African American financial advisors can offer trustworthiness to other African Americans
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I am an African American financial advisor and financial planning professional, so I may be biased. But I have found that no matter the race of my client, by finding shared experiences I am able to explain complex financial concepts, as well as calm fears about their “financial life.”
African American financial planners play a big role in the racial retirement crisis
National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) published “Race and Retirement Insecurity in the United States” in 2013 highlighting racial disparities in retirement readiness. At that time, I wrote a blog post entitled African American retirement divided we fall. I believe that I have unique insights into this plight. None of my blood family had any specific education in retirement planning. They were not blessed with a transfer of wealth from their parents. In fact, they were happy to have survived Jim Crow!
Fortunately, my parents were blessed to both have pensions from the firms they work for, along with Social Security. Some of their family members were not so blessed and never received a Social Security check for the years they had worked.
Many Black people are aware of the higher mortality rates for Blacks and figure, “Why should I save? If I make it that long, I’ll collect Social Security!” This is further cemented in their minds as we see so many…