The Financial Services Pipeline (FSP) recently held their 4th annual Intern Career Conference in Chicago. The purpose of this career fair is to expose more African Americans and Latinos to the world of financial services in an effort to increase interest and representation in this field.
The keynote speaker was president of The Executive Club of Chicago Ana Dutra. Ariel Investment, BMO Financial Group, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Holland Capital Management, Loop Capital, Northern Trust and Urban Partnership Bank were on hand to provide their knowledge, expertise and opportunity.
Interns were provided valuable information regarding roles available in the financial services industry. These interns are employed by Financial Service Pipeline member firms and they are given the tools to navigate careers in accounting, investments, business development, technology and consulting.
We spoke with Dorien Baker, an intern with Loop Capital, and asked him about the program. “John Rogers said it’s more likely for a young African American man to get drafted into the NBA than work for an investment firm. I think it’s huge for me, as a person of color, to break that barrier in the financial services industry and pursue something that people have told me that I couldn’t do. Hopefully, I can absorb a lot of what the people in this industry do and inspire other people to work in financial services,” he said.
FSP is working to close the gap of disparity that exists when it comes African Americans and Latinos. According to a study done by FSP, those groups are grossly under-represented.
Take a look at a few of the pictures below.
