Despite the prevalence of TikTok videos and recent articles detailing stories of individual college graduates struggling to find good jobs, the data tells a different story.
After all, the overall labor market is stronger than it’s been in decades. And Zoomers who recently graduated from college are certainly better off, in most respects, than previous generations of new grads.
“If you’re a recent college grad, right now things aren’t booming with opportunities like they were a couple years ago,” says Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at Indeed Hiring Lab. “But it’s still really a relatively solid labor market. And hopefully, fingers crossed, the market stays strong for a couple years. And that gives you more opportunity to find a job as opposed to hanging your hat for the first six months after you graduate.”
When you compare the labor markets faced by Zoomers with previous generations, recent college grads now are better off than their older counterparts: Zoomer grads are earning much higher salaries today than Gen X did in the mid-1990s. Inflation may eat away at Gen Z’s high wages, but it doesn’t touch the stagflation of the 1970s and 1980s that baby boomer college graduates encountered.
The short recession that Gen Z experienced at the start of the pandemic is certainly no Great Recession, which technically lasted less than two years, but was followed by several years of tepid economic growth. That period stymied recent millennial graduates during crucial early employment years and is likely to negatively impact their lifetime earnings.
“It’s not just the year that you graduate,” says Bunker. “Your first years out probably make the most difference because that’s when you’re getting your foot on the career ladder.”
Gen Z bounced back fast
Despite the fact that the oldest cohort of Zoomers — 2020 grads — entered a job market with the highest unemployment rate in the modern era, that recession lasted just two months. And what followed was one of the strongest economic bounce backs ever.
The nation’s unemployment rate has hovered between 3.4% and 4% since December 2021. The current rate, 4.1%, remains among the lowest in 50 years, which means Zoomer college graduates have strong prospects for getting jobs right out of school and moving up the career ladder.
Bunker says the job market has cooled compared with two years ago. There is far less competition among employers than in 2022, which means fewer opportunities, according to Bunker. But it’s not all that dramatic in the broader context.
“If we wind the clock a little bit more and compare to what we saw pre-pandemic, it’s around those levels,” Bunker says. He adds that when compared with previous cohorts of graduates, job opportunities are roughly in line with those enjoyed by millennials who completed college in the early 2000s.
Gen Z’s unemployment outlier
Even with all of the positive aspects of the current labor market, there’s still a unique trend among recent Gen Z graduates that earlier generations haven’t faced: an unemployment rate that’s higher than overall unemployment.
It’s a particular quirk seen when you parse unemployment data among recent graduates over the past 30 years. The unemployment rate as of March 2024 for recent graduates was 4.7% — a full percentage point higher than the overall unemployment rate at that time, 3.7%.
This is an unusual development. Before 2018, the unemployment rate among recent grads was almost always lower than overall unemployment, due to strong employer demand for highly educated workers.
The reversal is likely because there’s been a surge in demand for non-college-educated service workers since the pandemic.
Underemployment is still high among recent grads
Labor data shows that underemployment — the rate of those with college degrees who are working jobs that don’t require degrees — has always been higher among recent graduates compared with all bachelor’s degree holders.
“They go ahead and get that college degree and then they can’t get on a career track that uses that education,” says Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonpartisan think tank.
It doesn’t help that certain job sectors have become more crowded. Majoring in computer science, for example, doesn’t guarantee a job anymore as tech companies pull back from hiring.
Underemployment among computer science majors is higher than those who study health-related programs, education or engineering, according to a February 2024 report by The Burning Glass Institute, a labor market analytics firm, and Strada Education Foundation. But fewer computer science majors are underemployed when compared with those who study social sciences, psychology, humanities and business management.
As of March 2024, some 40% of recent graduates are working in jobs that don’t require a degree versus 33% of all college graduates, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Salaries for recent grads have spiked
Gen Z college graduates can expect higher-than-ever salaries when they enter the job market: The typical recent college graduate with a four-year degree can anticipate a salary of around $62,609, according to an analysis of employer job postings and third-party data sources by ZipRecruiter, a job posting site. That roughly matches the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s finding of $60,000 as the median annual wage for a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree.
As the chart below shows, current median salaries are above those held by earlier generations of newly minted graduates when adjusted for inflation.
Even though salaries are at a peak for recent grads, the latest cohort might not be earning what they expect: A survey released by Real Estate Witch, a housing market research and review site, found 2023 graduates expected to make around $85,000 at their first job and the minimum salary they said they would accept is around $73,000. However, Real Estate Witch found that the average starting salary for a recent grad is about $56,000.
“If you’re a young person graduating now, maybe the differential between what you expected and what reality is, is quite large,” says Bunker.
It’s also possible that wage growth for young new hires may have plateaued as the momentum in the overall labor market that was pushing wages higher has now slowed, says Liv Wang, senior data scientist at ADP Research Institute, which measures workforce data. “If we look at ages from 23 to 26 — that includes a lot of recent grads — and the median hourly base pay for them is like $17, and that per-hour has been little changed since June 2022,” says Wang, citing recent ADP data.
Still, as Gould points out, young workers are disproportionately lower-wage workers — even if they have a college degree.
Jobs for New Grads: How Does Gen Z Stack Up Against X and Y?
Find out what the overall labor market was like when cohorts from Generation X and Generation Y (aka millennials) entered the workforce after college compared with today’s graduates. Read more.
Gen Z grads do face economic and employment uncertainty
Today’s college graduates heading into the workforce aren’t free from economic challenges. They’re dealing with elevated inflation that eats away at their wages. And when you earn less — as most young workers do — higher costs take a bigger bite. In recent years, the cost of housing has skyrocketed, especially for renters, while health insurance and car ownership have both grown more expensive. And, Gould says, like generations before, young workers fresh out of college who have student loan debt will carry an additional burden.
Salaries, overall, may be higher than ever, but it varies based on your degree. And there are still persistent gender and racial inequities to earnings, Gould points out.
But once again, the data shows it is still a pretty good time to be a college graduate and, in general, to have a degree.
It still pays to get a college degree
Those with college degrees remain more likely to be employed than workers in the same age group, ages 22 to 27, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Even an associate degree or professional certificate can give young workers a leg up, as many areas of the country are facing a shortage of middle-skills labor.
In March 2024 the unemployment rate for recent college grads — those ages 22 to 27 — was 4.7% compared with 6.2% for all young workers in the same age group.
(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images News via Getty Images)
Americans with a financial advisor expect to retire two years earlier according to Northwestern Mutual’s Planning & Progress Study Ready to Retire: 75% of those who work with an advisor say they will be financially prepared for retirement versus 45% of people without an advisor Free from Anxiety: 64% of Americans with an advisor say … [Read more…]
97% of consumers search for local businesses online, and 78% of marketers report that digital marketing significantly increases business revenue. If you’re not leveraging digital marketing in today’s mortgage landscape, you’re missing out on a significant opportunity.
In our fast-paced, technology-driven world, digital marketing has become an essential competitive advantage for mortgage loan officers (MLOs) using the right tools. With the industry facing high interest rates and inventory shortages, reaching borrowers first and maintaining visibility with past clients and real estate partners is imperative.
The current landscape
According to HousingWire, the real estate market is grappling with high interest rates and limited inventory, creating a challenging environment for mortgage lenders and loan officers. The current state of the market underscores the importance of staying ahead of the competition through effective digital marketing strategies. By leveraging digital channels, MLOs can effectively target and engage potential clients, ensuring they remain visible and relevant.
Why it’s complicated
The mortgage industry has been traditionally slow to adopt new technologies. Many MLOs still rely on outdated marketing methods that are less effective and more costly. Additionally, the rapid pace of technological advancements means that staying up-to-date with the latest digital marketing trends, tools, and associated regulations can be daunting for those not well-versed in the field. HousingWire highlights that embracing digital transformation is no longer optional but essential for survival and growth in the current market.
Key questions to consider
What is digital marketing, and how can it benefit mortgage companies and LOs?
How can mortgage companies effectively utilize paid and non-paid digital channels?
What are the cost benefits of digital marketing compared to traditional methods?
How can digital marketing improve referral generation from real estate agents?
What are the advantages of automation and compliance in digital marketing?
Answers to these questions
1. What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing includes all marketing efforts that leverage digital channels like websites, social media, email, other channels to connect with current and prospective customers. The goal is to meet customers where they spend most of their time: online. Digital marketing enables highly targeted, measurable, and cost-effective campaigns, providing a more personalized and engaging customer experience while driving revenue.
2. How can mortgage companies utilize digital channels?
Digital marketing occurs across various channels, categorized into paid and non-paid efforts:
Paid digital marketing:
PPC/Paid search: Mortgage companies can place ads on search engines like Google, targeting keywords relevant to their services. Each time a user clicks on these ads, the company pays, driving high-intent traffic to their website and increasing the chances of lead conversion. This method ensures immediate visibility for competitive keywords, attracting potential clients actively searching for mortgage solutions.
Paid social: By promoting posts or running ads on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, mortgage companies can reach a wider audience. These ads can be tailored to specific demographics, ensuring that the content resonates with potential homebuyers and refinancers. This targeted approach maximizes ad spend efficiency, enhancing engagement and driving more qualified leads to the company’s offerings.
Both Paid Search and Paid Social offer the ability to segment your audience based on numerous factors. This includes demographics such as age, gender, and location, as well as more specific criteria like interests, online behaviors, and purchasing history. By utilizing these segmentation capabilities, mortgage companies can create highly targeted campaigns that reach the most relevant audience, ensuring that their advertising efforts are efficient and effective. This precision targeting helps in maximizing ROI by delivering personalized messages to those most likely to convert, thereby enhancing lead quality and driving higher engagement rates.
Non-paid digital marketing:
Organic search: Optimizing website content with relevant keywords and quality backlinks helps mortgage companies improve their rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). Higher organic rankings increase visibility and attract more traffic without the ongoing costs associated with paid advertising. This sustainable strategy builds long-term online presence, making it easier for potential clients to find the company organically. However, this strategy takes quite a long time to generate meaningful results.
Web content: Maintaining a blog, updating website content, and participating in online reviews and affiliate marketing helps build authority and trust. Engaging and informative content can attract potential clients, providing valuable information and establishing the company as a thought leader in the mortgage industry. Consistently producing high-quality content also supports optimization efforts, driving organic traffic and enhancing brand credibility.
Email marketing: Sending personalized and targeted emails to potential and existing customers is an effective way for mortgage companies to nurture leads and maintain relationships. Regular updates, newsletters, and promotional offers can keep your audience engaged and encourage them to choose your company for their mortgage needs. Email marketing also allows for segmentation and personalization, increasing the relevance and impact of each message.
Social media: Creating and sharing relevant content on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram helps mortgage companies engage with their audience organically. Regular posts, community interactions, and leveraging user-generated content can build a loyal following and enhance brand visibility without direct advertising costs. Social media also provides a platform for real-time communication, allowing companies to address inquiries and build stronger customer relationships.
When it comes to performance differences between Paid Digital and Non-paid Digital, leads generated from Paid Digital convert at nearly 3.4X compared to those generated from Non-Paid Digital and lead to at least an 80% increase in brand awareness according to data from Unbounce.
3. Cost benefits of digital marketing
Traditional lead generation methods often result in high costs per lead, burdening mortgage companies with significant expenses for acquiring new clients. Digital marketing offers a cost-effective solution by enabling precise targeting of specific demographics and optimizing ad spend to ensure maximum impact. This approach not only reduces overall costs but also increases the efficiency of marketing campaigns by reaching potential clients who are most likely to convert.
