Hightower Funds Full–Tuition Wealth Management Advancing Diversity Fellowship at Columbia University

The Funds Will Support and Accelerate the Careers of Outstanding, Rising Talent

NEW YORK CITY–May. 30, 2023–Wealth management firm Hightower Advisors, LLC made a gift to Columbia University’s Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) in Wealth Management program in support of its groundbreaking Wealth Management Advancing Diversity Fellowship. The gift will fund the full cost of tuition for one high-performing financial-advising professional from an underrepresented group to earn a master’s in wealth management at the Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS). The degree is the first and only one of its kind in the Ivy League.  

“The work our advisors do to help clients achieve their definition of well-th, whatever it may be, is vitally important. And we believe the best experience, and the best conversations, come from a diversity of experience. We are proud to be able to open doors for new wealth managers,” said Hightower chairman and CEO Bob Oros.

The Wealth Management Advancing Diversity Fellowship is a merit-based, full-tuition fellowship designed to accelerate the career advancement of underrepresented professionals in the financial-advising industry. Recipients are future leaders whose contributions will help their firms innovate, solve problems, and engage with a broader community of clients while furthering organizational initiatives to attract and retain more diverse talent.

This marks the second year the full-tuition fellowship will be offered. The fellowship was created as a gift from the first student cohort of the M.P.S. in Wealth Management program; one hundred percent of the class of 2022 donated to create the fellowship, making it the very first student-funded fellowship at Columbia SPS. Armani Miller Jackson was selected as the inaugural recipient for the 2022-2023 academic year; Jackson is a vice president and private client advisor at J.P. Morgan Chase. In addition, individual donors—including alumni, faculty, and friends of the program—continue to support the Wealth Management Advancing Diversity Fellowship with additional gifts for the 2023-2024 academic year.

“I’m deeply grateful to Hightower for joining Columbia in shaping an exciting future in wealth management,” said Tracy Schwartz, interim program director of the M.P.S. in Wealth Management program. “Educating and training students who represent the diverse communities in which they serve is essential. Hightower’s gift to the Wealth Management Advancing Diversity Fellowship is an investment in the longevity and adaptability of this profession as clients and their needs continue to diversify.”

Black Americans and Latinos make up 3.7% of Certified Financial Planner™ professionals and 15% of all financial advisors, according to the CFP Board. For more than a decade, only 23% of CFP® professionals and 33% of all financial advisors have been women. In addition, financial research organization Cerulli Associates estimates that nearly 40% of advisors will retire over the next 10 years even as personal wealth continues to grow exponentially, surpassing $250 trillion worldwide last year, according to Boston Consulting Group. Columbia SPS launched the M.P.S. in Wealth Management program to prepare experienced and aspiring professionals to meet the disruptive challenges of this changing industry.

“The M.P.S. in Wealth Management program at Columbia SPS is a young and mighty network. I’m thankful to Hightower for seeing the value of educating and connecting a new, forward-looking generation of financial-advising professionals right here at Columbia University in the city of New York,” said Troy Eggers, Dean of Columbia SPS.

To be eligible for the fellowship, applicants must first apply to the Wealth Management M.P.S. program for entry in Fall 2023. Once the application to the program is submitted, a link to the optional fellowship application will be emailed to the applicant. Each admitted student should review the eligibility requirements stated on the fellowship application. Additional information is available on Columbia SPS’s website.

“The wealth management profession is one of the country’s youngest professions,” said Craig Lyman (’22SPS), a founding donor and Columbia Wealth Management graduate. “Everyone in our cohort benefited from having a diversity of thought, culture, and experience in one cohort, and the industry will see similar growth by embracing and leading in the diversity arena. I am proud to say Columbia University will lead the way.”

Columbia University’s M.P.S. in Wealth Management program aims to continue expanding the Advancing Diversity Fellowship to cover tuition costs for more wealth management professionals in the future. Corporations, firms, alumni, students, and other individuals who would like to support the fellowship may contact Columbia SPS’s Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Relations Sonal Pande at sonal.pande@columbia.edu. Columbia SPS also graciously accepts online donations on sps.givenow.columbia.edu.

About Hightower

Hightower is a wealth management firm that provides investment, financial, and retirement planning services to individuals, foundations, and family offices, as well as 401(k) consulting and cash management services to corporations. Hightower’s capital solutions, operational support services, size, and scale empower its vibrant community of independent-minded wealth advisors to grow their businesses and help their clients achieve their vision of “well-th. rebalanced.” Based in Chicago with advisors across the U.S., the firm operates as a registered investment advisor (RIA). Learn more about Hightower’s collaborative business model at www.hightoweradvisors.com.

About Columbia’s M.P.S. in Wealth Management program

Columbia University’s M.P.S. degree in Wealth Management is the only program of its kind in the Ivy League. It prepares experienced and aspiring wealth management professionals to meet the disruptive challenges of today’s industry. The rigorous, multidisciplinary program helps students build expertise in the theory and practice of core areas of wealth management, such as investment, tax, estate, and retirement planning, in conjunction with honing important client skills, such as communication, psychology, decision-making, and relationship management. A 16-month online program specially designed to accommodate working professionals, Columbia University’s M.P.S. in Wealth Management program is taught by distinguished faculty with deep, applied experience in their respective fields. Additionally, it is a CFP Board Registered program, designed to help students meet the educational requirements for CFP® certification.