Financial advisors and broker-dealer executives are finding time for charitable work and fun this holiday season. LPL Financial (LPLA) Chairman and CEO Mark Casady, for instance, is supporting an animal-rescue fund drive by growing a beard and posting photos of it on Twitter.
"This is a great cause, and we are happy to support our friends at Animal Friends and Fragasso Financial Advisors," said Casady, in a statement. "Animal Friends is an outstanding organization with a compassionate mission. I'm happy to grow some fur of my own to help them reach their fundraising goal and continue to provide services for at-risk pets around Pittsburgh."
While Casady is taking a somewhat unusual approach to his charitable work, some advisors are taking action to support causes dear to their hearts through more traditional methods.
Advisors with South Texas Money Management, a San Antonio-based RIA, just sponsored an event to support international artists at the Pearl Brewery retail complex, while James Hamilton of Raymond James (RJF) is supporting an arts group that works with inner-city kids in Atlanta.
"Our founder, Jeanie Wyatt, is a longtime supporter of the arts community," said Lance Lahourcade, a managing director, with South Texas Money Management, in a statement. "One of our missions at South Texas Money Management is to give back to the communities that we serve."
The opportunity to be a sponsor of the artisans fair, Lahourcade adds, was "a great opportunity to do both of these things." Plus, the advsiors hope that support for the artists, who come from Afghanistan, Haiti, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia and other countries, will help improve these respective communities.
"It's a busy time of year, and it's also a time of giving," said Hamilton, in an interview with ThinkAdvisor. "We focus on individuals, new businesses, business leaders, civic leaders and other partners to show them the work we do with Wonderoot."
The Wonderoot Community Arts Center open house, which takes place late on Thursday, gives about 500 community members a chance to meet artists and cultural group and see where they develop their creativity, the advisor says. (The facility is located in the Reynoldstown area of Atlanta.)
