Wealth Consulting Group founder Jimmy Lee.
The Wealth Consulting Group practices what the big firms still only preach about diversity.
"It is interesting because I think some of these [diversity] initiatives are being led by the huge companies because they kind of have to," Jimmy Lee, The Wealth Consulting Group's founder and CEO, told ThinkAdvisor. "[Companies] — especially in the white-male dominated financial world — have been under a lot of pressure … These large companies are now recognizing that diversity initiatives need to be taken very seriously."
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards' Center for Financial Planning recently conducted a study that found that only 3.5% of the 80,000 CFP professionals are black or Latino. In addition, only 23% of CFPs are women, a statistic that hasn't budged in a decade.
And, for an example of diversity initiatives firms have taken recently, look to UBS and RBC Wealth Management, both of which made moves in May to build more diverse workforces.
At The Wealth Consulting Group, a hybrid RIA with securities offered through LPL Financial, diversity is already celebrated in the workplace.
The firm employs 81 advisors and 70 support staffers in 24 offices across eight states. Of that, women account for 55% of advisors and team members. In addition, more than 30% of its advisors and team members are minorities, and more than 6% identify as LGBTQ.
"I think the reason why we are who we are is just because of the way that we think from top down … We're open. We are inclusive," Lee, who himself is a South Korean immigrant, explained to ThinkAdvisor. "We do want to look like the people that we live with in the communities that we work in and live in."
Marlo Stil 
