Charitable U.S. advisors win $740K in Invest in Others awards

Charitable U.S. advisors win $740K in awards from Invest in Others

September 21, 2023 9:00 AM

2023_IiO Winners_1.jpg — The winners of this year's Invest in Others awards. At far left is John Hyland, chair of the board of directors at Invest in Others and managing director of Private Advisor Group; at far right is R. Barkley Payne, executive director and president of Invest in Others.

At a gala in Boston on Wednesday, the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation observed its 17th year of honoring financial advisors who give back to their communities.

It was the foundation's most competitive year ever for submissions, R. Barkley Payne, the executive director and president of Invest in Others, said in an interview. Six hundred and fifty nominations were submitted this year on behalf of advisors from around the country, up from 600 last year, and $740,000 in total grant funds were awarded to charities on behalf of 90 advisors, whose submissions were chosen after a two-month review by judges.

"Seventeen years ago, for our first gala, we received 175 nominations, and we awarded $65,000 total," Payne said, adding that the group has also increased its number of sponsors. "This significant growth over time … just demonstrates the role that financial advisors play in their communities, in their own backyards."

Financial advisors have increasingly shown interest in having a career that goes beyond simply helping the rich get richer, and recent research has found that advisors, especially younger ones, are more likely to prefer working at a firm that encourages pro bono planning.

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On Wednesday, one Lifetime Achievement Award winner received a $100,000 grant to their preferred charity, while winners of the four other award categories each received a $60,000 grant for their charities. Ten additional finalists each received donations of $25,000 to their charities, and 75 honorable mention winners got donations of $2,000 each.

Invest in Others, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded by independent broker-dealer giant LPL Financial in 2006 to encourage advisors to volunteer more in their communities. The board of directors, which reads like a who's who of industry names, includes executives from firms such as Raymond James, Ameriprise and Blackrock. The top gala sponsors this year are also represented on that board: Apollo, Cetera Financial Group, Commonwealth Financial Network, Fidelity Investments, LPL Financial, Merrill Wealth Management, MFS, Morgan Stanley, Natixis Investment Managers, Osaic and Private Advisor Group.

To be eligible for an award, a financial advisor must meet industry licensing requirements and have been on the job at least three years. They must also have volunteered continuously with one nonprofit for at least three years, among other conditions.

*Disclosure: Financial Planning and its parent company, Arizent, donated between $25,000 and $35,000 to this year's award program. An executive at Arizent participated in judging the winners.

The top five winners this year are:

Brady Murray

Capstone Partners (Erin Purdy Photography)

Murray, of Capstone Partners and MML Investors Services/MassMutual in Highland, Utah, won the Catalyst Award for his work with RODS Heroes.

Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome "inspires families to answer the call to adopt a child with special abilities or difficult circumstances," whether that is children born with Down syndrome or those who are at risk of aging out of foster care and becoming homeless.

Murray and his wife Andrea founded the organization in 2013, when their son was born with Down syndrome, according to a web bio by Invest in Others. The organization has helped 83 orphans with Down syndrome find permanent families, and Murray has welcomed four such orphans into his own home.

Cristen Morgan

Lake Norman Financial Group

Morgan, of Lake Norman Financial Group, Inc. and Cambridge Investment Research in Cornelius, North Carolina, won the Community Service Award for her work with Hope House Foundation.

The Hope House assists homeless women and their children, offering transitional housing and supportive services to help them find housing stability as well as independence. Support includes aid with "economic self-sufficiency, education, job training, employment assistance, health care, case management and mental health counseling," according to Invest in Others.

Morgan has been involved with the group since 2018 and joined the board of directors in 2019. She donated her time to the organization as a financial literacy coach, holding workshops for the women clients who were in crisis. She also fundraised and secured donors to build residential cottages, "aptly named Courage, Joy and Hope."

Anasuya Kabad Meyer

Jaykay Wealth Advisors

Kabad Meyer, of Jaykay Wealth Advisors and LPL Financial based in Houston, Texas, won the Emerging Impact Award for her work with Daya.

Daya provides culturally sensitive services to South Asian survivors of domestic and sexual violence, with safety planning and emergency resources as well as "long-term legal, educational and financial support for survivors of abuse," Invest in Others said.

Kabad Meyer began her time with Daya as a volunteer in 2015 and joined the board of directors in 2017. She currently serves on the organization's advisory board. She has helped the group grow its financial empowerment program, which is a critical part of helping survivors at Daya "interrupt the cycle of violence and gain financial independence," according to the Invest in Others website.

Carl Bailey

Bailey & Beatty Financial Services

Bailey, who hails from Bailey & Beatty Financial Services and Commonwealth Financial Network in Danbury, Connecticut, won the Volunteer of the Year Award for his work with Danbury Grassroots Academy.

Danbury Grassroots Academy's mission is "to improve the lives of promising, selected, underserved students in Danbury emphasizing education, character, tennis and health," Invest in Others said. DGA aims to improve report card grades, reading levels, high school graduation rates and college attendance or career training and placements for at-risk young adults.

Bailey, an immigrant from a blue-collar background, decided to start his own nonprofit in Danbury after experiencing frustration with the inadequacy of other groups that he had volunteered with for 30 years. "He founded DGA in 2006 and has served as the President, principal fundraiser and community relationship manager ever since," Invest in Others said.

Paul Martel

YHB Investment Advisors

Martel, of YHB Investment Advisors, Pershing and Charles Schwab in West Hartford, Connecticut, won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with Partners for Andean Community Health.

PACH is a nonprofit that helps provide free medical care to the impoverished indigenous community in Ecuador. Martel serves as the founder and president of PACH, and over nearly three decades he has led the group to serve tens of thousands in Central and South America.

"After ten years of leading surgical teams on foreign trips, he decided to establish his own clinic in Riobamba, Ecuador in 2006," according to the Invest in Others website. "Paul travels regularly to Ecuador to manage the clinic, empower and encourage people, and collaborate on clinical and equipment issues, especially in the operating room. He has invested more than $1 million dollars to develop and equip his clinic so it can best serve the Ecuadorian people. In 2021, his organization cared for 315 COVID patients, did more than 10,000 COVID screenings and performed 400 surgeries."

Martel has created an endowment for the group to enjoy continued support after his retirement and end of life.