These wealth management stories won big awards for FP reporters in 2023

December 29, 2023 11:46 AM

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

Financial Planning's media kit notes that we are staffed by award-winning journalists. This year, we ensured that statement stayed current for 2023.

Our journalists won awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and Folio.

The awards recognized efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion reporting, an in-depth report on ESG investing and stories on technology.

Scroll down to see our awards winners.

About the awards:

The Jesse H. Neal Awards (SIIA) are named after Jesse H. Neal, the first managing director of American Business Media, and were established in 1955 to recognize and reward editorial excellence in business media.
The Azbee Awards (American Society of Business Publication Editors) recognize business-to-business, trade, association and professional publications for outstanding work by magazines and digital media — websites, e-newsletters, digital magazines, social media and blogs.
The Eddie and Ozzie Awards (Folio) recognize excellence in editorial content and design across print and digital media. Categories range in topics from articles, essays and full-issue magazines, to blogs, podcasts and video content to cover design, graphic design, illustration, photography and more.

How the ESG industrial complex blurs the lines for do-good investors

Award: Jesse H. Neal Award (SIIA)
Category: Best single article
Reporter: Lynnley Browning

Award: AZBEE regional silver
Category: Print feature article, northeast region

This enterprise story unpacks the contradictions and misleading messages of one of the biggest investing trends of the 21st century. Funds focused on environmental, social and governance issues have mushroomed in popularity in recent years as corporations seek to quantify their impact on sustainability issues and their shares fill investment products and benchmarks aimed at tracking ESG themes and goals. Yet many funds and indexes contain holdings that would surprise both retail and institutional investors.

Read:

How the ESG industrial complex blurs the lines for do-good investors

Vestwell's Michelle Tran rarely rests, which is making a difference for women in fintech

Award: Jesse H. Neal Award (SIIA)
Category: Best profile article
Reporter: Justin L. Mack

Michelle Tran is a fintech vice president with a 15-year career in financial services and the co-founder of NYC Fintech Women, an organization focused on empowering women in the space that has grown to more than 8,000 members, giving those underrepresented in the industry the support and mentorship they need to grow and thrive.

Read: Vestwell's Michelle Tran rarely rests, which is making a difference for women in fintech

Justin Mack

Why wealth management's diversity issues go deeper than demographics

Award: Azbee regional silver
Category: DEI coverage, northeast region
Reporter: Justin L. Mack

Diversity, equity and inclusion are issues in most industries, but significantly so in wealth management where women and people of color are seriously underrepresented. Justin L. Mack's story leveraged research from Arizent (Financial Planning's parent company) to illuminate the circumstances that create inhospitable and even toxic environments for those advisors or potential advisors. The data, combined with interviews, paints a picture of an industry that needs significant changes.

READ: Why wealth management's diversity issues go deeper than demographics

How Jackie Robinson's financial legacy lives on in the industry today

Award: Eddie Award (Folio)
Category: Long-form feature content B2B
Reporter: Tobias Salinger

Racial gaps are persistent in the United States. This is especially true in wealth management, where the ranks of financial advisors are not representative of minorities and females. That legacy has been an issue for decades and is highlighted by Jackie Robinson, whose efforts to bring a Black-forward bank to Harlem is a little-known story. The man to break the color barrier in baseball tried to break down walls put up to stop Black people from acquiring wealth.

Read: How Jackie Robinson's financial legacy lives on in the industry today

ChatGPT: Miracle, meme or menace?

Award: Eddie Award (Folio)
Category: Single article B2B, banking, business or finance
Reporter: Justin L. Mack

ChatGPT, as one of the latest crazes in AI technology, is thought to be primed for a role in wealth management. In an industry built on the value of human relationships, it poses at least a level of uncertainty for financial advisors. While many news outlets were engaging in conversations with ChatGPT about love and its own awareness, Justin L. Mack engaged with thought leaders in the tech space and dug into how the shakeup that can be expected, as well as how advisors can harness the power of the tech as a tool rather than a threat.

Read: ChatGPT: Miracle, meme or menace?