To Candace Lee, her passion for Financial Planning can be boiled down into a simple phrase – “helping people.”
“Every aspect of the financial planning industry – whether you're advising clients or running projections – is oriented towards helping people live out their dreams,” Lee shared.
“I enjoy hearing what my clients want out of life. I'm a very goal-oriented person, so hearing other people's goals drives me. It makes me want to help them achieve what they want in life.”
A Vice President & Client Advisor at Glassman Wealth Services, Lee has been in the Financial Planning Industry since 2009. Over the years, she has helped hundreds of families meet their goals and plan for their financial futures.
Lee is also a Black woman in a field that is largely dominated by White men. Nation-wide, women make up just 23.6 percent of Certified Financial Planners (CFPs); African Americans make up less than 2 percent – a statistic that Lee says her firm has spent the last two years trying to understand.
“This past year, we had a series of conversations with several large organizations and HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) to better understand what the gaps are – why don’t we have more advisors of color in the profession.”
The answers revealed something that Lee best describes as “a knowledge gap” – a lack of exposure to financial planning that impacts Black students and their families both personally and professionally.
“In financial planning, knowledge is power,” Lee explained. “The wealth gap exists; but the wealth of knowledge that Black families have not historically had access to is also significant.”
“Many of the families who use financial planners have used them for decades; they’ve passed down those relationships and the knowledge they’ve gained over generations.”
“On the other hand, navigating the stock market or pin-pointing the best investment strategies – these are things that many people of color haven’t had exposure to – at home or in the school system.”
Lee pointed to the higher education system, as one key example. “There aren’t really that many CFP® (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™) programs,” Lee explained. “And even fewer of them are in HBCUs.”
When Lee started college at the University of Virginia, Financial Planning was barely on her radar.
“There are only so many professions that our society portrays as ‘this is what success looks like’,” Lee recalled. “My dream was to become a doctor, because I thought that was the best way to be successful and help people at the same time.”
After a few rough years of pre-med classes, Lee decided that she wouldn’t find success as a doctor. Fortunately, one of her church members worked at a financial planning firm that needed some extra help over the summer. After spending her summers learning the inside-outs of financial planning as an intern, the firm offered her a full-time job, which helped launch her career in the industry.
Years later, Lee says she hopes to open the doors of financial planning to more people like her – starting with the basics. With her help, her company established relationships with HBCUs like Delaware State University to provide networking and employment opportunities for Black students.
“I’d love to see more people of color in this industry,” Lee added. “The more diversity we have in the financial planning industry, the better we’ll be able meet the needs of our diverse community and more effectively serve them.”
Lee is an active member of The Community Foundation’s Professional Advisor Council, which convenes professional advisors from across the region to help clients enhance their charitable giving in new and innovative ways.
“I love being involved with The Community Foundation through the Professional Advisor Council,” Lee shared. “Their knowledge of the community, as well as their mission to narrow the racial wealth gap are inspiring to me.”
Candace with volunteers at the last Financial Planning Association’s Annual Free Planning Day held at University of DC.
Lee is also an active participant in the Financial Planning Association’s Annual Free Planning Day – an event where financial planners from across the region offer free financial coaching to members of the community.
“We help people with anything from credit card debt to Medicare or basic budgeting tips,” Lee explained. “The idea is to break down the barriers to financial planning and meet people where they are.”
The event, which is sponsored in part by The Community Foundation, includes both one-on-one coaching sessions, as well as workshops on budgeting, retirement, debt, and credit counseling. Past events have served as many as 100 people.
While budgeting and credit counseling may seem a far stretch from the complicated stock market investments typically associated with financial planning, Lee says it’s no less important – especially for communities of color.
“The beauty of financial planning is that it looks different for each person,” Lee explained. “For some, it means focusing on paying off debt. For others it may be investing money for retirement.”
Financial Planning Day is on August 19 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Silver Spring Civic Center. Walk-ins are Welcome. Click here to learn more and to register!
Candace Lee is a member of The Community Foundation’s Professional Advisor Council (PAC) – a committee of professional advisors from across the region dedicated to helping their clients enhance their charitable giving. For more information, contact Tiffanie Purvis at [email protected].