By building a practice that caters to the needs of her community, 28-year-old Kofo Akosile has seen firsthand how impactful it is to provide financial services to communities that traditionally have been excluded — especially when tragedy strikes.
Akosile was born in Nigeria in 1995 and moved to the U.S. when she was 2 years old, one of an estimated 150,000 Nigerian immigrants living in the greater Houston area — the largest population of Nigerian expatriates in the States.
Without access to financial planning or advice, many Nigerian parents in immigrant families look to their children for financial stability, Akosile said. “We are the retirement plan.”
In 2017, during her first year as a full-time financial planner, a family friend who was getting married and expecting a daughter came to Akosile for advice on building wealth and securing his family’s financial future. Less than 12 hours after teaching him about life insurance and getting him a policy, her client was killed by a drunk driver.
Akosile helped her client’s widow navigate the insurance payout, set aside money for the daughter’s college expenses and created an annuity to help the single mother with income. Seeing the effect of the financial decisions led other members of the client’s family to come see her.
“The impact that it had on me, in the first year of my career, solidified that this is why I’m doing what I’m doing,” Akosile said.
By starting with Nigerian immigrants before branching out through referrals, Akosile has become one of the top planners in Prudential Advisors’ Houston office as measured by fees generated specifically from financial planning. She grew her practice’s gross dealer concessions from $48,000 in 2017 to $189,000 in 2022
“The really big thing for me is to impact a community that I know will impact other generations, but also to see me and know that they can do that too,” she said. “I want other people to be inspired and think [financial planning] can be a path for them, because there are so many other communities that need help.”
— Ryan Neal