Jackie Porter, certified financial planner at Carte Wealth Management, and CAUFP Advisors founder Orlando Lopez from RBC Dominion Securities speak at an event co-hosted by Gowling.Supplied
It’s rare for Orlando Lopez to see a fellow Black financial planner in his industry or at related events. So, Mr. Lopez, an investment advisor and certified financial planner (CFP) at RBC Dominion Securities Inc. in Toronto, decided to form a group.
“I’m someone who believes in either finding or making community,” he says.
Mr. Lopez started by meeting up with a few advisors at his firm. Then, the group expanded externally as his network grew.
He found camaraderie with a few Black financial planners he connected with on LinkedIn and shared the vision with them, and approached the Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals’ (CAUFP) executive about setting up a spinoff group for Black advisors. While CAUFP’s membership are diverse professionals who work in financial services, Mr. Lopez says most don’t work in wealth management or financial planning.
CAUFP Advisors was born, which is part of the CAUFP parent group.
“The wealth management space is very unique,” he says. “But, at the same time, I didn’t see the need to reinvent the wheel.”
Mr. Lopez’s vision for the group was to amplify Black excellence in the advisor community. Members must be actively working as advisors in wealth management, and the group prefers they have a professional financial planning or investment designation such as the CFP, chartered investment manager (CIM) or chartered financial analyst (CFA).
Currently, there are around 50 members of the group located mainly in the Greater Toronto Area, with a few in Vancouver and the Prairie provinces.
Priscilla Ncube, investment advisor with Rosedale Private Wealth at Mandeville Private Client Inc. in Toronto, likes that the group is positioned as a resource for Black communities.
“It’s important for us to be visible and engaged, so our community knows there are advisors to share their backgrounds and understand the challenges they may face, whether born in Canada or having immigrated here,” she says.
Seun Adeyemi, CFP at Odyssey Wealth Inc. in Ajax, Ont., adds that unique financial planning challenges sometimes come up with Black clients – immigrants, in particular – and it’s helpful to confer and bounce strategies with other Black financial planners who understand the client dynamic.
Part of Mr. Adeyemi’s clientele is new immigrants to Canada who struggle to understand how the financial system works in Canada. Part of their budget is devoted to sending money back to the home country to support family members.
It’s an experience familiar to Mr. Adeyemi, who immigrated to Canada from Nigeria as a high school student.
“We can relate to them in an authentic way. We get the struggles and challenges,” he says.
For Mr. Adeyemi, joining the group has provided a much-needed connection to advisors who look like him.
“When you come into the industry, you don’t often see a lot of Black advisors and financial planners,” he says. “It was a great idea to collaborate, share resources and help each other.”
Connection was also a driving force for Nadege Koskamp to join the group. Ms. Koskamp, CFP at IG Wealth Management, started her career in Saskatchewan where she was the only Black advisor in her branch and just one of two in the province. Now located in Toronto, it’s still common to be “the only one, or very few, in our offices and organizations.”
She was also eager to learn from fellow financial planners about growing a thriving practice. She notes that when advisor rankings of top practices come out, it’s rare to see a Black advisor listed.
The group, which started in late 2023, meets every couple of months. Sometimes through CAUFP, group members will participate in panel discussions and youth summits to promote financial advice as an occupation for high school students to consider.
In these discussions, Mr. Lopez tries to emphasize the benefits of being a financial advisor.
“Wealth management is a career in which you’re compensated for helping,” he says. “You’re rewarded for having a positive impact on people’s lives. And you have a lot of control and autonomy around your time.”