Dahna M. Chandler, MPS

In response to 2020’s civil rights movement, companies began to honor Juneteenth. Learn why it’s a signal for equity and equality at work.

(Editor's Note: In this story, Dahna Chandler profiles OneUnited Bank and E. Napoletano profiles the Daylight financial platform; Mitch Strohm wrote the introduction and conclusion.) Someday soon, if not today, you may be able to find a banking platform that’s designed specifically for you and those like you. A growing number of banks and fintechs are using digital banking platforms to meet the unique challenges and needs of individual communities. This article tells the story of two of them.

No matter what your business does, it’s essential you build relationships with a dedicated network of financial advisors. They help you operate, develop, and grow your business so you can focus on serving your customers, while avoiding financial missteps. But which do you need and when do you need them? Use the guidance in this blog post to learn the right way to build your financial advisor network.

Crowdfunding combines crowdsourcing and microfinancing. It does that by allowing individuals to invest small amounts in businesses that interest them. Sometimes, funders may outright donate money to your business. In others, they expect something in return, like equity, loan repayment, products or services. It is a way a small business owner can finance a new or existing enterprise without going to the bank. Here's how to find the best crowdfunding sites for your enterprise.

It's well established that corporate America, including the financial services industry, lacks diversity in management. People of Color are hired less frequently, experience lower promotion rates and voluntarily leave at higher rates in most financial institutions. And, when organizations do engage in diversity initiatives, they often focus on “fixing People of Color” as if they are the primary problem. The Hartford has long had a distinct culture that supports employees at all levels. Here's how their EMPOWER program helps.

The client’s experience is more important than ever. It’s vital during times of disruption to retain clients, and it’s imperative for the future of your business as technology gives firms fresh capacity to engage and delight clients. Research by eMoney isolated a group of firms that offered exceptional client experiences and found that they saw impressive results over the past five years. Learn more about how perfecting their client services model lead to this outcome in this ghostwritten blog post.

A high volume of sales may make you feel profitable, but that’s not the same as having strong cash flow. After all, you can appear profitable at certain times, but be in the red in others. It’s only by proactively balancing how you manage your cash flow—revenue, expenditures and profits—that you have cash to maintain business operations consistently. That, then, allows you to take advantage of opportunities to invest in growth. Here's how to achieve that balance.

Investment management is becoming increasingly commoditized. The rise of robo-advisors, increased regulations, fee evolution, and investor expectations are pressuring financial professionals to differentiate themselves and deliver enhanced value to their clients. To do that, they must humanize their services by offering more holistic financial guidance.

Increasingly, investors are interested in aligning their investment portfolios around their
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values. Savvy financial professionals are taking the necessary steps to identify their clients' interests and values to help them meet their investing goals. This research-backed eBook shows financial professionals how to provide customized client experiences that meet their ESG investing requirements.

When working with any investor, financial advisors must excel at client communication. Clients generally want to feel that their financial advisors hear, respect, and value them—especially women investors. Women now control more than half of personal wealth in the US, roughly $22 trillion. As wealth is transferred to more women over the next four decades, that number is projected to rise to nearly $29 trillion. Financial advisors must shift their client communication strategies to meet women investors' needs. Here's how.

Today’s women investors demand communication strategies customized to their needs. Use these five keys to mastering client communication to help you build better relationships with women investors.

(This is a ghostwritten blog post.)

Celent’s recent research1 comes to some persuasive conclusions about the effectiveness of content marketing for financial planners. I found one conclusion stands out: Content marketing matters now more than ever. Here's why.

Current and prospective clients have a keen interest in educational content that helps them reach their financial goals, and they expect you to provide it for them. The pandemic also has driven clients’ appetite for timely content relevant to what’s happening to them today, causing them to eschew evergreen content. This ghostwritten blog post gives financial professionals the keys to building their digital marketing strategy around that content.

Today’s financial planner faces multiple challenges in business development, especially when just getting started with digital marketing techniques. There are numerous digital channels that financial professionals can leverage to connect with prospective clients like never before, and create growth for their firm. Oftentimes, the key to success in any digital marketing initiative is taking a unified approach. This ghostwritten blog post shows financial planners the basics of digital marketing planning.

The pandemic has propelled us into a virtual-first world, accelerating the need for firms to move to fully digitized operations. Research by Celent shows that as your clients commit to staying at home, they expect your digital technology to be exceptional. Despite your staff staying home, too, clients expect seamless onboarding and remote communication to get prioritized. This ghostwritten blog post shows financial professionals how to enhance technology to suit client needs in a remote work environment.