Research by Evocalize shows that self-generated leads are at least 300% less expensive than purchased leads, providing substantial savings for mortgage companies. By generating their own leads, companies can maintain greater control over their brand and messaging, ensuring consistency and compliance with industry regulations. This strategic shift towards digital marketing allows businesses to allocate their resources more effectively, ultimately driving better financial outcomes.
4. Improving referral generation
Capturing referral business from real estate agents is a common challenge for mortgage companies, often requiring significant time and effort to build and maintain relationships. Digital marketing bridges this gap by facilitating better integration with existing tools and creating co-marketing opportunities with real estate professionals. By leveraging digital channels, mortgage companies can enhance their collaboration with agents, resulting in a more streamlined and efficient referral process.
This synergy not only helps generate high-quality referrals but also strengthens partnerships with real estate agents, fostering long-term relationships that benefit both parties. Through joint digital marketing efforts, such as shared content and co-branded campaigns, mortgage companies can expand their reach and tap into the agent’s network, thereby increasing the potential for new business and reinforcing their market presence.
5. Advantages of automation and compliance
Digital marketing is inherently more efficient than traditional methods, thanks to the power of automation tools that manage campaigns, track performance, and adjust strategies in real-time. These tools ensure optimal results with minimal manual intervention, allowing mortgage companies to focus on strategic initiatives rather than day-to-day campaign management. Automation also facilitates precise targeting and personalization, enhancing the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
Additionally, platforms with built-in compliance features safeguard campaigns against potential legal issues, a critical aspect highlighted by HousingWire. Compliance with industry regulations, such as the recent FCC lead generation rules, is essential for avoiding costly penalties and maintaining consumer trust. By utilizing digital marketing platforms that incorporate compliance mechanisms, mortgage companies can ensure their campaigns adhere to legal standards, mitigating risks and promoting a trustworthy brand image.
Digital marketing doesn’t have to be hard, even if you aren’t a marketing pro
Digital marketing might seem daunting, especially if you don’t consider yourself a marketing expert. However, with the right tools, it can be straightforward and highly effective. Here are key features to look for in digital marketing tools that make the process easier and more impactful:
Powerful, flexible automation: Choose tools that offer automation capabilities allowing you to harness your business data effectively. Automation can streamline your marketing efforts, making them more efficient and less time-consuming.
Built-in regulatory compliance: Ensuring compliance with industry regulations is critical. Look for platforms that have built-in compliance features to safeguard your campaigns against potential legal issues.
Effective co-marketing with real estate agents: The ability to seamlessly co-market with real estate agents can significantly enhance your business. Choose tools that facilitate this collaboration effortlessly.
Hyperlocal marketing: Staying relevant in your borrower’s community is crucial. Opt for solutions that allow you to localize your marketing efforts, ensuring your campaigns are tailored to resonate with local audiences.
Flexible budgets, campaign types, and durations: Flexibility is key in digital marketing. Select platforms that offer a variety of budget options, campaign types, and durations, enabling you to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and business needs.
Investing in digital marketing doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating. By leveraging tools that simplify and enhance your marketing efforts, mortgage companies and LOs can stay competitive, generate leads, and grow their business efficiently.
Conclusion
The mortgage industry’s landscape is increasingly digital, and the need for effective digital marketing has never been greater. Brokerages and loan officers must embrace these strategies to reach a broader audience, reduce costs, enhance customer experiences, and stay competitive. Investing in digital marketing is not just about keeping up with the times; it’s about securing a prosperous future in the mortgage industry, even through tough markets. Embrace digital marketing now to ensure sustained growth and success well into the future.
Sources:
Justin Ulrich is the VP of Marketing at Evocalize.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.
To contact the editor responsible for this piece: [email protected]
Socially responsible investing (SRI) strategies help investors put their capital into a range of securities — e.g., stocks, bonds, mutual funds — that focus on socially positive aims: e.g., clean energy, air and water; equitable employment practices, and more.
Despite market volatility driven by interest rate changes and geopolitical conflicts in recent years, SRI investing strategies have garnered steady interest from investors.
Various analyses of SRI funds suggest that the philosophy of doing well by doing some good in the world may have an upside worth exploring.
What Is Socially Responsible Investing?
While SRI investing goes by many names — including ESG investing (for environmental, social, and government factors), sustainable, or impact investing — the fundamental idea is to channel capital into entities that are working toward specific environmental and/or social policies in the U.S. and worldwide. The aim of SRI is to generate both positive changes across various industries, while also delivering returns.
Generally, investors that embrace SRI strategies find ways to assess an organization’s environmental and social impact when deciding whether to invest in them. However, there are important distinctions between the various labels in this sector of investing.
Socially responsible investing can be seen as more of an umbrella term (similar to impact investing). Within SRI, some strategies focus specifically on companies that meet certain criteria — either by supporting specific practices (e.g., green manufacturing, ethical shopping) or avoiding others (e.g., reducing reliance on fossil fuels).
For that reason it’s incumbent on each investor to assess different SRI options, to make sure they match their own aims. This is no different from the due diligence required for anyone starting to invest.
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Interest in SRI Investing Strategies
The tangible merits of socially responsible investing have always been subject to debate. But in the last couple of years there has been criticism of some of the underlying principles of SRI, as well as questions about the overall financial value of this investing approach.
Nonetheless, the value of global assets allocated to ETFs with an ESG focus have shown steady growth in the last two decades. As of November 2023, according to data from Statista, the value of these assets was $480 billion — a substantial increase since 2006, when the value of those assets was about $5 billion.
And according to a report published in 2023 by Morningstar, a fund rating and research firm, investors in conventional funds as well as SRI funds are likely to see returns over time.
Recommended: Beginner’s Guide to Sustainable Investing
SRI vs ESG vs Other Investing Strategies
While the various terms for SRI investing are often used interchangeably, it’s important for investors to understand some of the differences.
Impact Investing
Impact investing is perhaps the broadest term of all, in that it can refer to a range of priorities, goals, or values that investors may want to pursue. To some degree, impact investing implies that the investor has specific outcomes in mind: i.e. the growth of a certain sector, type of technology, or societal issue.
Impact investing may also refer to strategies that avoid certain companies, products, or practices. This could include so-called sin stocks (e.g. alcohol, tobacco), companies that adhere to principles that are in opposition to an investor’s or institution’s belief system, and more.
Socially Responsible Investing
SRI or socially conscious investing are two other broad labels, and they’re typically used to reflect progressive values of protecting the planet and natural resources, treating people equitably, and emphasizing corporate responsibility.
While SRI can be considered a type of impact investing, there may be impact investing strategies that are diametrically opposed to SRI, simply because they have different aims.
ESG Investing
Securities that embrace ESG principles, though, may be required to adhere to specific standards for protecting aspects of the environment (e.g. clean energy, water, and air); supporting social good (e.g. human rights, safe working conditions, equal opportunities); and corporate accountability (e.g. fighting corruption, balancing executive pay, and so on).
For example, some third-party organizations have helped create ESG metrics for companies and funds based on how well they adhere to various environmental, social, or governance factors.
Investors who believe in socially responsible investing may want to invest in stocks, bonds, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that meet ESG standards, and track ESG indexes.
Sustainable Investing
Sustainable investing is often used as a shorthand for securities that have a specific focus on protecting the environment. This term is sometimes used interchangeably with green investing, eco-friendly investing, or even ESG.
Unlike ESG — which is anchored in specific criteria having to do with a company’s actions regarding environmental, social, or governance issues — the phrase “sustainable investing” is considered an umbrella term. It’s not tied to specific criteria.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Last, corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to a general set of business practices that may positively impact society. Often, companies establish certain programs to support local or national issues, e.g. educational needs, ethical labor practices, workplace diversity, social justice initiatives, and more.
Ideally, CSR strategies work in tandem with traditional business objectives of hitting revenue and profit goals. But since CSR goals are specific to each company, they aren’t formally considered part of socially responsible, sustainable, or ESG investing.
A Focus on Results
Investors may want to bear in mind that, with the steady growth of this sector in the last 20 or 30 years, there are a number of ways SRI strategies can come together. For example, it’s possible to invest in sustainable pharmaceuticals and even green banks.
Either way, the underlying principle of these strategies is to make a profit by making a difference. By putting money into companies that embrace certain practices, investors can support organizations that embody principles they believe in, thereby potentially making a difference in the world, and perhaps seeing a financial upside as well.
Socially Responsible Investment Examples
These days, thousands of companies aim — or claim — to embrace ethical, social, environmental, or other standards, such as those put forth in the United Nations’ Principles of Responsible Investing, or the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. As a result, investors today can choose from a wide range of stocks, bonds, ETFs, and more that adhere to these criteria.
Understanding SRI Standards
In addition, there are also standards set out by financial institutions or other organizations which are used to evaluate different companies. It may be useful when selecting stocks that match your values to know the standards or metrics that have been used to verify a company’s ESG status.
Depending on your priorities, you could consider companies in the following sectors, or that embrace certain practices:
• Clean energy technology and production
• Supply chain upgrades
• Clean air and water technology, products, systems, manufacturing
• Sustainable agriculture
• Racial and gender equality
• Fair labor standards
• Community outreach and support
Exploring Different Asset Classes
Investors can also trade stocks of companies that are certified B Corporations (B Corps), which meet a higher standard for environmental sustainability in their businesses, or hit other metrics around public transparency and social justice, for example. B Corps can be any company, from bakeries to funeral homes, and may or may not be publicly traded.
Companies issue green bonds to finance projects and business operations that specifically address environmental and climate concerns, such as energy-efficient power plants, upgrades to municipal water systems, and so on.
These bonds may come with tax incentives, making them a more attractive investment than traditional bonds.
Another option for investors who don’t want to pick individual SRI or ESG stocks is to consider mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide exposure to socially responsible companies and other investments.
There are a growing number of index funds that invest in a basket of sustainable stocks and bonds. These funds allow investors to diversify their holdings by investing in one security.
There are numerous indexes that investors use as benchmarks for the performance of socially responsible funds. Three of the most prominent socially responsible indexes include: the MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus Index; Nasdaq 100 ESG Index; S&P 500 ESG Index. (Remember, you cannot invest directly in an index, only in funds that track the index.)
Recommended: Portfolio Diversification: What It Is and Why It’s Important
The Growing Appeal of Socially Responsible Investments
While many investors find the idea of doing good or making an impact appealing, the question of profit has long been a point of debate within the industry. Do you sacrifice performance if you invest according to certain values?
Unfortunately, the lack of consistency in terms of what constitutes a sustainable or socially/environmentally responsible investment has made it difficult to compare SRI strategies to conventional ones. One financial company may use one set of criteria when developing its sustainable offerings; another company may use its own proprietary set of standards.
That said, as the universe of sustainable offerings continues to grow, it’s possible to create more apples-to-apples comparison sets. According to Morningstar data, sustainable equity funds saw median returns of 16.7% for 2023 versus 14.4% for traditional equity funds. The relative outperformance of SRI strategies was consistent across equity fund styles and most market caps, but particularly large-cap equities. Over 75% of SRI and conventional funds include large-cap equities.
In addition, sustainable fund assets under management (AUM) globally were up 15% over 2022, growing to $3.4 trillion.
The Evolution of Responsible Investing
Socially conscious investing is not a new concept: People have been tailoring their investment strategies for generations, for a number of reasons, not all of them related to sustainability. In fact, it’s possible to view the emergence of socially conscious investing in three phases.
Phase 1: Exclusionary Strategies
Exclusionary strategies tend to focus on what not to invest in. For example, those who embrace Muslim, Mormon, Quaker, and other religions, were (and sometimes still are) directed to avoid investing in companies that run counter to the values of that faith. This is sometimes called faith-based investing.
