points in between. I’ve been affiliated with the college now for the better part of five years. I started on its foundation board and migrated onto its board of trustees as of June 2020.

FP: What is your role on the board?

MJ: On the audit committee, I look over our financials in great detail. I am also involved with an initiative through the college called the Conference for African American Financial Professionals. I have been the master of ceremonies and work a lot with that particular branch of the college in helping to attract active African American professionals in our business.

FP: Can you tell me a little bit more about the CAAFP?

MJ: The conference started 15 years ago. A few good individuals came together and felt they needed a forum for African American financial professionals to gather, objectively share ideas, challenge one another and engage in a dialogue about things that face them as entrepreneurs and professionals. And because the common thread had been the college, the conference became a fixture and has grown in excess of 1,300 participants in [last August’s] virtual conference.

It’s a powerful conference because it gives us a chance to talk about macro-issues facing financial professionals. It gives us a chance to share creative ideas, inspire one another and anchor the importance of the college and the educational and professional development of African American financial professionals. Especially in a year like we had in 2020, when racial and social issues were at the forefront of everyone's mind, especially in the African American community.

FP: Can you share some of the highlights from last year’s conference?

MJ: I actually flew to Philadelphia and MC’d from the college broadcasting studio, and to be with everyone from the engineers to the camera production team to the leaders from the college, you could feel a sense of energy and excitement about pulling off an important event in a year like we had. Hitting the issues head-on that are falling on the Black community and financial professionals at large. It was just an incredible 24-hour period for me.

FP: In your view, why aren’t there more Black professionals in the financial services industry?

MJ: I think there is a perception that the profession is pretty white, but I think it stems from having the right pipeline to get them in. There was a time when there weren’t a lot of African American or Black people in leadership positions, running an agency or firm in the executive suite.

But there are more today than there were when I came into the industry 28 years ago. It starts with training and educating leaders. I think this is a pivotal role that the college can play. And then I think it becomes a natural transition for young, excited, talented and educated individuals to look at our profession because they can see themselves in it. It’s a journey and I think we’re going to be much better as a profession for it.

FP: Some Black advisors say they often don’t get the support they need to thrive in this profession. Why is that and what could that support look like?

MJ: I don’t disagree that that happens, but that’s not my story. I had a very deliberate program that was housed at John Hancock, and still housed there today, that reached into the Boston metropolitan community looking for diverse talent from the city that had moved onto higher education. They saw value in, one, retaining those individuals in the city post-graduation and, two, that talent is qualified to be a part of formal internship programs that give you training, a tour of duty and exposure to different departments, and professional tracks that exist at the company. They partnered us up with mentors to understand the true purpose of the company and how it operated. I spent three summers and lots of winter breaks inside of John Hancock and across the company learning about it. Because of that deliberateness, I was retained and spent almost half of my career with one company.

When a company gets deliberate about it, and when they really make it a part of their moral fiber and character, I think they reap the benefits.

FP: What changes would you like to see that could make a material difference in the diversity of the financial services industry?

MJ: I think 2020 hit the reset button on a lot of things. And I think corporate America is revisiting strategies and ideas and entertaining the idea that they are good not just for the company, but for their communities. That same deliberateness that John Hancock had early on in my own career is now at NFP. It’s building a framework to find talent and promote women and diverse individuals.

This work was being done long before, but I think because of all the social and racial issues that have come to the forefront, it has caused every institution and segment of the population to look in the mirror and say, “What are we doing?” And I think companies are doing that too.

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Diversity and equality Recruiting Professional development
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