Melinda Hightower heads the UBS multicultural investors segment for Wealth Management USA, which helps people begin the process of what to do with their money and how to organize their financial lives.
Hightower spoke with rolling out at the HOPE Global Forums, where she talked more about her role and made the case for optimism heading into the new year.
What is your role?
I run multicultural investors for UBS, and that involves three things. One, we support diverse financial advisors from a deep-seated belief that everyone needs to be getting quality financial advice from a cultural perspective. That means that people who celebrate and value or are themselves diverse need to be at the table getting financial advice. The other thing I focus on is products and services, making sure that financial advice works better for all of us. The third thing that I do is support communities of investors. Investors who are doing what I call impact investing, and investing not just for financial return but also how to make a measurable positive change in either the environment or in society.
How has diversity played a role in your job?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are coming up more than ever before, and there’s a lot of conversation that may cause some to feel reluctant about engaging in the space. What I’m so grateful about is that my firm has been consistent in its commitment, which has been nurturing and satisfying to me. I think it’s incredible that institutions continue to do that even in the face of a lot of questions about whether or not this is something that we need to do and thinking through and ensuring that inclusion is important and creates a better society, and it’s good for business.
How can we make the case for optimism heading into 2024?
Now more than ever, given what’s happening in the world, there’s a sense of urgency that is propelling our actions forward. Second, what’s happening is that there’s a real opportunity because we’re at a crossroads to build community and power solutions that are going to create progress. The third way that I think about it is that we’re coming to this moment of reckoning, not only as individuals but as citizens, as a country, as a nation, and globally, on what we want the future to look like. It’s a reckoning that will allow us an opportunity to reset and move forward.
