In the latest J.P. Morgan diversity and equity initiative, the firm has teamed with the United Negro College Fund to create the J.P. Morgan Wealth Management HBCU Scholarship Program.
The initiative is part of the $30 billion Path Forward commitment to advance racial equity that JPMorgan Chase announced Oct. 8. Building on that commitment, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management said in March it set a goal to hire 300 more Black and Latino advisors by 2025.
The new scholarship program invests in students at historically Black colleges and universities who are interested in careers in financial planning "early on and creates a path for their long-term career success, strengthening the pipeline of diverse talent" for JPMWM, the firm and UNCF said in a joint announcement Monday.
The program will provide scholarships and mentorships to students attending one of 11 HBCUs across the U.S. and help them develop the skills they need to grow a career as a financial advisor, they said.
JPMWM will award 75 scholarships annually over the next five years. Students receiving the scholarships will have the opportunity to participate in two summer experiences: the Advancing Black Pathways Fellowship Program and the first-of-its-kind J.P. Morgan Wealth Management Service Center Internship.
After completing the internship program, students will also be eligible for another scholarship to be applied to their senior year.
"We're committed to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, and that begins by investing in students early on and creating a path for their long-term career success," according to Christopher Thompson, head of Diverse Advisor Experiences at JPMWM. "We look forward to unlocking an enormous talent potential while boosting interest in a career as a financial advisor, which has excellent growth potential," he said in a statement.
