(NewsUSA) - Female financial planners, (specifically, CFP® professionals) are in need, and provide a pivotal role to wealth management firms in serving diverse client bases and delivering holistic financial planning services to clients.

Those are the two main findings from an independent study from Aite Group, titled "Building a Diverse Practice: The Value of CFP® Certification to Female Advisors."

In an industry that is majority male (80%), wealth management firms should take note of the unique value that female financial planners offer to clients, when making client-facing hiring decisions.

Meanwhile, women who are exploring a possible career in financial planning, or who already work in the profession but have not yet earned their certification, should consider how CFP® certification can help unlock professional growth and fulfillment.

Holistic Financial Planning

Research has found that female financial planners offer a distinctively valuable approach to clients' financial planning process. According to the survey, female CFP® professionals:

• Provide comprehensive, formal and written financial plans to more of their clients compared to male CFP® professionals and other female financial advisors.
• Feel they've built client trust (74%) vs. just 53% of their male counterparts.
• Are more likely to provide retirement planning, estate planning, and tax and budgeting advice to their clients.

"Women are natural nurturers and working on someone's financial plan can help people with some of the most important and vulnerable parts of their life, which makes that strength in women so key," says Erin Voisin, CFP®, the managing director for wealth management services at EP Wealth Advisors in California. "We need more women in this profession to help put together those comprehensive plans to equip more people with financial security and encourage a more financially literate society."

More Female Financial Planners = Better for Business

A focus on holistic financial planning does not detract from female CFP® professionals' responsibilities to their firms. According to Aite Group, female CFP® professionals are as likely as male CFP® professionals to derive a majority of their practice revenue from assets under management and financial planning service fees.

Leaders in the financial planning profession say these unique strengths and distinctive characteristics underscore the need and opportunity for firms to bolster their client services by recruiting more female advisors.

"We already knew that there has been a business case to have more women in the financial services industry, and now we know that having female CFP® professionals adds even more value to their firm and the clients they serve," says Angela Ribuffo, CFP®, president of Raion Financial Strategies LLC in Alaska. "Female financial planners are invested in holistic planning, and to effectively achieve this, they excel in building strong relationships with their clients."

Initiatives To Get Behind

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning is one organization seeking to foster greater diversity within the financial planning profession, including by growing the number of female CFP® professionals.

"We are seeing an increasing trend that prospective clients --both men and women -- specifically request to work with a female advisor. The work the Center for Financial Planning is doing to promote and cultivate diversity within the profession is imperative to serving a broader array of clients that so deeply need holistic financial planning," says Sabrina Lowell, CFP®, Advisor and Managing Partner at Private Ocean in San Francisco.

The Center's Women's Initiative (WIN) -- which is guided by the WIN Council on which Voisin, Ribuffo and Lowell sit -- is specifically focused on addressing the issue of women's under-representation in the financial planner workforce. WIN programs strive to attract more women into the profession and make the profession itself more attractive to women.

For more information about the Center for Financial Planning and its diversity-focused programs, such as the 2021 Virtual Diversity Summit and Career Fair, visit cfp.net/the-center-for-financial-planning.

(NewsUSA) -Parenting is hard, and the past year was especially challenging for parents of school-aged kids, as they struggled to juggle their children's virtual school and the loss of many activities and in-person contact with friends.

The goal of MASK (Mothers Awareness on School Age Kids) is to provide resources for parents, children, schools, and communities that address the challenges facing families and empower children to make safe and healthy choices. MASK is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007, and has evolved into a multimedia format that includes a website, a print magazine, an app, a digital learning platform, and a series of YouTube videos.

MASK tackles topics that include managing peer pressure, coping with trauma, and negotiating the peaks and valleys of social media, which can be especially challenging as families restore their networks and return to in-person school and activities.

"MASK programs teach children and their families how to handle the ever-changing landscape that our children are living in," says Kimberly Cabral, CEO, founder, and publisher of MASK.

Parents and their kids can engage with the MASK tools to build life skills and promote self-esteem through any or all of these options:

- MASKMatters app. Download the app on Apple or Google Play (also available in Spanish) for easy access to age-appropriate life skills resources that can be used by students, parents, and teachers.

