Rainbow Advisors

We rarely bookend the magazine with the same news item or theme, but we are this month. I’m writing in this space about the PridePlanners conference I attended in October, and we have our monthly Soapbox written by the current PridePlanners president, Dana Levit. There’s something charming and refreshing about an association president who jokingly welcomes attendees to the association’s biannual conference by saying “I hope I never see you again because we will be obsolete.” PridePlanners, which I found to be full of charming, refreshing, and smart members, exists to educate its members and other planners about the unique financial planning needs of nontraditional clients, especially lesbian and gay couples and families. Some of you may find it difficult to accept gay and lesbian people as your equals for political or religious reasons, and I respect your opinions. However, so much of our society, and its laws and customs and protections, is built upon the institution of marriage that I believe denying that right to a significant portion of the citizenry is plain wrong, and should be changed. That new belief was one change of heart prompted by attending the PridePlanners gathering, where the sessions were in depth and where there was a healthy interchange of information among presenters and attendees in the best traditions of the independent advisor universe. There were even in attendance some heterosexuals (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

In other words, these were people just like you and me, passionate about their profession, and with expertise they were willing to share with their peers to serve their clients better. They’re not asking for special treatment for themselves and their clients, just to be afforded the same rights enjoyed by their fellow citizens, and then the group will be obsolete. Do many of the attendees specialize in a certain niche, like many of you reading this? Yes, though the idea of casting the planning net to encompass more members of society is shared by many. In his speech at the conference, the CEO of the CFP Board, Kevin Keller, argued that part of the Board’s mandate is to “serve underserved communities; we interpret that broadly to include the gay and lesbian community.”