The popularity of Pride events at LPL Financial's recent Focus conference has prompted financial advisors with the company's Pride Advisor Network to launch a standalone conference next spring.
The 2027 LPL Pride Advisor Forum will build on this year's four-hour Focus on Pride event, which drew more than 100 LGBTQ advisors and allies ahead of the annual Focus conference last month in San Diego, and an offsite Pride Advisor Happy Hour, according to Marci Bair, the founder of San Diego-based Bair Financial Planning. She and a half dozen other organizers from LPL's Pride Advisor Network lined up sponsorships from Lincoln Financial, Nationwide and Goldman Sachs after talking for several years about creating a specific event for LGBTQ advisors and allies around LPL's flagship Focus conference.
After many companies "have gone away from supporting their diverse advisors, LPL has not, and they've leaned in," Bair said, noting that many advisors at the events approached her to tell her, "'I've never been to a Pride-related event in all my years of being in the industry.'"
For many attendees, "It was very powerful for them to come together in this room to see that they're not the only LGBTQ advisors, and for allies, to know how to work with the gay community," Bair added. "After this meeting, they came away with a lot more confidence about how to work with the community, some planning things to be aware of, some terminology to be aware of."
At home in the industry
Members of the Pride Advisor Network will confer in coming months about the exact dates and location for the new Pride Advisor Forum. The event will join only a small handful of other LGBTQ-focused industry gatherings and groups, including the Raymond James Pride Financial Advisors Network Symposium, Out in Finance, the Financial Planning Association's PridePlanners Knowledge Circle and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
For LGBTQ advisors like Laura LaTourette, a former LPL advisor who is the founder of Dahlonega, Georgia-based Family Wealth Management Group, the working environment in the industry "changes in different ways, but it's always been volatile for us," she said. Regardless of political dynamics, creating a sense of belonging and visibility for advisors and a welcoming place for LGBTQ clients helps the business as well, LaTourette noted.
"I am so happy for my friends at LPL that this is happening. Having been part of building it and advocating for things like this for years, seeing them pull it off is really exciting," she said. "It's important to all of us, so I'm glad to see that we can all celebrate, even though I'm not there anymore."
A growing customer base
The Focus on Pride event included discussions about tax and estate planning for LGBTQ clients and marketing and communication toward them. LPL executives like Chief Client Officer Matthew Enyedi, Chief Legal Officer Matthew Morningstar, The Private Trust Company President Dan Allen and Vice President of Advisor Inclusion Beth Csengody attended as part of an audience that grew into a standing-room crowd, according to Bair. Kevin Healy, a vice president of national accounts with Goldman Sachs Asset Management, moderated one of the panels. For the standalone event next year, organizers will be weighing whether to hold it in San Diego or a more central geographical location, Bair noted.
Large wealth management firms and companies in adjacent fields have recognized the business value of inclusion, she said. Last year, an estimated 9% of U.S. adults, which is nearly triple the 3.5% share in 2012, said they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than straight, Gallup reported in February.
"It comes down to the clients — we don't want to ignore the fact that there are LGBTQ clients and investors that we all serve, and I think these large organizations realize that they want to serve as many people as they can," Bair said. "It's about building a longer table and not shutting people out and just creating a more inclusive environment where everyone is welcome and everyone is valued and feels that they belong."