- MASK Magazine. For those who like their information in print, MASK Magazine is a quarterly parenting manual and is also available through Zinio digital. Each issue focuses on a specific topic, such as Internet safety, with details on how it impacts children from preschool to college.

- MASK E3 Institute: The digital platform for MASK can be used by schools, community organizations, or families at home. The Institute is designed as a series of year-long comprehensive programs for different age groups: MASK Storytime for pre-K children, MASK Academy for kindergarten through sixth grade, MASK Prep for middle and high school students, and MASK Leadership for colleges students. Each of the age-appropriate programs teach kids social skills and educate them about topics such as bullying, drug and alcohol use, and staying safe online.

- MASK + Live: MASK offers a series of YouTube videos featuring feature medical doctors, clinical psychologists, professors, and other child health professionals who share their expertise on parenting and offer advice on physical health, mental health, and enhancing your relationship with your child.

Visit maskmatters.org for more information about the full range of MASK materials and programs.

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"In the Hole"
by Ben Levin

Life goes from great to worst for nine-year-old David Kimball when his father loses his family restaurant ... then the house ... then the borrowed car they were forced to be living in.

The family seeks shelter in a derelict inn with other homeless folks, driving home the reality that David is in the hole. Poverty is more than David can take. But as a young athlete clinging to hope, David works harder than ever, finding ways to support his family. Through thick and thin, teammates stand by him and his best friend Justin leads the charge.

David and his family face their biggest challenge when sister Julia slips into a coma. Terrified he may lose her, David needs to figure a way out of the hole of homelessness. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3hMfxkS.

"The Liability of Love"
by Susan Schoenberger

Margaret Carlyle is searching for an epic love as she heads to college in 1979 after the loss of her beloved mother to cancer. When a charismatic boy named Anders rapes her on their first date, she wants to forget it ever happened. But as the years pass, each life decision she makes seems driven by what happened that night.

When Anders becomes famous as an actor, Margaret can no longer ignore her past -- and she must make choices that will affect everyone around her, most notably her husband, Douglas, and Fitz, the man who has loved her patiently since college.

This deeply moving novel is a window into class and privilege, the mysteries of marriage, and the destructive power of secrets. Purchase at http://amzn.to/2Npqi18.

"The Weight of Memory"
by Shawn Smucker

Secrets are never truly forgotten. They are simply waiting for us to remember.

When Paul Elias receives a terminal diagnosis, he returns to his hometown to seek a guardian for his granddaughter. But her imagination leads him on a journey into forgotten things and old secrets that leave him wondering about the nature of his illness, his granddaughter's future and reality itself.

In this mesmerizing story from award-winning author Shawn Smucker, past and present mingle like opposing breezes, teasing out the truth about life, death and sacrifice. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3rqQQ0K.

"The Universal Language of Nature: A New Way of Conflict Resolution and Authentic Leadership"
by Alexandra Sitch

The bestselling book, "The Universal Language of Nature," struck a chord with many in today's times of lockdown which shows the need of a new vision and innovative solutions. More than ever, our personal evolution and expanding consciousness are important to heal our fragmented world.

This book highlights interesting aspects that have been neglected for far too long but could offer structural solutions to the problems of our society today by caring for our "Mother Nature" and intuition inside us. Nature, and especially horses, help us in our personal development; they act in the service of a greater good, feel the system and the energy of each person, feel the dynamics of his relations and show us the solutions! Purchase at https://amzn.to/2P7OWEv.

NOTE: BookBites is presented by BookTrib.com. 

(NewsUSA) - Hope is essential for children with critical illnesses, and you can help unlock its life-changing power today.

Parker's wish is to have a rainbow playset, and Jade wishes for a white fluffy puppy. These children and countless others hope to capture your heart and ignite your desire to support the Make-A-Wish mission to grant the wish of every eligible child.

Make-A-Wish is the world's largest wish-granting organization, serving children in nearly 50 countries. With generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 40,000 volunteers around the globe, Make-A-Wish delivers hope and joy to children and their families when they need it most. An integral part of a child's treatment journey, Make-A-Wish has fulfilled the wishes of more than 340,000 children nationwide since its founding in 1980.

