Lincoln Financial Network Launches African American Financial Professional Network
April 14 2021 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
New Initiative Aims to Support the Unique Needs
of African American Financial Professionals and Clients
Lincoln Financial Network (LFN), the retail wealth management
affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE:LNC), today announced
the launch of its African American Financial Professional Network
(AAFPN), a new enterprise-wide initiative designed to better
support the unique needs of African American financial
professionals and clients.
The AAFPN is part of Lincoln Financial Group’s ongoing action
plan to advance racial equity, and to driving meaningful,
measurable change. The AAFPN is designed to support advisor
development efforts, attract more Black financial professionals to
LFN, and to help define new strategies for supporting multicultural
clients.
“Lincoln has made commitments to amplify our support of racial
justice – taking action around our talent practices, our business,
how we’ll track our progress in Diversity & Inclusion, and how
we’ll help our communities,” said David Berkowitz, president of
LFN. “The AAFPN is a critical component of that commitment to
lifting up and supporting our African American financial
professionals. We have significant work to do but I am excited
about the work this network has undertaken and I look forward to
the progress we will make together as a team.”
The Network’s core objectives center on inspiring African
Americans to pursue opportunities in financial services to increase
the overall number of Black financial professionals in the
industry; supporting new and experienced LFN African American
financial professionals in the growth and development of their
practice through strategic partnerships and mentoring; and
providing financial wellness education to Black communities to help
with financial preparedness. Overseeing the Network is a leadership
committee from Lincoln Financial including Network Director, Nicole
Spinelli; current board chair, Kelby Edwards; LFN affiliated
financial professionals, Sandi Becks, Carl Myers, Lawrence Smith
and Caira White; and LFN leadership board members, Celeste Gurule,
Vice President and Managing Director, Financial Professionals
Group; and LFN Senior Vice President, Ed Walters.
Recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor indicate
that African American financial managers, investment analysts and
personal financial advisors make up just a small fraction, less
than ten percent, of the finance industry. These statistics
showcase the need for investment in African American communities
about financial wellness and the career opportunities associated
with the industry.
“Many African Americans find themselves isolated or without the
necessary resources to help them succeed in the financial planning
industry,” said Kelby Edwards, chairman of the AAFPN. “The AAFPN is
designed and directed by African American professionals for African
American professionals. We strongly believe the programs, events,
and platforms developed by the AAFPN will help foster greater
interaction and support for Black financial professionals to help
address the issues impacting our communities. Empowering and
growing our network of African American financial professionals
will have an extremely positive effect on our industry by
increasing the number of Black financial professionals now and for
the next generation.”
THE AAFPN was modeled after Lincoln’s successful WISE Group. The
WISE Group (Women Inspiring, Supporting and Education) has been
striving to better support the unique needs of female financial
advisors and their clients since it was formed by Lincoln Financial
Network in 2015. To read more about each of Lincoln’s eight
diversity action areas and the progress made visit the Lincoln
Newsroom.
About Lincoln Financial Network
Lincoln Financial Network is the marketing name for the retail
sales and financial planning affiliates of Lincoln Financial Group
and includes Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and Lincoln Financial
Securities Corp., both members of FINRA and SIPC. Consisting of
approximately 14,000 representatives, agents, and full-service
financial planners throughout the United States, Lincoln Financial
Network professionals can offer financial planning and advisory
services, retirement services, life products, annuities,
investments, and trust services to affluent individuals, business
owners, and families. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name
for Lincoln National Corporation (LNC) and its affiliates. Find us
on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
About Lincoln Financial Group
Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help
people take charge of their financial lives with confidence and
optimism. Today, more than 17 million customers trust our
retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help
address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, and guard
against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor,
Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for
Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. The
company had $303 billion in end-of-period account values as of
December 31, 2020. Lincoln Financial Group is a committed corporate
citizen included on major sustainability indices including the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index North America and FTSE4Good. Dedicated
to diversity and inclusion, we earned perfect 100 percent scores on
the Corporate Equality Index and the Disability Equality Index, and
rank among Forbes’ World’s Best Employers, Best Large Employers,
Best Employers for Diversity, and Best Employers for Women, and
Newsweek’s Most Responsible Companies. Learn more at:
www.LincolnFinancial.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
and Instagram. Sign up for email alerts at
http://newsroom.lfg.com.
LCN-3539978-040821
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210414005101/en/
Media: Melissa Ferdinand Melissa.Ferdinand@lfg.com
484-268-4787
Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024