Similarly, throughout history there have been groups as well as individuals who have taken a stand against certain industries or establishments by refusing to invest in related companies. Non-violent groups have traditionally avoided investing in companies that produce weapons. Others have skirted so-called “sin stocks”: companies that are involved in alcohol, tobacco, sex, and other businesses.
On a more global scale, widespread divestment of investor funds from companies in South Africa helped to dismantle the system of racial apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s.
Phase 2: Proactive Investing
Just like exclusionary strategies, proactive strategies are values-led. But rather than taking an avoidant approach, here investors put their money into companies and causes that match their beliefs.
For example, one of the earliest sustainable mutual funds was launched in 1971 by Pax World; the founders wanted to take a stand against chemical weapons in the Vietnam war and encourage investors to support more environmentally friendly businesses.
This approach gained steady interest from investors, as financial companies launched a range of funds that focused on supporting certain sectors. So-called green investing helped to establish numerous companies that have built sustainable energy platforms, for example.
Phase 3: Investing With Impact
With the rise of digital technology in the last 30 years, two things became possible.
First, financial institutions were able to create screening tools and filters to help investors gauge which companies actually adhered to certain standards — whether ethical, environmental, or something else. Second, the ability to track real-time company behavior and outcomes helped establish greater transparency — and accountability — for financial institutions evaluating these companies for their SRI fund offerings.
By 2006, the United Nations launched the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a set of global standards that helped create a worldwide understanding of Environmental, Social, and Governance strategies.
ESG became the shorthand for companies that focus on protecting various aspects of the environment (including clean energy, water, and air); supporting social good (including human rights, safe working conditions, equal opportunities); and fair corporate governance (e.g. fighting corruption, balancing executive pay, and so on).
Why Choose Socially Responsible Investing?
While the three phases of socially responsible investing did emerge more or less chronologically, all three types of strategies still exist in various forms today. But the growing emphasis on corporate accountability in terms of outcomes — requiring companies to do more than just green-washing their policies, products, and marketing materials — has shifted investors’ focus to the measurable impacts of these strategies.
Now the reasons to choose SRI strategies are growing.
Investors Can Have an Impact
The notion of values-led investing is that by putting your money into organizations that align with your beliefs, you can make a tangible difference in the world. The performance of many sustainable funds, as noted above, indicates that it’s possible to support the growth of specific companies or sectors (although growth always entails risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results).
Socially Responsible Strategies May Be Profitable, Too
As discussed earlier, the question of whether SRI and ESG funds are as profitable as they are ethical has long been a point of debate. But that skepticism is ebbing now, with new performance metrics suggesting that sustainable funds are on par with conventional funds.
Socially Responsible Investing May Help Mitigate Risk
The criteria built into ESG investment standards may also help identify companies with poor governance practices, or those with exposure to environmental and social risks that could lead to financial losses.
Do Retirement Accounts Offer Socially Responsible Investments?
Generally speaking, individual retirement accounts may include socially responsible or ESG investment options. For example, when investing in different types of IRAs, e.g., a traditional, Roth, or SEP IRA, investors typically have access to all the securities offered by that financial institution, including stocks, bonds, and ETFs that may reflect ESG standards. The choice is up to individual investors.
That hasn’t always been the case with employer-sponsored 401k or 403b plans. But in 2023, the Department of Labor issued a rule allowing plan fiduciaries to consider ESG investment options for plan participants.
While some plans may now offer socially responsible or ESG investments, there is a push from some lawmakers to restrict or eliminate the availability of these funds. ERISA standards for retirement plans dictate that the investment options offered by employer-sponsored plans “must be based on risk return factors that the fiduciary prudently determines are material to investment value.” Some lawmakers argue that ESG funds are higher risk and not suitable for employees in company plans.
The Takeaway
Socially responsible investing is a broad term that can mean different things to different groups, but no matter which term you use — socially conscious investing, impact investing, ESG investing — it comes down to the compelling idea that by investing your money in organizations that match your values, you can make a difference in the world.
Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an investment account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, alternative funds, and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).
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FAQ
Is socially responsible investing profitable?
Socially responsible investing can be profitable, as multiple reviews of fund performance have shown over the last several years. That said, some believe that the financial strength of ESG or SRI strategies is debatable. While any investment strategy has its own risks, it’s best to assess them according to your own aims.
What is the difference between ESG investing and socially responsible investing?
Socially responsible investing is considered a broad term that can encompass a range of practices and standards. ESG investing stands for environmental, social, and governance factors, is a set of principles that is often used to assess how well companies meet specific, measurable criteria. While there is no single industry-wide metric for ESG standards, investors can consider various proprietary tools.
How many socially responsible investment opportunities are there?
It’s impossible to say how many SRI opportunities there are, as the stocks, bonds, and other securities that embrace ESG standards continue to grow. More than 120 new sustainable funds entered the SRI landscape in 2021, in addition to 26 existing funds that took on a sustainable mandate.
What is the socially responsible investment theory?
The theory behind socially responsible investing can be summed up by the old saying about “Doing well by doing good.” In other words, by investing in companies that support positive social and environmental products and policies, it’s possible to help investors realize a profit.
How do you start socially responsible investing?
Investors who are interested in SRI or ESG investing can begin by getting to know companies that adhere to certain eco-friendly or socially responsible standards. In addition, many financial institutions offer clients a way to screen for stocks or mutual funds that have an ESG focus.
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As of June 21, Air France has officially opened its lounge doors at Los Angeles International Airport. The new lounge features modern and stylish design and offers travelers amenities like a bar, dining area, bathrooms and showers. A spa is set to open in September 2024.
Here’s what you can expect when you visit the Air France lounge at LAX, plus how you can get in.
Getting to the Air France lounge at LAX
Entrance to the Air France lounge at LAX. (Photo by Josh Garber)
The new Air France lounge at LAX is in Terminal B (also referred to as the Tom Bradley International Terminal) in the Midfield Satellite Concourse. While the Midfield Satellite Concourse is about a 10- to 15-minute walk past security, it’s conveniently located near the gates that Air France regularly uses for its flights to Paris and Tahiti.
Air France lounge at LAX amenities
Private area for La Première passengers in the Air France lounge at LAX. (Photo by Josh Garber)
The Air France lounge at LAX is close to 12,000 square feet and seats 172 passengers. The lounge has several different areas, including:
Dining area featuring French cuisine.
Bar with a wide selection of French wines, champagnes, and other spirits and drinks.
Bathrooms and showers.
Several seating areas, including seats with USB sockets and power outlets.
Clarins Spa treatment area (opening in September 2024).
There is also a dedicated area available specifically for La Première (first class) passengers. It is designed to emulate the onboard La Première suites.
Food and drink
The cheese selection at the Air France lounge at LAX. (Photo by Josh Garber)
The food and dining experience at the Air France lounge at LAX sets it apart.
The airline designed the lounge dining area to resemble Parisian brasseries, with individual seating, a large communal table and private alcoves.
Air France takes great pride in its food. For example, its in-flight menu features French cuisine and was designed by chef Dominique Crenn, who has three Michelin stars for her restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. Its lounge menu similarly offers diners options that highlight the gourmet flavors of France.
The crepes, kale caesar salad and selection of cheeses were especially tasty.
The Air France lounge at LAX has a chef who will prepare dishes on request in an open kitchen. Options include pan-fried prawns or cassoulet with duck confit.
The lounge also features a modern, stylish bar with French champagnes, wines and other spirits, as well as a selection of mocktails.
Bar at the Air France lounge at LAX. (Photo by Josh Garber)
If you’re craving a soft drink, there are two refrigerators filled with soda and other nonalcoholic drinks a short walk from the bar.
Seating areas and bathrooms
Seating area at the Air France lounge at LAX, including art featuring the Hollywood sign. (Photo by Josh Garber)
There are plenty of seating options at the Air France lounge at LAX, including spacious individual seats with USB ports and communal seating.
You will also have access to smaller private areas, which work well for groups traveling together or individuals trying to minimize the distractions around them.
More seating at the Air France lounge at LAX, with easy access to a snack area with coffee. (Photo courtesy of Josh Garber)
A private seating area is available for Ultimate-level elites in the airline’s Flying Blue program. It features large armchairs designed to make passengers feel at home.
Spacious, gender-neutral bathrooms are available for all lounge visitors.
The hallway where bathrooms and showers are located at the Air France lounge at LAX. (Photo by Josh Garber)
You can also hop in the shower, which is particularly helpful if you want to freshen up on a layover or before you depart.
Area for La Première customers
Champagne and liquor in the La Première private area at the Air France lounge at LAX. (Photo by Josh Garber)
Guests flying in Air France’s La Première class have access to a private area dedicated to these customers. The area can fit up to twelve guests and has a private dining area with higher-end drinks and snacks.
Once the spa opens, La Première customers will be able to book services in advance. For other passengers, treatments will be available first come, first served.
How to access the Air France lounge at LAX
The Air France lounge at LAX is open daily and can be accessed by the following guests:
Air France La Première passengers.
Flying Blue Elite Plus members (Gold and Platinum levels).
Eligible customers of KLM and SkyTeam partner airlines.
The Air France lounge at LAX follows the standard SkyTeam lounge access rules, meaning international first and business class passengers on any SkyTeam airline (which includes Delta Air Lines) as well as SkyTeam Elite Plus members traveling in economy class can access the lounge.
SkyTeam member airlines
Aerolineas Argentinas.
AeroMexico.
Air Europa.
Air France.
China Airlines.
China Eastern.
Czech Airlines.
Delta Air Lines.
Garuda Indonesia.
ITA Airways.
Kenya AIrways.
Korean Air.
MEA (Middle East Airlines).
Vietnam Airlines.
Virgin Atlantic.
Xiamen Air.
Air France lounge at LAX recapped
The Air France lounge at LAX is modern and spacious. It features delicious food, a chic bar, plenty of seating options, a soon-to-open spa and a private area dedicated to first-class passengers.
Thinking about trying out Ipsos iSay? Learn what I think in my Ipsos iSay Review. If you want to earn extra cash from home on your own schedule, you may want to try out Ipsos iSay. Ipsos iSay is a survey company where you can earn points that can be turned into rewards. The surveys…
Thinking about trying out Ipsos iSay? Learn what I think in my Ipsos iSay Review.
If you want to earn extra cash from home on your own schedule, you may want to try out Ipsos iSay.
Ipsos iSay is a survey company where you can earn points that can be turned into rewards. The surveys usually ask about your shopping habits and preferences. For example, they may want to know why you buy certain things.
Using Ipsos iSay is easy. Just sign up and you’ll get survey invitations. Completing these surveys can help you earn extra pocket money.
I have been taking surveys for years, and I think it’s an easy way to make extra money in your spare time at home.
Please click here to sign up for Ipsos iSay and get a free 250 points for joining.
Ipsos iSay Review
Below is my Ipsos iSay Review.
What is Ipsos iSay?
Ipsos iSay is an online survey platform that lets you share your opinions on many different topics. You can also earn points through their referral program for each successful referral to Ipsos iSay.
This is one of the most popular and best survey sites, with millions of users.
Ipsos iSay gives you points for completing surveys. The number of points you earn depends on how long and hard the survey is. For example, a 150-point survey might take 30 minutes to finish. Usually, 500 points equal $5 in rewards.
The points you earn from taking surveys can be redeemed for free gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, Subway, Target, Walmart, Apple, and Visa, as well as PayPal cash.
Recommended reading: 20 Best Paid Survey Sites To Make $100+ Per Month
How Ipsos iSay works
Ipsos iSay is a survey platform where you can earn rewards by sharing your opinions.
