As an investor, you may be elevating your focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), either personally or in your organization to advance your mission. As such, you may also recognize the importance of partnering with an advisory firm that reflects your DEIB values and demonstrates a commitment to improving diversity in the investment industry.

It is widely recognized that the investment industry has traditionally been disproportionately white and male. However, over the past few years, a large and growing number of investment advisory and money management firms are striving for a stronger culture of inclusivity.

At Fiducient Advisors, we believe it is critical for us to do our part, both internally and through our industry influence, to look more like the diverse clients and communities we serve.

We are keenly aware that our people are our most valuable assets. To achieve our mission  of “Helping Clients Prosper,” we recognize the importance of ensuring that all our colleagues can grow while feeling a true sense of value and belonging. We also know that building a talented workforce across multiple dimensions of diversity will result in better client outcomes and a healthy work environment in which our people can thrive.

Over the last several years, we have elevated our intentionality around Fiducient Advisors’ DEIB initiatives. We also commit to hold ourselves accountable to improve diversity across all levels of our workforce, engage our people, give back to our communities and influence our industry partners.

While we have significantly advanced our efforts in this arena, we understand that we have more work to do. We also recognize that our clients may benefit from an objective way to evaluate our efforts.

For this reason, we are excited to be among the first 40 signatories to the CFA Institute’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Code, established in February 2022.

As the Institute states, “The DEI Code provides investment industry organizations with an action-oriented and principles-based framework through which to drive measurable and meaningful change concerning diversity, equity and inclusion within organizations.”

As a signatory, we must commit to six Code Principals that seek to drive DEI progress in a meaningful way that can be measured.

The six principles include:

  • Pipeline – Expanding a diverse talent pipeline
  • Talent Acquisition – Designing, implementing and maintaining inclusive and equitable hiring and onboarding practices
  • Promotion and Retention – Designing, implementing and maintaining inclusive and equitable promotion and retention practices
  • Leadership – Using our position and voice to promote DEI and help improve outcomes in the investment industry
  • Influence – Using our position and voice to promote and increase measurable DEI results in the investment industry
  • Measurement – Measuring and reporting on our progress, including regular reporting of our firm’s DEI metrics to senior leadership and the CFA Institute

In summary, the CFA Institute’s DEI Code provides an important, flexible and objective framework to assist the investment industry in developing best practices, measuring progress and improving outcomes. At Fiducient Advisors, we welcome the opportunity to be a part of this journey.

As an investor looking to align your DEIB values with an investment advisory partner who shares your commitment to progress in this arena, you may find the Code offers a useful evaluation framework. As always, please feel free to reach out to any of the professionals at Fiducient Advisors.

More information about the CFA Institute’s DEI Code can be found here.

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