There remains a tremendous gap between the number of wishes granted today and the estimated 27,000 children in the United States that are diagnosed with a qualifying condition annually. Together, we can raise the funds necessary to help close that gap.

"Fujitsu is known as a global leader in ductless mini-splits, but we're actually much more," said Matt Peterson, president and COO of Fujitsu General America, Inc. "We also supply VRF, unitary ducted, and commercial rooftops as a full line equipment supplier. But we're also much, much more than that. We support causes that are near and dear to our hearts. One of them is Make-A-Wish. If you know our culture, supporting children with critical illnesses is a no-brainer to us. It's the right thing to do. We hope you will find a way to join us in this incredible cause as we strive to make the world a better place. Visit fujitsugeneral.com/cares/wishes to learn more about how you can get involved."

There are many ways to support this extraordinary organization that grants wishes that help children replace fear with confidence, anxiety with hope and sadness with joy.

Here are just a few more ways to make a difference:

* Donate monthly to help reach every eligible child and ensure more children re-discover hope when they need it most.

* Fundraising, whether it's through athletic events, lemonade stands or birthday fundraisers, empowers passionate supporters to rally networks in their communities.

* Volunteers are the backbone of making wishes come true. Share your time and talents as a volunteer and transform a child's life.

Research shows children who have wishes granted build the physical and emotional strength needed to fight a critical illness. This can improve their quality of life and produce better health outcomes.

Together we can transform lives, one wish at a time. Visit Wish.org to learn more and see how you can get involved today!

(NewsUSA)

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(NewsUSA)

"In the Black"
by Andrew Ceroni

The CIA's most valued Russian double agents are being methodically assassinated one by one.

When the Agency discovers the attacks originate from a Russian top-secret cyberwarfare program called Chernyy Almaz or Black Diamond, a mind-control program, the CIA must respond swiftly to shut down the attacks and extract its top agents before they're lost forever.

Among them is Dr. Armand Mishenkov, head of Russia's research for cold fusion weaponry. Mishenkov escapes to Ukraine, but freedom is still far from his reach. Pursued by Russian assassins and Spetsnaz teams, agent Dave McClure and partner Tony Robertson must find Mishenkov and smuggle him across Europe and to the United States. Can they make it alive? Purchase at https://amzn.to/3uK5e68.

"Hello Whimsy"
by Jean Ngo

In this fun children's book, Whimsy the cat tries to make friends, ironically, with birds! When another furry feline comes along, does this make a great match because they are both cats? Whimsy travels through the day meeting one creature after another -- but has her challenges. Find out in this tale about socializing beyond the genus-surface! And learn how beautiful frienships get started.

The author lives in Southern California with her fur baby Misty, after whom Whimsy is modeled. Jean likes to spend her time off talking to roses, daydreaming or having a cup of tea. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3xnM4UO.

"Functional Dysfunction: From Sour Grapes to Fine Wine"
by Dr. C. Errol Ball

Life can be a bumpy ride, and for some of us, our greatest challenges can present themselves as early as childhood and in the worst of ways. How we deal with those early challenges is often what will shape our world and how we see it.

As a physician and a minister, the author bears witness to both the joys and the sorrows of his patients and congregants. He sees the world as an interplay of body, mind and spirit. And at the intersection of these pieces of his life, he has come to find that every experience -- whether painful or pleasant -- offers an opportunity for growth, a chance to turn our sour grapes into a fine wine. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3w92q3p.

"Riding the Executive Roller Coaster: Medical Staffing Cases "
by Kelli Christina

This is a fictionalized book based on real-life events and court cases that went unnoticed by the public eye over the period of a decade. The author plays the primary role in the book, which covers the trials and tribulations of professional offices at their highest and lowest moments.

The consequences of handling business and professional issues in the wrong manner or even illegally can escalate and destroy many lives along the way. The book follows the long path of success and falling in despair over lawsuits and loss; it includes all the important life lessons to be learned along life's path. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3onrwZb.

NOTE: BookBites is presented by BookTrib.com.

(NewsUSA)