To get started, you need to sign up on the Ipsos iSay website, and the signup process is easy and free. You will create a username and password, as well as give basic details like your name, date of birth, gender, email, and country, and this information helps decide which surveys you can take.
After making your profile, there might be more questions to better match you with surveys. Answering these carefully can help you get more surveys that fit you.
Once your profile is ready, you’ll get survey invitations by email. These emails will tell you about the survey, like how long it takes and how many points you can earn. It’s important to respond quickly because surveys can fill up fast.
Some users might get more survey invitations based on their profile and how active they are. So, you will want to make sure to check your email regularly for new surveys, as answering surveys regularly can help you earn more and might also get you more invites.
The surveys are usually easy and quick. They might ask about your buying habits or what you think of a new product.
Sometimes, you might not qualify for every survey. When this happens, don’t get discouraged. There are always new surveys coming.
Why does Ipsos iSay pay you?
Ipsos iSay pays you to take surveys and give your opinions because companies need to know what people think about their products, ads, and services.
These companies hire Ipsos to gather this information. When you share your thoughts, you help them make better products.
Your feedback is really valuable to these companies because they want to know what you like and don’t like. This helps them improve what they sell in the market, as well as how they sell it.
What kind of questions are asked in surveys?
When you take surveys on Ipsos iSay, the questions help companies understand what people like you think.
You might be asked about products you use every day. They could ask what brand of toothpaste you buy or how often you drink soda.
Sometimes, you’ll get questions about ads you see. They might show you a commercial and ask if you liked it or if you remember what it was about.
Other times, questions will focus on your hobbies and interests. They might ask what you do for fun or what sports you watch on TV.
Surveys can also include questions about shopping habits. For example, they might ask about your last trip to the grocery store or how often you shop online.
Lastly, you might be asked about opinions on different topics. They could ask how you feel about a new movie or what you think about a recent news story.
Here’s a quick list of common survey topics:
Products you use
Ads you’ve seen
Your hobbies and interests
Shopping habits
General opinions
Each survey is different, so you won’t get bored answering the same questions all the time!
Here is a screenshot of some of the Ipsos iSay rewards.
How to cash out with Ipsos iSay
Cashing out with Ipsos iSay is simple.
Simply go to the Rewards tab when you are logged into your Ipsos iSay account. On this page, you will be able to see the rewards that are available to you as well as the amount of points that you need in order to get that reward.
Gift cards and prepaid cards are sent to you instantly once you redeem your points. If you redeem your points for PayPal cash (you will need to already have a PayPal account for this to work), then this takes around 3 to 4 weeks.
Here are some examples of what your points are worth on Ipsos iSay:
1000 points for a $10 Amazon gift card
500 points for a $5 Subway gift card
1000 points for a $10 Starbucks gift card
2500 points for a $25 Target gift card
You can also get gift cards to places like Walmart, Apple, Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Domino’s. Other options include prepaid virtual Visa cards, PayPal cash, and even charity donations to the Ipsos Foundation.
Ipsos iSay user reviews and ratings
I researched around the internet to see real Ipsos iSay reviews. Here’s what I found:
Ipsos iSay has great reviews on TrustPilot, with over 50,000 reviews and an average rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars. Many reviewers say that they received survey invitations regularly and that it is easy to use.
Ipsos iSay also has great reviews on Google Play (there is an Ipsos iSay app as well!), with over 50,200 reviews and an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. There have also been over 1,000,000 downloads of Ipsos iSay just on Google Play.
Ipsos iSay reviews on the App Store were also good, with 3,300 ratings and an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Alternatives to Ipsos iSay
There are many more sites similar to Ipsos iSay that you can sign up for as well. These include:
Prime Opinion
American Consumer Opinion
Survey Junkie
InboxDollars
Pinecone Research
PrizeRebel
User Interviews – This one pays the most, with many paying over $100 an hour.
If you are looking to learn more about each online survey website, I have in-depth reviews on several of them. You can find them below:
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are answers to common questions about Ipsos iSay.
Is Ipsos iSay legit?
Yes, Ipsos iSay is legit. It’s operated by Ipsos, a global market research company that has been around since 1975. The site also has positive ratings on Trustpilot, Apple App Store, and Google Play. Ipsos iSay pays real rewards for the surveys that you answer.
How much does Ipsos iSay pay?
Earnings on Ipsos iSay can vary. Some surveys pay more than others, but most surveys reward you with points. These points can later be redeemed for gift cards, cash, or other rewards. Answering surveys on Ipsos iSay will not make you rich, nor will it be a full-time job. It will simply allow you to earn some side hustle income. I would expect to earn less than $50 a month answering surveys on Ipsos iSay.
Is Ipsos iSay safe? Is Ipsos iSay a scam?
Yes, Ipsos iSay is safe to use. I have been answering surveys for years, and I have never had an issue.
How long does it take for Ipsos iSay to pay out?
The time it takes to get paid from Ipsos iSay can depend on the reward you choose. Gift card rewards are usually faster, typically paid instantly or within a few days. Cash payouts through PayPal may take longer, sometimes up to a few weeks.
What are some tips to get more surveys from Ipsos?
To get more surveys from Ipsos iSay, I recommend making sure your profile is complete and up-to-date. This helps Ipsos iSay match you with more surveys. Also, try to log in regularly to check for new survey opportunities.
Is Ipsos iSay free?
Yes, joining Ipsos iSay and participating in surveys is free. You don’t have to pay anything to become a member or to take surveys.
Ipsos iSay Review – Summary
I hope you enjoyed my Ipsos iSay Review.
Ipsos iSay rewards you for sharing your opinions through surveys. Their surveys are easy to answer, and they typically focus on your shopping habits and preferences. The number of surveys you receive can vary, and availability of surveys depends on your profile and what the target market is that Ipsos iSay is looking for.
The Ipsos iSay points you earn can be exchanged for things like Amazon gift cards and PayPal funds.
I have been answering surveys for years, and it is an easy way to make side income from the comfort of your home without any stress. The questions are always easy to answer and you can even answer them while watching TV or making dinner.
Please click here to sign up for Ipsos iSay and get a free 250 bonus points for joining.
Victor Ciardelli beamed as his mortgage company, Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate, launched a “financial wellness” and “personal well-being” app last fall before a live audience in Times Square with wellness celebrity Deepak Chopra.
“Something we are passionate about at Guaranteed Rate is caring about people and their overall well-being,” Ciardelli said in a video of the event posted online. “We wanted to make sure that we did something to help people in their general stress and alleviate pain.”
But in the days following the launch of the app, which offers home loan applications and other financial services alongside yoga classes and nutrition advice, Ciardelli wasn’t happy. Yelling at executive leadership on company calls, he referred to his employees as “failures,” complained that the team did not show him from a particular camera angle and said “Marketing is a f−−−ing disaster,” according to two executives who were on the calls.
Despite Ciardelli’s public remarks on the importance of personal well-being, many former employees told the Tribune they experienced or witnessed persistent verbal abuse and a misogynistic environment while working at Guaranteed Rate. As part of a Tribune investigation, reporters interviewed nearly 80 former employees and reviewed court records, internal company emails, written exit interviews and text messages.
Many of the former staff members who spoke with the Tribune described Ciardelli, the company’s president, CEO and founder, as a boss who was quick to berate, swear at and demean employees.
“Every person that works directly under Mr. Ciardelli is terrified of his potential anger outbursts,” one former assistant wrote to human resources after she was let go from the company a couple of years ago, according to an email reviewed by the Tribune.
Some former employees who spoke with the Tribune said they were driven to seek mental health care because of the work environment at the company; one former worker said she contacted a suicide hotline last year.
Multiple women who used to work at Guaranteed Rate, meanwhile, described working in a sexualized atmosphere where some male loan officers and managers made sexually explicit remarks to female employees, hit on them in the office or at work events, and commented inappropriately on their appearance — even, in one case, encouraging a woman to use her looks to help close a loan.
In February, a woman who used to work as a loan officer at Guaranteed Rate filed a lawsuit against two high-producing loan officers at the company, alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Her complaint alleges one of the male loan officers sexually harassed her at a corporate event, that the other loan officer pressured her not to report the incident to human resources, and that for the remainder of her employment the man who made the remark used “gender-based and demeaning slurs to refer to” her and other women at the company.
Other former employees said they did not bring their complaints to human resources because they thought Ciardelli or other executives and managers meddled in the department’s business and might retaliate, with at least two former employees saying they’d observed how company leaders protected certain staff members. Others said they did complain but felt the department didn’t take the information seriously.
In response to a detailed list of questions from the Tribune, Ciardelli and Guaranteed Rate vehemently denied all of these allegations, describing the company as a positive workplace environment where women in particular are supported. The firm went to remarkable lengths to dispute the allegations, including sending the results of a worker satisfaction survey it conducted and forwarding more than 80 testimonials from current and former employees. Among them were five of Ciardelli’s current or former assistants, as well as numerous male and female executives praising his leadership and support.
The company also retained an outside law firm that, even before receiving the reporters’ list of questions, threatened to sue the newspaper for defamation.
Guaranteed Rate, whose corporate headquarters is in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood, has grown tremendously since its founding in 2000 to become one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country based on loan volume, according to industry news and data provider Inside Mortgage Finance. Its name has adorned the White Sox stadium since 2016, and as recently as 2018, Guaranteed Rate was named a Chicago Tribune Top Workplace — a distinction based on surveys conducted by an outside company, with no input from editorial staff on the selection.
Guaranteed Rate CEO Victor Ciardelli prepares to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a White Sox home game in August 2016. The ballpark would be renamed after his company later that year. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Jason Scott, a former top-producing loan officer and director of VA lending, which provides home loans to military veterans and active-duty service members, at Guaranteed Rate said his earlier years at the company — when lower mortgage rates fueled industry growth — were positive. But Ciardelli’s outbursts and verbal abuse of employees grew more noticeable, he said, when rising interest rates started to erode those gains, especially after the boom years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think crazy success just brings out who the real people are,” said Scott, who reported to Ciardelli in his director role and now works for CrossCountry Mortgage, a competitor of Guaranteed Rate. “What did you sacrifice to get there? Did you sacrifice your soul or your core values?”
Many other former employees who spoke with the Tribune did so on the condition they would not be named in this story, saying they feared Guaranteed Rate would sue them. Guaranteed Rate has filed lawsuits against former employees to claw back signing bonuses; it also has sued competitor New American Funding and former employees who have hired former Guaranteed Rate workers, accusing them of unlawful poaching.
Ciardelli declined to be interviewed without his attorney for this story. In response to written questions provided by the Tribune, he and the company suggested the criticism of Guaranteed Rate came from disgruntled employees who could not succeed in a demanding work environment within a challenging industry, or from people who now work for a competitor and therefore would benefit from disparaging the company.
“We hold ourselves and our team members to an incredibly high standard and are not apologetic about that,” Ciardelli said in his written responses, sent through the outside law firm retained to handle communications with the Tribune. “We also recognize … that to achieve great success, one must embrace a full ownership for their actions, both successful and otherwise to achieve growth and most important optimally serve our customers. We promote a transparent culture that supports all our team members toward that goal and welcome constructive criticism. As a result, we are not for everyone.”
Ciardelli specifically denied berating staff, yelling at executives after the app launch or ever calling employees “stupid” or “failures.” He quoted the company’s chief operating officer, Nik Athanasiou, as saying: “I have worked with Victor for 15 years. No one is in more meetings with him than me. I do not ever recall an instance where Victor was abusive toward another employee.”
Ciardelli also pointed to the company’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and said neither he nor any other executive interfered with human resources.
