Pallas Capital launches Pallas Institute financial literacy program and graduates inaugural class of college interns

BRAINTREE, Mass., Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pallas Capital Advisors, LLC ("Pallas Capital"), a leading independent financial planning and investment advisory firm, today announced the launch of Pallas Institute, an intensive two-day financial literacy and investment education program.

Pallas Institute's inaugural class completed the Institute's first-ever program sessions on January 12, and included 22 women and 19 men from 28 different colleges participating in 20 sessions on topics ranging from stock analysis to financial planning.

The primary objective of the program is to help each generation of college learners be financially literate and acquire a favorable introduction to the investment industry. 

"Given today's increasingly complex financial world, we designed an innovative curriculum that goes beyond the basics to demystify investment jargon," said Greg Boyle, Pallas Capital's Chief Growth Officer "We thought it was important, for example, to offer a session on alternative investments to expose students to risk and return profiles of assets like private equity, private credit, and venture capital." 

A secondary objective of the program is to encourage diverse populations to pursue investment careers. In the wealth management field, according to CFP Board of Standards, fewer than 25% of advisors are women and less than 18% are non-white. "Without dedicated and proactive diversity initiatives, the industry is likely to continue to skew," said Boyle.

To attract participants, Pallas collaborated with organizations known for their track records championing diversity, including; Girls Who Invest, ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals), Boston Collegiate, Bridging the Gap, Invest in Girls, and Strong Women Strong Girls.

The inaugural Pallas Institute program filled all available seats in just two weeks – demonstrating the high demand for such training. Recruiting was done through Pallas' client roster, Linked-In promotions and other networking. 

"The program was timed to align with winter college breaks, and we required that students attend in-person," said Taylor McCormack, the Pallas Institute Program Director. "We really wanted students to gain practical experience formulating, discussing, and debating the merits of potential investments with peers and investment professionals."

Rachel Friedland, a Cornell University sophomore affiliated with Girls Who Invest, traveled from New York to participate. "What I was able to learn at Pallas in just two days was remarkable. By hearing from successful voices spanning the financial services industry, I not only gained the financial crash course of a lifetime, but also authentic, transparent insight for breaking into a finance career—starting from step one."

During the design phase of Pallas Institute, internal team members from across Pallas' five offices volunteered to leverage their financial expertise and design and teach a portion of the curriculum. Shannon Smith, Pallas Capital's Director of Financial Planning, saw her role as an opportunity to debunk myths about the skills required to pursue a career in her industry. 

"Among the students I talked to, there was a misconception that you have to be an expert in math to be a financial advisor. That's no longer the case. People skills and emotional intelligence are now the top skills to possess," said Smith. "Modern financial planning firms like Pallas build investment platforms and hire dedicated investors to do the number crunching – that frees up time for financial advisors to more deeply partner with families and business owners to map out their goals and dreams, identify and align financial solutions, and plan for growing their wealth." 

Pallas also collaborated with several peers, including Fidelity Investments, Prudential Global Investment Management (PGIM), and Impax Asset Management, who eagerly offered to host "day in the life" sessions to introduce potential career paths. Fidelity additionally offered tours of their trading floor and Center for Applied Technology. "Fidelity is always thrilled to provide the next generation with hands-on investment education," says Lillian Peros, head of Eastern Region Relationship Management at Fidelity Investments. "Our hope is that by sharing our expertise and resources, we can help young investors build their financial future with confidence."

To partner with Pallas Capital in the future with their mission to promote financial literacy and investment education, please contact Taylor McCormack at [email protected]. 

To learn the additional ways that Pallas Capital is innovating the art and science of modern financial planning, and why Pallas Capital is a top-ranked RIA by Forbes and the #1 Advisor to Watch per AdvisorHub, please visit: https://pallascapitaladvisors.com. 

Important Disclosures

Advisory services offered through Pallas Capital Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Pallas Capital Advisors and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.

Fidelity Investments is an independent company, unaffiliated with Pallas Capital Advisors. Fidelity Investments® is a service provider to Pallas Capital Advisors.

There is no form of legal partnership, agency affiliation, or similar relationship between your financial advisor and Fidelity Investments, nor is such a relationship created or implied by the information herein. Fidelity Investments has not been involved with the preparation of the content supplied by Pallas Capital Advisors and does not guarantee, or assume any responsibility for, its content.

Fidelity Investments is a registered trademark of FMR LLC.

Fidelity Institutional® provides clearing, custody, or other brokerage services through National Financial Services LLC or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Members NYSE, SIPC.

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Media Contact and Interview Requests: 

Taylor McCormack, Marketing & Communications 
781-971-5052
[email protected] 

SOURCE Pallas Capital Advisors