Beyond Business: Transforming the White Wealth Management Industry From Within With Dominique Jordan (B’13)

When Dominique Jordan (B’13) looked around the financial wealth management field in which he found himself after Georgetown, he hardly saw anyone who looked like or resembled him. Jordan thought about his high school days surrounded by kids of similar backgrounds in Inglewood and South Central Los Angeles, California. “I was one of, let’s just say, 100 people, who had the foresight to see what I could be one day outside of the typical sports or entertainment fields, while others might not have,” says Jordan, today the vice president and wealth manager with The Jordan Richard Group at First Republic Private Wealth Management. 

An historically white industry, wealth management can be a tough fit for people of color. That’s why Jordan says it’s imperative that he lend his voice to the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committees and councils at employers like Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, JPMorgan Chase, and First Republic. At the same time, he says, employees of color often feel compelled to be representatives at that table, and ultimately lose time at the desk of their day-to-day jobs, which puts them behind in client acquisition and experience. So, he asks, do we offer compensation and benefits as a healthy balance between all parties for that important work? 

In addition, corporate America needs to be quicker in responding to social justice issues and tragedies like the death of George Floyd and countless others, while balancing corporate shareholder responsibility and compliance, he adds. Corporations don’t realize that slow responses from companies ultimately frustrates clients; creates difficulties for wealth managers working to maintain client relationships; and can result in clients moving their wealth to other institutions. 

We’ve made some progress. Companies are now thinking more inclusively and creatively about how to both increase diversity within their businesses and create an environment that supports, fosters, and retains talent. Even so, there’s a long road ahead, says Jordan, who sees even fewer Black executives around him than he did at the start of his career. 

Jordan doesn’t want that to be the case for the people of color entering the field. So while he uses his positions to weigh in on company culture, talent acquisition, and retainment practices, he also reaches out to younger generations through the DJ|JD Foundation, which educates underprivileged and inner-city high school students on financial markets and the importance of goal setting in and outside the classroom. His own goal? Address the talent pipeline that would one day feed the seat in which he sits.

This story was originally featured in the Georgetown Business Fall 2022 Magazine.