In response to questions from the Tribune about women’s complaints, including being subjected to sexually explicit comments and working in a “boys club” atmosphere, Ciardelli wrote that such allegations are “simply not true.” The company “has not, does not, and would not objectify women or put them in uncomfortable personal or professional situations,” he wrote.
Ciardelli also highlighted the large number of female loan officers working at the company, their professional success and the testimonials from female employees. When the Tribune asked to speak with four of those women, only one — Rola Gurrieri, the company’s New Jersey-based chief fulfillment officer — agreed to be interviewed without outside counsel or management present.
Regarding the lawsuit filed by former Guaranteed Rate loan officer Megan McDermott, the company told the Tribune it had “found no evidence supporting Ms. McDermott’s allegations of sexual harassment or gender discrimination” after conducting a “comprehensive investigation.”
Guaranteed Rate also sent a general statement detailing the company’s business philosophy, which includes a “fierce commitment to excellence.” Employees who do not “meet our core values or our quality standards” find it challenging to maintain job satisfaction at the company, it said.
“Many of these employees walk away not feeling good about the company which is a natural emotion when faced with a reality that their standards and the company standards are not aligned,” the statement said.
But many of the former employees who spoke with the Tribune described a cutthroat work culture they said could be frightening and upsetting, with several attributing that culture to Ciardelli’s laser focus on making money and growing Guaranteed Rate.
A sign is installed at the White Sox stadium in October 2016 to proclaim its new name: Guaranteed Rate Field. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
The former assistant who emailed human resources asked not to be identified in this story, fearing it might jeopardize her current job or trigger retaliation from Ciardelli. In that email, the woman wrote that she was “constantly on edge and terrified to have an interaction with Mr. Ciardelli” and that she had “consoled each assistant on his team that endured the wrath of Mr. Ciardelli’s behavior.”
“I hope that my experience will open your eyes,” she wrote.
Flying too close to the sun
In an interview with the Tribune in 2014, Ciardelli made plain his ambition to grow the company.
“If you can’t handle it, you shouldn’t be here,” Ciardelli said. “Instead of feeling like, oh, we care about people’s feelings and all that, it’s all about results.”
In the same article, Ciardelli said he worked constructively with his employees when issues arose at work. “There’s no drama involved; there’s no yelling,” he said. “Let’s fix the issue and move on.”
But multiple former executives and employees told the Tribune Ciardelli regularly yelled at and verbally attacked executives and other employees in person and on company calls, sometimes in front of hundreds of people, with the calls following the app launch just one example.
Some former and current employees told the Tribune they tried to avoid Ciardelli because they were scared of his temper.
Scott, the former director of VA lending who worked at Guaranteed Rate from 2017 until he resigned in 2022, splitting his time between offices in Hawaii and Colorado, called Ciardelli a “bully.”
Scott told the Tribune that, during one call, Ciardelli took an executive “to the woodshed and just eviscerated him verbally,” saying things such as “I can’t believe you are this stupid.”
“(Victor) throws the grenade and then he leaves the room,” not giving people a chance to explain or talk through the issue, Scott said.
At the time of Ciardelli’s 2014 Tribune interview, Guaranteed Rate had 2,500 employees nationally, 1,050 of whom were based in Chicago, according to Tribune archives.
The company grew to employ 9,708 people nationwide at its peak in 2021, Guaranteed Rate told the Tribune in May. Part of the company’s growth stemmed from its acquisitions of other mortgage companies: Manhattan Mortgage and Superior Mortgage in 2012 and Stearns Lending in 2021.
Victor Ciardelli, shown in 2014 at Guaranteed Rate’s headquarters, told the Tribune that year that he had ambitious plans for the company and “if you can’t handle it, you shouldn’t be here.” (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
Guaranteed Rate also partners on mortgage services with some of the largest real estate companies in the country. Including the people working in those partnerships, Guaranteed Rate had 14,264 employees at its height in 2021.
Like other mortgage companies, Guaranteed Rate has suffered a significant decline in business over the last two years, stemming from mortgage rates that have more than doubled from their record lows during the pandemic.
As mortgage rates soared in 2022 and 2023, the firm implemented thousands of layoffs, with only 3,871 workers remaining as of April, or 5,756 among all its companies, excluding contractors, as of May, according to the company.
Yet Ciardelli’s volatile behavior predated the stressful times in the housing market, according to some people who worked for Guaranteed Rate. Many people who “fly too close to the sun” — a metaphor some employees used to describe working directly with Ciardelli — eventually leave, they said.
People who work in personal and executive assistant roles for Ciardelli rarely last long in their jobs, with many leaving after less than a year, former employees said. Some referred to Ciardelli’s assistant position as a “revolving door,” and the LinkedIn profiles of multiple former assistants show short stints with the company.
More than two dozen executives and senior loan officers have left the company over the last decade, with a significant exodus occurring in the past two years. Multiple former executives and loan officers — including Scott — told the Tribune they left because of Ciardelli’s verbal outbursts and what many described as a workplace where they felt bullying and misogyny were tolerated. Most now work for competitors.
Ciardelli and other executives sometimes would disparage people who left the company, according to Scott.
“I would be like ‘Guys, did anybody ever think about reaching out to them before they left and having an exit interview with them?’” Scott said. “You are talking about a person that was a top producer here that you loved them as long as they produced, and now that they leave, they are an enemy? … They are leaving for a reason.”
In Ciardelli’s written responses to Tribune questions, he said allegations of a toxic work environment or bullying on his part are “not aligned with Guaranteed Rate or my leadership.” He said neither he nor other executives have disparaged former employees when they left the company.
In response to a question about assistant turnover, Ciardelli wrote that he has worked closely with five “primary” assistants since 2000. “As is the case with any demanding support roles, there has been some turnover with secondary and tertiary assistants, but nothing that is abnormal or unexpected,” he wrote.
One testimonial sent to the Tribune was from Melissa Czaszwicz, who said she worked for Ciardelli as an executive assistant in the early 2000s. She wrote that she had a positive experience working closely with Ciardelli, who she said was especially supportive when she had children.
“Never did I witness anything inappropriate or out of line,” said Czaszwicz, who still works at Guaranteed Rate.
‘Mental health has suffered’
Some former employees who spoke with the Tribune said they were driven to seek mental health support during and after their time at the company because of the negative work environment they experienced at Guaranteed Rate.
Most of those who shared their experiences worked for an executive who has a close working relationship with Ciardelli. Former workers said this executive also verbally abused staff and was prone to volatile mood swings.
One told the Tribune she texted and called a suicide hotline last year while working at the company because of verbal abuse from the executive; she shared the texts she sent with the Tribune.
In her resignation email, sent to the executive and to the human resources department last year, she wrote: “My mental health has rapidly declined due to the way I have been treated and spoken to in the last couple of months.”
Another employee from the same team wrote in a 2019 resignation letter sent to the executive, human resources, Ciardelli and others that his “mental health has suffered.”
Founded in 2000, Guaranteed Rate grew to become one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country but has suffered a decline in business as mortgage rates have soared in the last two years. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
In the resignation email and in an interview with the Tribune, the former employee said his boss gave him the runaround when he asked for time off to attend his mother’s chemotherapy appointments and complained to other employees about his requests.
Other employees discouraged him from requesting leave directly from human resources, warning him he would be fired if he went around the executive, according to the email.
Alyssa Ortiz, another former employee, said working with this executive was like being in an “abusive” relationship, being yelled at one minute and being invited for drinks the next.
“Everyone has gotten … chewed out and left crying,” said Ortiz, who worked for Guaranteed Rate from 2017 to 2019.
Ortiz told the Tribune that human resources and Ciardelli had been notified of this executive’s verbal mistreatment of employees but did nothing. She and about a dozen other former employees told the Tribune they felt Ciardelli protected this executive because of their working relationship.
In a written exit interview from 2020, one employee from the same department described how the executive would discuss former employees’ exit interviews with current employees.
“This created a fear for us to go to HR for anything moving forward,” the employee wrote.
Ciardelli said the company was not aware of any incident in which an executive read former employees’ exit interviews aloud; he said Guaranteed Rate “would never support this practice.”
Dozens of employees have left the executive’s department since 2017, according to interviews with former workers and LinkedIn profiles. The executive has since been promoted, the executive’s LinkedIn profile and the company’s website show.
In 2018, the head of human resources at the time took away the HR representative working with the executive’s department because of “risks” the executive posed to the company, according to an email reviewed by the Tribune.
“I can’t in good conscience keep allowing (the executive) to drag other employee (sic) into … schemes,” the former HR head wrote. “And by schemes I mean risky bull−−−−.” The department would have no assigned human resources representative after that, according to the email.
In correspondence with the Tribune, Guaranteed Rate described the company as a positive workplace where abuse and harassment are not tolerated and where complaints to human resources are taken seriously.
“We are not perfect by any means, but we do work hard to listen to our employees and make sure they feel supported,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email to the Tribune in April. “Most of all, we have no tolerance for any form of bullying, harassment or mistreatment. It is not who we are or who we want to be.”
Some of the employee testimonials provided by Guaranteed Rate expressed similar sentiments. For example, Mohamed Tawy, a branch manager and senior loan officer who has been with Guaranteed Rate for three years, wrote that the culture at the company is the best he has experienced in his 15-year career.
In an interview with the Tribune, Tawy said: “As a top producer … and I’m also a minority myself, I haven’t felt anything or seen anything that makes this company in any way negative for anybody that’s different. … I’ve seen here all that matters is that you do a good job, your production is good and that you follow the protocols and the rules, and I’ve seen people succeed with that more than any company I’ve been with.”
The Guaranteed Rate spokesperson also shared the results of an employee experience survey conducted in February. According to the company, the average rating for the culture at Guaranteed Rate was 8.49 out of 10, with nearly 75% of 3,745 employees responding. Those ratings were based on employees’ stated level of comfort providing feedback and/or concerns, how much they felt supported by the company in maintaining a healthy work-life balance and their sense of Guaranteed Rate’s commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion.
The email from the spokesperson said the company received “a countless number of positive comments and appreciation for their leaders, teams and our overall culture.”
In response to Tribune questions, Guaranteed Rate said in May that the survey was anonymous and it was analyzed by its “employee experience team.” The company did not provide the Tribune with a complete set of responses from the survey, but it volunteered that employees used the word “toxic” to make a negative comment about Guaranteed Rate in only 14 of the more than 5,000 written responses provided to three open-ended survey questions.
‘Mortified and disgusted’
Megan McDermott, a single mother of three, met her supervisor at Guaranteed Rate, Jon Lamkin, in person for the first time at a corporate event in December 2015, according to the lawsuit she filed in February.
When Lamkin heard the age of her oldest child, the suit alleges, he said: “You should have known better than to let some guy’s d−−− c−−− inside you.”
According to her lawsuit, McDermott reported the comment to Joseph Moschella, a regional manager and senior loan officer at Guaranteed Rate who was responsible for McDermott’s region while she worked at the company. Moschella, the suit alleges, “pressured” her not to make a formal complaint of sexual harassment to human resources.
McDermott told the Tribune she was “mortified and disgusted” after Lamkin made the comment.
“The irony here is that Jon should have known better than to treat an employee the way he did rather than telling me I should have known better to become a single mother at 20 years old,” McDermott said, “which is vile. … He set the tone the first day I met him of the power Joe and Jon had over my career.”
Megan McDermott, shown in March in New Jersey, has filed a lawsuit alleging she was “subjected to a sexual and gender-based hostile work environment” at Guaranteed Rate and did not receive the same opportunities, treatment and pay as male loan officers. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
As McDermott went on to become a top-producing loan officer for Guaranteed Rate in New Jersey, her suit alleges Lamkin subjected her to abuse by “regularly screaming at her and using gender-based and demeaning slurs to refer to” her and other women at the company.
