In an effort to recruit more recent college grads to the advisor industry, TD Ameritrade Institutional on Friday announced that it has awarded scholarships to 10 talented students enrolled in undergraduate financial planning programs around the U.S.
These are the first scholarships that TDAI has awarded since it established an annual Next Generation Scholarship Program earlier this year. The 2013 recipients have all received $5,000 scholarship awards. Winners applied by May 15, and the scholarships were awarded on Aug. 1.
TDAI also plans to award a $50,000 grant to a university that best demonstrates a commitment to educating the industry's future financial professionals. Applications were accepted on April 15 through June 1, and the grant winner will be awarded to the selected university on Sept. 1.
"This is an industry that is facing a critical talent shortage at a time when the need for financial advice is on the rise," said TD Ameritrade Institutional President Tom Nally in a statement. "By supporting students like these, we look to help cultivate the next generation of financial professionals."
Over the next decade, TDAI plans to provide $1 million to expand the number of college students pursuing a career in the financial services industry. The Omaha-based brokerage and custodian joins a number of other firms and groups that are actively seeking to replace retiring advisors in the aging advisor industry with a fresh group of new recruits.
"I am always seeking top talent for our firm, but I'm also looking forward and considering who will be caring for them over the next 20 or 30 years," said David Kudla, chief executive and chief investment strategist of Mainstay Capital Management and a member of TDAI's Next Generation Advisory Board, in a statement. "I see a real need for our industry to step up efforts to support and engage a new generation."
