Rickie Taylor is accustomed to being a rarity at industry gatherings. He attributes the dearth of people of color in the retirement business to employers not always considering diversity when hiring, and to the low level of awareness among minority youth about opportunities in financial services. He aims to change both. On the board of the Philadelphia Securities Association, FPA New Jersey and Quad A, the Association of African American Financial Advisors, Taylor encourages minority career changers to consider the business. He is also behind his groups’ efforts to help youngsters from middle school up understand personal finance and consider it as a career.
“Parents typically steer their children to a career, but what if parents don’t know about this business?” asks the native of Camden, New Jersey, whose own parents encouraged him to be a doctor. At Montclair State University, an encounter at a career fair with a Prudential rep, coupled with an interest in investing, started him on a two-decade path to becoming a successful resource for advisers at his third-party administrator firm. What would Taylor say to a young person growing up in Camden today? “Pay attention, study hard and gravitate toward people who are doing big things.”
— Evan Cooper