Her lawsuit alleges she was “subjected to a sexual and gender-based hostile work environment” by Guaranteed Rate, Lamkin and Moschella. Her suit also alleges McDermott did not receive the same opportunities, treatment and pay as male loan officers, which some other female loan officers told the Tribune reflected their own experiences as well.
McDermott did not lodge a complaint after Lamkin’s comment because she “believed she would be retaliated against” if she did so, the suit states. When she did report to HR around 2019 that Lamkin had engaged in “abusive behavior,” the department “failed to do anything to investigate or curtail Defendant Lamkin’s behavior,” the complaint alleges.
“Joe encouraged me not to go to HR because of the damage it would do to Jon’s career,” McDermott said. “Ultimately, all that they were worried about was Jon, his reputation and his career versus reporting inappropriate behavior.”
Guaranteed Rate told the Tribune in its May response that Lamkin’s comment was “nothing more than a single off-color joke,” that McDermott accepted an apology from Lamkin and that Moschella “encouraged” McDermott to contact human resources if she was “still upset.”
The company said it “could not find any record of Ms. McDermott making any form of complaint to the company’s human resources department in 2019, either verbally or in writing.”
McDermott told the Tribune she helped build Guaranteed Rate’s business in north Jersey from the ground up and said she loved the work until she found out she was not being treated equally as a woman.
“I believe management did not want to see me succeed, didn’t take me seriously and made decisions that negatively affected me and my children financially,” said McDermott, who now works for CrossCountry Mortgage, a competitor. “I ultimately left GR because I could no longer work in an environment where I was not valued and leadership felt that they could exploit me.”
Moschella and Lamkin are still employed at Guaranteed Rate. They did not respond to a Tribune request for comment. Guaranteed Rate told the Tribune in May that it had investigated McDermott’s allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination and found that “there is no evidence that Mr. Lamkin or anyone else at Guaranteed Rate ever created a hostile work environment for women.”
Guaranteed Rate also said in a statement that it complies with state and federal equal pay laws. The company said an “outside law firm” had reviewed its 2023 pay data and found it compliant with state equal pay laws.
In his written responses, Ciardelli highlighted the high percentage of female loan officers at the company in comparison to its competitors and said “our women originators thrive more than at any mortgage company in the industry.”
Employee statements provided through Guaranteed Rate’s attorneys included testimonials from dozens of women. Some noted the existence of the company’s employee resource group for women, GROW, while others cited the presence of women in leadership roles throughout the company.
“In addition to my professional growth I’ve experienced, I am equally grateful for the respect and dignity with which I have been treated as a woman in the workplace,” Jaime Kinman, a senior loan officer, said in her statement. “In an industry where gender biases still exist, I have never once felt marginalized or overlooked because of my gender.”
Gurrieri, the company’s chief fulfillment officer, said in an interview with the Tribune that she “never one time” experienced misogyny at the company.
“I got promoted when I’m six months pregnant,” she said. “That’s unheard of.”
Gurrieri, who has worked for Guaranteed Rate for more than six years, described Ciardelli’s leadership style as “extremely passionate.”
“There’s never been a day where I ever felt disrespected or not appreciated,” she said.
According to a former top executive who reported to Ciardelli for many years and a former human resources employee, a handful of loan officers at Guaranteed Rate were known sexual harassers, making women feel uncomfortable with inappropriate touching and unwanted advances in work settings.
But that behavior was rarely addressed, the former workers believed, because the men were friends with Ciardelli or were high-producing loan officers — each responsible for bringing in tens of millions of dollars in loan volume. Some of these loan officers still work at Guaranteed Rate.
Ciardelli called these allegations “simply not true” and said they were contradicted by the employee testimonials provided through the company’s attorney.
“They are also inconsistent with the recollections and experiences of multiple former HR professionals,” Ciardelli wrote.
A ‘sex-driven’ culture
In interviews with the Tribune, multiple former employees described a “boys club” atmosphere at Guaranteed Rate; Scott, the former director of VA lending, said there was “a lot of misogyny.”
Jessica Moreno, a former Chicago employee who started at Guaranteed Rate at age 23, said she was the first in her family to get a corporate job. Within a year of starting her job, she said, she was paying the mortgage on her family home.
But in her department, Moreno said she experienced a “sex-driven” culture.
“All the guys were just like, tongues on the floor,” said Moreno, who worked for the company for about four years starting in 2014. Her workplace was “like a men’s locker room, and women were in it,” she said.
Jessica Moreno, shown in April in Arizona, worked for Guaranteed Rate for about four years starting in 2014. She said male co-workers and managers hit on her and made comments on her appearance. It was “like a men’s locker room, and women were in it,” she said. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Male co-workers and managers would hit on her and make comments on her appearance, calling her pretty, Moreno said. Comments made at Christmas parties or happy hours could be crasser, she said.
“You’ll get, ‘Oh, I’ve always wanted to f−−− you,’” she said.
Moreno said she once overheard a male manager describe a woman who had interviewed for a job as a “fox.” Another time, she said, a manager invited a female massage therapist to the office; Moreno remembers male co-workers commenting on the therapist’s body, too.
Soon after she’d started at Guaranteed Rate, Moreno said, she met with HR to make a complaint about a manager who swore at and belittled her. The HR representative brushed off her concerns in that meeting, she said.
“After that, I felt so discouraged to never even speak up again,” Moreno said.
Moreno ended up leaving her position before taking a job working for a Guaranteed Rate loan officer; she said she was terminated after clashing with the loan officer’s assistant.
Some female former employees of Guaranteed Rate said they understood looks to be a currency within the company.
One former Chicago employee said a manager encouraged her to text a selfie to a client after hearing the client flirt with her over the phone and say he’d be inclined to speed up the loan process if he knew what she looked like.
The employee said she sent the selfie, and the manager then pushed her to go along with the client’s harassment until the loan closed, she said.
After receiving the photo, the client responded, “As pretty as you are I can’t believe some man hasn’t run off with you just howling away,” in a text reviewed by the Tribune. Later on, after sending her forms, the client texted her: “You said I would get another pic when I sent you the forms so?”
The employee said another manager in her division would frequently flirt with her and comment on her appearance. He once texted her to “stop losing weight damn it” and another time texted her that she “broke (his) concentration,” according to texts reviewed by the Tribune.
Another former Chicago employee remembered a manager telling her, while she was pregnant with her first child, “Whatever you do, don’t get a C-section — you’ll never wear a bikini again.” The employee went out on maternity leave days later. She said she did end up needing a C-section and remembers the manager’s comment echoing in her head as she was wheeled back for surgery. Two people the woman told about the incident at the time corroborated her account in interviews with the Tribune.
Several former employees in the marketing department, including two men, told the Tribune Ciardelli made comments about workers’ ages. One employee got Botox and fillers after Ciardelli told employees they were “too old” and likened the marketing department to his “grandmother’s mortgage company,” according to former marketing department employees.
In his written responses, Ciardelli said “Guaranteed Rate is committed to fostering an environment that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We maintain a comprehensive set of employment policies aimed at providing a work environment free of unlawful harassment and discrimination, where all employees treat one another with dignity and respect.”
Guaranteed Rate’s corporate headquarters is in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood in a building with a rooftop gathering space. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A spokesperson said in the April 1 email sharing the employee survey results that the company had launched “even more initiatives to ensure we have a positive work environment,” including anti-harassment training, training for the human resources team “to take proper and appropriate steps and best practices for investigating and responding to employee complaints” and reminders to employees on how to report harassment or abuse.
“Our executive team has emphasized to Human Resources that all complaints should be investigated, and any form of harassment and misconduct should be dealt with swiftly – and all managers and employees who are not acting in accordance with our values be rooted out of our organization,” the spokesperson wrote.
In the company’s May responses, it said these initiatives were launched in 2023 and were to “expand and enhance” the existing training program.
All Guaranteed Rate employees must complete “harassment and discrimination prevention training” upon being hired and on an annual basis thereafter, according to the company’s May response. The company said Guaranteed Rate has an “anti-retaliation” policy that prohibits retaliation against employees who report alleged harassment or discrimination or participate in an investigation into the conduct. The company also noted it has an ethics hotline through which employees can make anonymous complaints.
“We respect and treat all employees equally no matter their sex, color, or creed,” Ciardelli wrote.
In the last 10 years, Guaranteed Rate has not settled any lawsuits involving claims of a hostile work environment, according to the company. Guaranteed Rate’s response stated that within that time frame, the company settled six claims involving allegations of a hostile work environment, including arbitration cases as well as claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state and local agencies. The majority of those claims were brought by male employees, and one was resolved in Guaranteed Rate’s favor, the company said.
Guaranteed Rate employees are asked to sign mandatory arbitration agreements when they are hired, but sexual harassment claims and claims filed with the EEOC and similar state agencies are not subject to arbitration, according to Guaranteed Rate’s May responses.
‘Positive thinking’
Publicly, Ciardelli presents himself as a champion of a positive work environment — an image the company has encouraged employees to promote.
In an email sent in February by a company executive and obtained by the Tribune, employees were encouraged to share a Forbes article featuring Ciardelli; the email provided step-by-step instructions for posting it on social media.
The story, published Feb. 7, was titled “Guaranteed Rate Founder Is All In On ‘Positive Thinking’ This 2024” and described his leadership style as “Chicken Soup for the Mortgage Industry.”
“I communicate the power of positivity and gratitude to everybody around me: employees, friends, family members, everyone,” Ciardelli was quoted as saying.
Less than 24 hours after it went live, the article disappeared from the Forbes website. The site provided no explanation, but one former Guaranteed Rate employee told the Tribune former workers had written to the author about factual inaccuracies.
On Feb. 8, a Guaranteed Rate executive sent another email encouraging employees — again with step-by-step instructions — to delete any social media posts linking to the article.
“We are working with Forbes to resolve and will let you know when it will be reinstated,” the email said. “We apologize for the inconvenience, and we will send out a new link as soon as it’s available.”
The Forbes contributor declined to comment for this story. Forbes told the Tribune the article was taken down because it did not adhere to the company’s “editorial guidelines” and did not respond to further questions.
The article has yet to be republished, but Guaranteed Rate still wants people to read it. The company shared it in a PDF on its LinkedIn page.
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions. In this episode:
Learn how moving could benefit you if you feel compelled to relocate due to safety concerns — and how to budget for a sudden move.
How do you financially and emotionally prepare for relocating due to safety concerns?
What are the financial impacts of such a forced move?
Hosts Sean Pyles and Alieza Durana discuss their experiences planning finances for relocations to help you understand the complex challenges faced by individuals seeking safer environments, particularly in the LGBTQ+ community.
Alieza begins by interviewing G Chesler, a non-binary trans person, about their move from Washington DC to Portland, Oregon, providing valuable insight into the necessity of finding a supportive community, navigating healthcare and identity respect, and the emotional relief of living in an affirming environment. Their conversation reveals the deep emotional impact of living in a state that does not recognize or respect one’s gender identity, the struggles with accessing appropriate healthcare and the powerful sense of belonging found in a more accepting community.
Then, Alieza speaks with Lindsey Young, founder of the LGBTQ+ focused financial planning and investment management services firm Quiet Wealth, about the financial aspects of relocating for safety. They discuss creating a relocation financial plan, managing the costs associated with a sudden move and the importance of building a supportive community in the new location. They also focus on how to minimize income loss, budget for moving expenses and strategically utilize debt. This episode addresses two pressing issues for the LGBTQ+ community: the urgency of relocating due to hostile environments and the strategies to mitigate the financial strain that accompanies such a move.
