Olympian From Pittsburgh Uses Her Experiences To Help Promote Important Of Organizing Finances
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Distrust of the financial industry is common in the African American community.
A young woman from Pittsburgh is working to change that, but you probably know her for another role – an Olympian.
Lauryn Williams wears all of her Olympic hardware only when she's asked to, for speaking engagements or for TV reporters, but she always holds the Olympics close to her heart.
Williams, who grew up in Rochester and now lives in Dallas, is the only American woman to win an Olympic medal in both the summer and winter Olympics, winning in track and bobsled.
When she found herself earning big money while still in college, she sought out financial help but couldn't find anyone who met her needs.
"This business for me was built out of necessity for myself to better understand how to organize my finances," Williams said. "And that's why I wanted to be able to help other young professionals do the same thing."
Williams said the African American community is often distrustful of the financial services industry and some in the community do not have a lot of financial literacy.
"I think that is something that is really holding us back as a community is being ashamed of what your situation is so that you can't take the first steps to be able to move forward," Williams said.
One challenge is the lack of minority advisors. In 2020, only 4% of certified financial planners were people of color, and that's a 12% increase from the previous year. That means there are only 3,600 Black and Latino CFP's in the country. Only 23% of CFP's are women.
Williams said it's important to learn about the different types of financial planners, what they specialize in and then keep working until you find the right one for you.
"It's going to help us create generational wealth, and it's going to help us close the racial wealth divide," she said.
Many people believe they don't have enough money to hire a financial planner, but that's not often true. Even if you don't have money to invest in funds or stocks, you can hire some financial planners on an hourly or fee basis just for their professional advice on budgeting, student loans and how to begin saving.
Here are some links to help you learn more.
Sites to find a financial planner:
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
Lauryn Williams' website can be found here.
If someone feels they are not ready for a financial planner, then this may have helpful information.
