Diversitas: Expanding Diversity in Wealth Management Symposium – 2023

DIVERSITAS 2023 SYMPOSIUM:

DIVERSITAS: EXPANDING DIVERSITY IN WEALTH MANAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM - 2023

WHAT: A symposium to examine how to attract more women and people of diverse backgrounds into the financial planning profession and wealth management industry.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 8, 2023 – 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. (EST)

WHERE: Online, Registration required

TIME/TOPIC

12:00 – 12:05 p.m. ET

Welcome and Introduction

12:05 – 12:50 p.m. ET

Panel: Busting the Myths: What is Keeping Women & people of color out of the wealth management industry

12:50 – 1:00 p.m. ET

Break

1:45 – 1:55 p.m. ET

Break

1:55 – 2:05 p.m. ET

Presentation: DEI in Wealth Management – Exciting Initiatives Helping to Increase Diversity in the Early Talent Pipeline (testimonials)

2:05 – 2:50 p.m. ET

Keynote: Navigating a Career in Wealth Management

2:50 – 2:55 p.m. ET

Closing Remarks

2:55 – 3:30 p.m. ET

DEI Connection session: Connect with Career Shakers and Movers and learn about Engagement Opportunities in Wealth Management.

SPEAKERS

Andrea Shafer

First Vice President, Legal
Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.

Andrea Shafer joined Cambridge in 2007 and has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Shafer is First Vice President of Legal at Cambridge and also leads the firm’s Advocacy & Supervision Department. In her role, she advocates for Cambridge financial professionals and is highly involved in the firm’s compliance and regulatory matters. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and international relations from Wartburg College and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law. She holds the FINRA Series 7, 24, and 66 licenses, and is a sponsor of Cambridge’s DE&I Committee.

Becky Kariuki

Director
BNY Mellon | Pershing

Becky Kariuki is a Director and Business Development Officer at BNY Mellon | Pershing in the Wealth Solutions team, which serves wealth-oriented broker-dealers, registered investment advisors (RIAs) and trust companies to provide clearing, custody, and technology solutions.

Becky began her career in Electronic Trading and Technology at UBS, where she held cross-functional roles spanning technology operations, product, and client relationship management, in the U.S. and in the Asia Pacific region. Becky also held similar positions with Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse, where she managed institutional client coverage across the suite of Low Latency execution products and services.

She is a recipient of multiple industry awards, most recently the Women’s Bond Club rising star award, an organization whose mission is to advance women in financial services and shape the future of the industry.

Becky is also an alumni of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), a non-profit organization that provides educational and career opportunities to underserved and underrepresented communities.

Dr. Craig Lemoine, CFP®

Dr. Craig Lemoine, CFP® currently serves as the Financial Planning Program Director at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and the Director of Consumer Investment Research for Carson Wealth. Prior to his work in Illinois, Dr. Lemoine was the CFP® Program Champion at The American College. Craig is the executive director for the Academy of Home Equity and Financial Planning, where he studies how home equity can better assist in retirement puzzles. Craig serves on the Board of Directors at Country Companies and is on the advisory board of ToleRisk and The Finserv Foundation, Craig also serves on the academic advisory councils of the Financial Planning Standards Board and Income Lab.

Craig is currently interested in solving interesting problems in the financial planning community. He is particularly engaged in helping young professionals find and succeed down their chosen career paths. Craig lives in Champaign, Illinois with three awesome kids. His hobbies include running, gardening and the “good” sci-fi.

Dr. Emily Koochel

Dr. Emily Koochel is an experienced financial professional, academic, and researcher. She currently serves as a leader for eMoney Advisor’s Financial Education and Wellness research and initiatives in her role as the Senior Financial Planning Education Consultant. Prior to her career in FinTech she served as an Assistant Professor teaching courses in personal financial planning at Michigan State University and working in the financial planning field. Dr. Koochel’s PhD in Applied Family Science and Master’s in Financial Planning provides a multidisciplinary lens to inform her work where she focuses on the impact of financial behaviors and financial backgrounds. She serves as a subject matter expert in the field, reviewing and authoring peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and contributing to public scholarship. Most notably, she served as a co-author for the CFP Board’s book – The Psychology of Financial Planning – and was awarded 2020 Outstanding Research Journal Article of the Year by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. She holds the Certified Financial Therapist – I designation, is an Accredited Financial Counselor, and Behavioral Financial Advisor.