Check out this episode on your favorite podcast platform, including:
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Episode transcript
This transcript was generated from podcast audio by an AI tool.
Sean Pyles:
There are lots of reasons you might choose to move. A new job, a desire to live in a different part of the country or world. But for some people it doesn’t feel like a choice. They’re moving because their states, their neighbors have made them feel unwelcome and even unsafe.
Today we’re looking at the financial ramifications of moving, because as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, sometimes it’s not an option to stay put. Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast. I’m Sean Pyles.
Alieza Durana:
And I’m Alieza Durana.
Sean Pyles:
Alieza, welcome to the host chair here at Smart Money.
Alieza Durana:
Thanks so much, Sean. Glad to be here.
Sean Pyles:
Well, today addressing a difficult decision that some members of the LGBTQ+ community have to face: whether to move to another state because of laws that are unfriendly or even hostile to them. This decision can cause a lot of financial upheaval while they search for safety. Alieza, you came to us a while ago with the idea for this episode. Can you share with us a bit about why?
Alieza Durana:
Absolutely, Sean. This is a personal decision my family is facing in Utah. In January, we had a sober conversation with close friends about the safety of our queer Latina family in our current political climate. G, who you’ll meet shortly, offered us their home in Portland if we ever needed to make a quick exit from the state.
Sean Pyles:
Well, Alieza, I’m really sorry to hear that you and your family are facing such a difficult decision in the place that you’ve called home. And unfortunately we know that your situation isn’t unique in today’s political climate.
Alieza Durana:
And Sean, there are statistics to back up the needs some LGBTQ+ people have to move. In just the last two years, the number of states banning gender-affirming care has jumped from four to 25. That’s half of US states. Two thirds of states have laws that use a person’s HIV positive status to penalize certain activities.
And a 2024 Washington Post analysis of FBI crime data showed quadrupling hate crimes in K-12 schools in response to restrictive laws. My wife and I now have a child whose safety at school is at the top of our minds. A survey back in 2017 by NPR and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that threats, harassment and violence were reported as a part of everyday life by more than half the LGBTQ+ community. So the idea that many in our community feel they have no choice but to move isn’t surprising.
Sean Pyles:
It’s certainly not. All right, well we want to hear what you think too, listeners, to share your stories and ideas with us, leave us a voicemail or text the Nerd hotline at (901) 730-6373. That’s (901)-1730 N-E-R-D, or email a voice memo to [email protected]. So Alieza, where do we start today?
Alieza Durana:
To set the scene, we’re speaking to a dear friend of mine who did exactly this. They moved away from a place where they felt unwelcome. I met G Chesler at a yoga retreat in Shenandoah, Virginia. We quickly realized we were neighbors in Washington DC and had been attending the same concerts and movie theaters for years.
G uses they/them pronouns and is a filmmaker and professor. We happily fell into a friendship, which became especially important to me as I came out to my family and got married to my wife, Haley. My family, unfortunately couldn’t handle it and coming out resulted in an estrangement from certain members of my family of origin.
Around that same time, G began their own transition and came out as non-binary. Unfortunately, they also faced cruelty and rejection from their family of origin. As hard as that was, our friendship helped me get through that difficult time. In March of 2020, my wife and I moved from my hometown of Washington DC, to her home state of Utah, to be closer to her family who generously welcomed our love.
So as unusual as it may sound, my adopted family in Utah absolutely provided us a refuge and support away from my father’s bigotry and cruelty to start over. Not long after, G and their partner moved from DC to Portland, Oregon. We’ll hear about that decision in our conversation to come. G, so glad to have you here on Smart Money.
G Chesler:
Oh, thanks Alieza for welcoming me to the program.
Alieza Durana:
Could you tell us a little bit about what inspired your recent move?
G Chesler:
Yeah, sure. I mean, it’s long and complicated. It intersects with disability and gender and the Covid pandemic. In short, I have a position that allows me to work remotely because I am disabled and I was working remotely from Washington DC to my university in Virginia. And it was Covid times. DC was a city that was impacted in so many different ways, particularly overlapping with the administration.
I had transitioned gender publicly and I had asked my employer in Virginia to change my pronouns in my records because whenever I go to the doctor or deal with my retirement accounts, I was having a lot of difficulty because my gender was reflecting my gender assigned at birth. And in my personal life, I was just having trouble navigating spaces.
I just felt like as a trans person with a trans partner, I would be better served living in an environment where my gender was understood, where I could have healthcare providers understand my pronouns and not question them. And we started thinking together about where that might be.
Alieza Durana:
Wow, it sounds so incredibly difficult, the things that we take for granted of being recognized and affirmed and being able to access services that had become so challenging and scary in some ways for you, especially crossing those borders between DC and Virginia and the benefits and protections that they offered you or didn’t.
Are there any other specific events that prompted you to say, I need to move to another state? Is there anything else about your experience living in Washington DC as a trans person that was really significant for you?
G Chesler:
I mean, I know a lot of queer folks in DC. I know several trans people in DC. But it never felt like the majority, right? It never felt like I was part of the fabric of a community as a trans person, as a non-binary trans person, which is how I identify. But ultimately one of the deciding factors was when my employer told me that my pronouns might confuse my retirement holder, TIAA-CREF, if they really changed them in the records. That took me back. It was so strange.
It was like, wait, what are you saying about my retirement account right now? So on the financial side, that was a big red flag to me. The other one was that the state refused to change my pronouns even though I have a DC driver’s license with an X marker, but they just wouldn’t do it. And they were like, well, you could take it up with the state diversity office or what have you.
And I just thought, I’m not going to be that case, am I? I tried to find other colleagues in the LGBTQ group who were having similar challenges. I couldn’t find them, and around the time I had transitioned publicly, I had come to Portland and I walk into a cafe and there’s a sign on the register that says, please use they/them pronouns for all employees unless they tell you otherwise, and we’ll do the same for you.
Please feel free to tell us what your pronouns are. It was like, wait, what? And then I went to the work event. Everybody has their pronouns on their name tags. The bathrooms are not gendered. It was like, oh, this actually is a reality that exists elsewhere. I am a reality elsewhere.
Alieza Durana:
All of the hoops that you are being made to jump through just to exist, they were suddenly gone, it sounds like.
G Chesler:
Yeah, they were already set up. They were already in the future. I often talk about Virginia as a place of the past and certainly I have a lot of privilege as a white person working there, but that state has quite a legacy of enslavement and of white supremacy and of hetero patriarchy.
I remember being hired to teach in Virginia and my colleague’s like, “You’re going to help change things here.” And I believe that I do as a remote educator, but I do get to work from a place where I feel seen and safe and in community.
Alieza Durana:
Absolutely. Were there any primary financial concerns that came up for you when you were thinking about your move or leaving Virginia and DC and going to Portland? If you wouldn’t mind speaking to that.
G Chesler:
While I’m a university educator, I’m also a student loan holder, and so at the time of my hopes to move, I still had my student loan. I also had owned an apartment in DC and I was attempting to sell it at a time when people were not living and working in DC as readily as they had once lived and worked because it was the pandemic.
So the challenge I was facing was living in a city where folks who might want to buy my apartment or condo were not readily available. And I had to wait about nine months to be able to sell that condo at a profit, which meant I was living with my partner across town so that people could come and go and see my place whenever they needed.
And I just found that one of the primary things that supported the move was community. I did have queer community in DC, I did have specifically one or two people who really wanted this to work out for me, even though they were sad to say goodbye. So having community to support the move was one element financially. There were just a lot of expenses we had to figure out like where are we driving, where are we flying? Finding a shipping company that we could trust, deciding on all the ways to get your things across the country. It involved a lot of steps and it involved a lot of expense.
Alieza Durana:
That makes a lot of sense, especially moving so far. So switching gears a little bit back to when you stepped foot in Portland and people had their pronouns and there were places for you to use the restroom, just like basic human rights that were being fulfilled for you in this new space, can you tell us what your experience has been like living in Oregon now for several years? How has it affected your quality of life?
G Chesler:
There’s no way to describe the sense of calm and peace that I’ve experienced when I don’t feel like my existence as a trans person is a question. And for me as a disabled person, the care that I receive in western healthcare systems and then non-western healthcare systems, I need to be seen in my full humanity to be actually cared for.
And data shows that trans people are less likely to see physicians. So I’ve moved to a place where I have experienced some discomfort from some physicians, but I don’t have to see that person anymore because there’s so many options. And that’s been a primary shift. Seeing a queer therapist or a queer psychiatrist for my medications or queer and trans body workers, it’s so different.
Alieza Durana:
And what a relief to not anticipate an experience of discomfort or discrimination or yeah, that refusal that you’ve encountered so often in the past. I’m wondering if you just wouldn’t mind commenting on if you hadn’t felt so welcome and at home in Portland, do you feel that because it has been so welcoming that it’s been worth, let’s say, the financial sacrifice of moving? Do you feel that the cost was ultimately worth it and how might that have been different at a different place?
G Chesler:
Yeah, I think I’m a strange person in that I really like moving. It’s always been worth it to me to move. I really love meeting new people. I love what new spaces have offered me in my life, but I didn’t think I was going to leave DC. I was like, oh, DC, I was almost there for 10 years. It felt like home. I had so many solid friendships. I had a chosen family.
I would move to Portland in a second again, even given the expense. It’s been really helpful to move to a place where things cost less. I feel like I already save. I save 10% on everything that I spend because Portland doesn’t have a sales tax. So right away I’m making a financial savings. The cost of housing here is less. There’s lots of public services that are readily available. Public transit works day to day. There’s just a lot less.
There’s also exchange networks. People are really sharing food. They’re growing food in their gardens and they’re sharing it. They’re making things for each other and trading and I have become part of networks of trade for food and services, things like that, that I’m stunned exist.
It’s nice to live in a place where people really are in community with each other, where they have time, they take the time they need to live a good life. So I think there’s things that you can’t put a dollar value on, but when you start seeing your savings increase, you realize, wow, that very difficult, challenging move I had to spend a year honestly preparing for and saving for and figuring out was worth it.
Alieza Durana:
I know that you mentioned that you’re working remotely. How has your job or career impacted? Would you mind just describing for our audience? Did that affect your salary at all?
G Chesler:
Yeah, so I’ve heard of folks who move from one city to another whose employers say that they will adjust their salary for the new cost of living in a new city. I know that exists. Where I am employed, I am already underpaid by about 20% of what I should earn because of gender parity issues at my employer. And I say that being the only non-binary person I know at my employer, but at my rank of professor. But there are significant gender parity issues that existed at my hiring and then my position. So yeah, so that’s one of the things.
Before I moved, I made sure that I had a remote work agreement that my employer had signed. I also have disability accommodations which allow for remote work. So I have two layers of protection for this decision as well as being a tenured professor, which has another layer of protection. I’ve created online curricula since I got here. So what I’m doing is also using my new strength as an online educator to benefit the department because I feel like a lot of the students that I work with have part-time, full-time jobs, have families or are trans and also don’t want to come into the classroom environment or are disabled and want to learn remotely.
I’ve found that a lot of the students that I’m now serving kind of parallel my own experience. Where I work, I wouldn’t have had a bathroom within a quarter mile of my actual physical office that I would use. The only gender-neutral bathroom that I could use was four buildings away on a big campus.
So I was also deciding as a trans person, as a gender non-binary person, what does an accessible workplace look like for me? But anyway, working remotely has been secured on several levels and I wouldn’t have moved without that protection. So that was important to get into place and it took several months to prepare as well.
Alieza Durana:
My final question for today is just what advice would you have for someone who feels that they might need to make a similar move but are looking at their financial situation and wondering if it’s possible or not? It sounds like you found it really rewarding and you took a lot of steps to get there, but if you wouldn’t mind just elaborating a little bit.
