Eleanor Blayney to retire from CFP Board

Long-time women's advocate Eleanor Blayney will step down from her position as Special Advisor on Gender Diversity at the end of the year, the Certified Financial Planner Board announced Tuesday. Although Ms. Blayney plans to retire, she doesn't plan to fade away. Ms. Blayney, 66, established a new gender diversity fund in her name to continue the mission of expanding the ranks of women and minorities in the financial planning profession, and has made a $100,000 gift that she is encouraging others to match. "For me, becoming a Certified Financial Planner professional and helping people has been more than just a job – it has been a passion and one of the best life decisions I have ever made," said Ms. Blayney, formerly the founder and principal of one of the country's largest independent wealth management firms, now called SBSB. (More: Demand for female advisers eventually will come from female clients.) She joined the CFP Board in 2008 and was appointed Special Adviser on Gender Diversity in May of this year. "I want to see more women in the financial planning profession," she said. "This gift will support the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning's gender diversity initiatives." HISTORY OF SERVICE In a statement announcing Ms. Blayney's stepping down, Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis, executive director of the CFP Board's Center for Financial Planning, said, "We are very grateful to Eleanor for her service both to CFP Board and its Center for Financial Planning." "Eleanor began her work at CFP Board as its Consumer Advocate, working to educate consumers about the value of financial planning and working with a CFP professional," Ms. Mohrman-Gillis said. "In addition to her passionate support for CFP certification, Eleanor has been a tireless advocate for women in the financial planning profession and a guiding force behind the WIN initiative since its inception. " Ms. Blayney authored the WIN Advisory Council's inaugural publication, Making More Room for Women in the Financial Planning Profession, in 2014, a comprehensive research study on the reasons behind the "feminine famine" in financial planning. The whitepaper included recommendations on how to improve gender diversity to better serve the evolving client base and to help modernize the profession. Ms. Blayney was honored with one of InvestmentNews' first Women to Watch awards in 2015.