When Edward N. Walters talks with students and others whom he senses are too ashamed or afraid to admit what they don’t understand about personal finance, he shares a secret: He doesn’t know everything, either. The head of strategic direction for Lincoln Financial’s broker-dealers will explain that the first time he received stock options, he had to turn to an expert to understand exactly what that would mean in terms of compensation. “Everyone needs help,” Walters said. “Finance is a core part of life, and I feel a responsibility as a member of a minority that doesn’t always have access to the necessary information and tools to help provide that access.”
Growing up, access to finance was nearby for Walters, who said he was blessed to have as a role model a cousin who worked as a portfolio manager for Brown Capital Management, the nation’s oldest Black investment firm. “I was reading the Wall Street Journal in high school to try and impress him.” Moving to Lincoln two years ago after positions at Legg Mason, Janney Montgomery Scott and T. Rowe Price, Walters worked to create Lincoln Accelerating Business Leadership Experiences, or LincABLE, a paid internship program that tries to demystify finance and offer mentorships and career guidance for minority high school students. “Most of the kids are STEM students and may never go into finance. But they should know about loans and credit cards and have a basic understanding of money so they can make better decisions in life. That’s more important than a career in finance,” Walters said.
— Evan Cooper