Fanci A. Worthington, CFP® AIF®

Vice President and Branch Manager
Cetera Investors

Fanci’s introduction to the financial field was in 3rd grade, cleaning ashtrays for her parent’s firm. Officially entering the profession in 1999, she has extensive knowledge working with business owners, employer sponsored retirement plans, and executives. She currently serves as a Branch Manager and financial planner for Cetera Investors in Charlotte, NC. She holds Certified Financial Planner™ and  Accredited Investment Fiduciary™ designations, serves as a CFP® mentor, and is the co-chair for Cetera’s advisor-led Diversity and Inclusion Council. When she isn’t at work, you can find her working with her beef cows, where she is literally, “out standing in her field”.

Marvine Laurent

SVP, Finance and Operations
Lenox Advisors, an NFP company

Marvine Laurent joined Lenox Advisors as a Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations in 2022. Marvine has more than 20 years of extensive financial and operational experience and a proven record of success with fast-paced and regulated environments; business strategy and execution; problem-solving; communication; team building; and leadership.

Marvine is responsible for Finance, Accounting and Business Intelligence. As a senior member of the executive team, Marvine ensures the health and financial well-being of the firm. She provides financial planning, insights, and analytics in support of firm-wide and departmental initiatives while serving as the steward of the budget and overall expenditures to ensure financial targets are achieved.

Marvine is a CPA and holds an MBA in Business Administration from Columbia University and a BA in Accounting from Florida International University.

Neesha Hathi

Managing Director, Head of Wealth & Advice Solutions

Neesha Hathi leads Charles Schwab’s Wealth & Advice Solutions organization, which offers industry-leading wealth management services to both retail and registered investment advisor (RIA) clients. In her role, Hathi is responsible for defining and executing on Schwab’s wealth management strategy, while delivering industry-leading experiences, through solutions like Schwab Wealth Advisory (SWA) and Schwab Advisor Network (SAN), along with a broad range of investment products and solutions.

Prior to her current role, Hathi served as Chief Digital Officer, establishing and leading the Digital Services organization that is responsible for the digital platforms that support Schwab’s clients across all lines of business. She also led Schwab’s business innovation and digital accelerator initiatives and oversaw the firm’s data, analytics and insights teams.

Since joining Schwab in 2004, Hathi has also held a range of additional leadership roles across the organization. She was the executive vice president of platforms and client experience for Investor Services; led Advisor Technology Solutions, delivering digital platforms and solutions to RIA advisor clients; served as the chief operating officer of Schwab Performance Technologies®; and also led a range of strategy and client experience teams.

Prior to joining Schwab, Hathi held leadership roles in strategy, marketing and finance for various startups, including Enuvis, a developer of GPS technology for wireless devices, and Kibu, a teen media company. She began her career in investment banking.

Hathi has been awarded numerous recognitions for her leadership and advocacy. InvestmentNews named her among the 2021 top Icons & Innovators who have shaped and transformed the financial advice profession. Business Insider named her one of 10 People Transforming Investing in 2020. She was listed among Top Women in WealthTech by Think Advisor in 2019. She was also recognized by InvestmentNews in 2018 as one of the 20 most powerful people in the industry and as a Woman to Watch. In 2016, Hathi received the Industry Leader Award from the Professional Business Women of California. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women honored Hathi with the Human Rights Award for Leadership in 2012.

Hathi is passionate about giving back and supporting the community and has served on several non-profit boards, including the American Heart Association Bay Area, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, and the International Museum of Women (now the Global Fund for Women). She currently serves on the advisory board for the University of California, Los Angeles Morrison Center for Marketing & Data Analytics, as well as on the board of directors for the Charles Schwab Foundation.

