Are there Racial and Gender Preferences When Hiring a Financial Planner? An Experimental Design on Diversity in Financial Planning

Written By: Miranda Reiter, Martin Seay, Maurice MacDonald, Sonya Lutter, and Ajamu Loving

The purpose of this study was to examine the likelihood of consumers hiring a financial planner based on race and gender utilizing an experimental design. Using a sample of Black and White MTurk respondents, cumulative logistic regression was employed to determine the effects of race and gender on the likelihood to hire a financial planner. Findings suggested that, overall, consumers did not have racially biased preferences when hiring a financial planner. However, they did express a preference for hiring female planners over male planners. Financial planning firms can use these findings to strengthen their support for and recruitment of women financial planners, as well as address concerns of racial bias amongst consumers.