Hathi earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from the Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles. She holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 registrations.

Richard C.Y. Porter, JD, MBA

Richard C.Y. Porter, JD, MBA is the Vice President for the Brokerage Annuity Distribution Channel. In his role, he is responsible for managing all commission and fee-based annuity sales and distributions through broker dealer partners including financial Institutions, wirehouse, independent broker dealer firms and specialty markets. He is charged with leading a group of 115 wholesalers, managers and home office team members in the strategic initiatives required to meet Nationwide’s distribution goals. 

Rich began his career practicing corporate law at the largest regional law firm in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2009, Rich started his career at Prudential as a Regional Vice President within the Independent Broker Dealer channel. He was later promoted to western region Divisional Vice President for the Advisor Channel. In this role he managed a team of wholesalers covering Prudential Insurance Company of America, Allstate and M Financial Group. 

He attended The University of Miami and Georgetown University before finishing his undergraduate degree at the University of Louisville. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law. In 2021 he received his President and Key Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Pepperdine. 

Stephanie King

Managing Director, Wealth & Advice Solutions
The Charles Schwab Corporation

Stephanie King is the head of Wealth Management Practices and Talent Development. Stephanie has been with The Charles Schwab Corporation for 19 years and is currently responsible for building and delivering wealth management experiences that help drive better outcomes for clients. Prior to her current role, Stephanie held several positions at The Charles Schwab Corporation, including as a managing director of Investor Services, vice president of Schwab Private Client Investment Advisory, regional market executive of the Branch Network, and other sales management positions. Stephanie has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Arizona State University and holds Series 6, 7, 9, 10 and 24 registrations. Stephanie obtained her CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional certification in 2005.

Tonia Bottoms

Managing Director, BNY Mellon | Pershing

Tonia Bottoms is a Managing Director and Senior Managing Counsel for BNY Mellon | Pershing. She is also Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Advocate for Pershing and is a member of Pershing’s Executive Committee.

In her legal role, Tonia specializes in the areas of retirement plans and financial products. She provides advice and guidance regarding the compliance and oversight of retirement and education savings products, including traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs), savings incentive match plan for employees (SIMPLE) IRAs, qualified retirement plans and 529 college savings plans. Tonia works closely with senior leadership on developing regulatory and legislative matters affecting the retirement and fiduciary businesses. Prior to joining Pershing in May 2010, Tonia was a director and senior counsel at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

As Diversity & Inclusion Advocate, Tonia leads efforts for Pershing to advance diversity as a business imperative and inclusion as an essential leadership skill by attracting, sourcing, developing and retaining the brightest, most innovative minds – those with a global mindset and varied life experiences and perspectives that inform different leadership styles, modes of thinking and problem solving – to grow our business and help our clients do the same.

Tonia is also a Global Co-Chair of IMPACT, a BNY Mellon Employee Resource group with 24 chapters and 5,000 members, and served as the chair of IMPACT’s Black Leadership Forum (BLF). She was a founding member of the D&I Advisory Council, where she implemented measurable and meaningful change in Latinx and Black representation at Pershing, and increased transparency of its D&I goals. Tonia brings perspectives on diversity, equity and inclusion to senior leadership of the company. She has been recognized 3 years in a row from 2019-2021 as one of the 100 Ethnic Minority Executives, an EMpower Ethnic Minority Role Model list sponsored by INvolve, a global consultancy that champions inclusion in the workplace and has been named among the 2022 Most Influential Black Lawyers by Savoy Magazine. Previously, Tonia was the co-chair for the Jersey City chapter of the firm’s Women’s Initiative Network.

Tonia is a member of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s Retirement and Education Savings Committee and currently serves as its co-chair. She is also active in her community and serves on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and American Red Cross (Greater New York Region) and on the Board of Trustees for the Money Management Institute Gateway Foundation.

Tonia earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Maryland.