G Chesler:
Yeah, I think that the primary question to ask is do you want it to be better? Do you want to at least try to make it better, to really believe that you deserve it, that you deserve to feel secure or that your child deserves to feel secure and what is it going to cost to make that happen? There are lots of pieces that have to fall into place.
They can be hard to put together, but you deserve it and you’re worth it and your child is worth it. So okay, number one, accept that. Number two, find a network. Build a network. I was moving to a place where I knew two people who said they had my back. So they were like, my first plan was I moved to an Airbnb for two months.
That was a very expensive choice. And also I knew it’s what I needed to land comfortably and quickly for an amount of time I believed I needed to find permanent housing. So that was a primary expense upfront. So in preparation for that Airbnb move, I lived with other folks rent-free for two months to be able to pay for that move. Knowing when your income is going to replenish is a big question as well.
Alieza Durana:
Well, G, thank you so much for joining us today. Is there anything that I didn’t ask you that you want to mention about your move or this topic or experience before we wrap up?
G Chesler:
I think it’s worth it to say the words out loud and to see it as a possibility that moving could benefit you. There’s a strange amount of shame that’s projected on people who decide to move. It’s almost like you’re giving up or you’re running away, but my goodness, you are so not running away. You really are moving towards the knowledge that it’s not going to be perfect, but it can be better.
And I know that phrase is really loaded, it can be better, but when you find your community or you find that everyday ease of life and it happens bit by bit by bit, it makes it feel right, it makes it feel worth it, and it makes me know that I’m worth it. As a trans non-binary person, I get to live in a community that sees me, that is me, that includes members of my community. My community is full of trans people. And so it does exist right here in the U.S. And when you are in community, you then can heal and renew your power.
Alieza Durana:
Well, beautifully put G. thank you so much for joining us today.
G Chesler:
Thanks for these questions and for sharing this information. I really hope that what I’ve said can help some folks see their way.
Alieza Durana:
I think it absolutely will.
Sean Pyles:
I can really relate to G’s experience of discovering a new level of belonging when you move to a place that has more people who are just like you. It reminds me of when I moved to San Francisco after college and I realized suddenly that there were a lot more gay men in the world than I’d ever truly realized.
And it made me feel part of a community and a lot less like an outsider. With that comes a sense of safety and just ease in your day-to-day life that’s really hard to find elsewhere.
Alieza Durana:
I can too, and it’s something I long for now. You mentioned not feeling safe around our neighbors and coincidentally just last week, our HOA announced a new policy recommending neighbors call the police on anyone who, “looks out of place” in an effort to deter burglaries.
We’re challenging the policy, but it’s particularly scary for my family because we are different and we’re also a multiracial family. So my wife and I are thinking about moving again, but it’s a big, hard and expensive decision.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, I’m so sorry that you’re dealing with that, Alieza. That’s really rough. And unfortunately your experience and G’s are not unique in today’s day and age. And there’s a lot to think about if someone is feeling like they need to make a similar move and there can be real financial costs on top of the mental and emotional cost of feeling like you have to move out of necessity.
Alieza Durana:
That’s for sure. So now we’re going to hear from Lindsey Young. She’s the founder of Quiet Wealth, an investment advisor and a financial planning firm primarily serving LGBTQ+ households. Lindsey goes by the pronouns she/her, and we’re going to get some advice for how to prepare for this eventuality should it become necessary.
Sean Pyles:
That’s coming up in a moment. Stay with us.
Alieza Durana:
Lindsey Young, so glad you could join us on Smart Money today.
Lindsey Young:
Thanks. Pleasure to be here.
Alieza Durana:
Could you tell us if you have any stories you can share about clients who have gone through this as a financial planner and investment manager?
Lindsey Young:
I actually have worked with a couple of clients who have decided that they didn’t feel safe where they wanted to leave and they engage with me in order to come up with a plan to move to somewhere else, but also make sure that they weren’t falling behind financially when they were making that move.
Alieza Durana:
Could you share a little bit about what were some of the primary financial concerns in those situations? What were you helping your client plan for?
Lindsey Young:
So I’ll talk about a specific situation of a client who was a nurse practitioner. She was living in a red state and did not feel comfortable living in that state anymore given the legislative developments in that state. And so she identified, first of all, where she wanted to move to. And her situation was she had actually bought a house a couple of years before this, and so she still had a very large mortgage.
In addition, she still had a lot of student loan debt that she was dealing with as well. And so finances between paying for student loans as well as paying for the mortgage finances were very tight. And so part of the reason that she engaged me was to come up with a financial plan to make sure that she actually wasn’t going to just run out of money from the move.
So I worked with her over the course of about four or five months or so all the way from the time when she decided that she was going to do this through selling the house, through the move and then through actually getting to where she is living right now and she’s made a very successful transition.
Alieza Durana:
So it sounds like housing and employment are maybe two of the concerns that come up typically as people consider moving. You mentioned owning a house. What are some top steps that you would advise people to think about as they prepare financially for this kind of life change?
Lindsey Young:
So the first thing I think is to first figure out where you’re going to go because that’s going to determine a lot of things. And I think that there’s a couple of different variables to think about. One is job opportunities. Given your field, are there going to be jobs that you can do there and you should be checking and seeing how many opportunities are there, go onto job boards and see if there’s opportunities that are going to be there.
The second thing is cost of living. Keep in mind that particularly relative to a lot of red states, blue states, particularly in areas that are more progressive, tend to be fairly expensive. So you actually may need to make more money in the place that you’re going to live than what you’re currently making right now. And then the final factor is to consider an existing network of friends and family of where you’re going to go to.
Having an existing network is a huge benefit as opposed to going to some place where you know no one. And so you factor all three of those things into determining where to go. Once you know where to go, that can start to build a plan because you can start to figure out, okay, what’s the cost going to be to move there? What are my costs going to be once I’m living there? And those are very important factors in developing an overall financial plan going forward after the move.
Alieza Durana:
I wonder, how is your advice the same or different if you have some time to prepare versus someone who feels that they have to move suddenly due to safety concerns?
Lindsey Young:
Yes, absolutely, and I do recommend if you can even take a week or two to develop a plan, it can save you a lot of money as opposed to just leaving one day. A couple of big things that can happen when you take action before planning is that you don’t necessarily set goals for yourself in terms of trying to reduce the amount of cost from the move.
Even taking a week or two to develop a plan for that is really important. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, for safety reasons you feel like you have to move in fairly short order. So I think a couple key things. One, really try to minimize the time that you’re not working. When you move there, you’re probably not going to have a job set up. Get any job, just try to start bringing in income to minimize the loss from the move, to get working.
Also, minimize expenses, opt for a relatively cheap and flexible housing option going forward rather than trying to kind of plant roots immediately. Look for kind of interim solutions that provide flexibility. Those would be some of the things that I’d probably offer advice on if someone feels like they need to move immediately.
Alieza Durana:
This question may seem kind of basic for members of the community, but I’m wondering for allies, if you could just talk about what are some of the challenges that the LGBTQ+ population is facing that is different from other people in the country right now and that’s sort of inspiring a desire to move?
Lindsey Young:
There’s a lot of laws that are being passed that are not friendly. Everything from bathroom bills to taking away trans-affirming healthcare. These are really, really tough laws that are getting passed, especially for members of the transgender community. I myself am transgender and so it’s very painful to see what’s going on in red states.
And so I completely understand the need to move and it is just really painful to see the actions that are taking place in a lot of state legislatures these days. Hopefully you do have some credit cards available, and look, for this type of thing, in terms of making this move happen, I’m completely okay with people taking out debt if they need to move quickly and go somewhere else.
However, if you’re going to do that, before you take out the debt and before you do the move, hopefully, you should really create a plan, a budget on a month by month basis for how you’re going to pay back that debt over the next two years. And keep in mind, it’s not just the expenses of the move, it’s the fact that you’re going to have lost income for a certain amount of time because of the move.
It’s inevitable. It could be a couple of weeks, it could turn into a couple of months. There is going to be lost income there. And what you’re trying to do is minimize that gap and really set a goal for how much of a loss you’re going to have during that gap period. And then come up with a plan where within a year or two you’ve paid back all the debt that you had to take out in order to make the move.
Alieza Durana:
What about any non-monetary steps that might be helpful in preparation for a move? You mentioned connecting with community, including your family of origin or chosen family, whatever, whoever’s important to you. Could you talk a little bit more about how that can be helpful in getting to a new place?
Lindsey Young:
It’s just always helpful to have a connection or two of people that you know in the community because they can introduce you to other people. There’s certainly other ways to do that. There’s obviously, particularly in a lot of blue states, there’s lots of support organizations within the LGBTQ community.
There’s pride centers. Here in Maryland, there’s lots of transgender support groups if you’re in the transgender community. So there’s many options, and I think it’s really important when you arrive in a new state, find opportunities to connect with people. It can even be connecting if you have, there’s some activity that you enjoy doing.
Find ways that you can get involved in doing that activity with other people. Just start building a community there. So be proactive in really trying to find communities that you can get involved in because when you’re by yourself, that is generally not a good thing either for your personal life or even for your finances, I find.
Alieza Durana:
I wonder if you have any other final advice for someone who might be living in a situation that could become unsafe because of local and state laws. Is there anything else that you haven’t mentioned that you would like to say to those folks?
Lindsey Young:
The only thing I say is that I completely can understand why you might not feel comfortable living in those states. And even if it’s a situation where it’s not a near-term safety issue, but you just don’t feel comfortable, that is completely understandable. The only thing I would recommend is that it is going to be a financial cost, generally speaking, to make that move, and incurring that cost is okay. It’s really important that you create a budget to understand what that cost is and to find a way to repay that cost over time. That from a financial planning perspective is the most important thing.
Alieza Durana:
Lindsey, thank you so much for helping us out today.
Lindsey Young:
Thank you for having me on.
Sean Pyles:
My big takeaway from Lindsey’s interview is that while a crisis can require immediate action, planning, even just a day of it, can help you land on your feet and make sure that your next steps are in the direction that you want to go long-term.
Alieza Durana:
But beyond planning, even if money is tight, Lindsey reminded us to seek out community and see how we can support each other through mutual aid during this difficult time. As G mentioned, we can and should imagine life can be better or at least less scary for our beautiful community.
Sean Pyles:
And this really is a difficult subject to have to talk about, much less face. So we really appreciate you bringing this to us, Alieza. I hope listeners come away with a better understanding of what some members of the LGBTQ+ community are being forced to deal with in states across the country. And if you are among them, hopefully this episode gives you some ways to cope and potentially prepare.
Alieza Durana:
Thank you, Sean. I’m really glad we were able to do this.
Sean Pyles:
And as a resident of the Pacific Northwest, I say welcome to Oregon, G.
Alieza Durana:
For now, that’s all we have for this episode. Do you have a money question of your own? Turn to the Nerds and call or text us your question at (901) 730-6373. That’s (901) 730 N-E-R-D. You can also email us at [email protected]. Also visit nerdwallet.com/podcast for more info on this episode. And remember to follow, rate and review us wherever you’re getting this podcast.
Sean Pyles:
This episode was produced by Tess Vigeland. I helped with editing. Chris Davis helped with fact checking. Sara Brink mixed our audio and a big thank you to Nerd Wallet’s editors for all their help.
Alieza Durana:
And here’s our brief disclaimer. We are not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.
Sean Pyles:
And with that said, until next time, turn to the Nerds.
Younger Americans are More Optimistic than Older Americans About the Potential of AI to Help Manage Money, According to Northwestern Mutual’s 2024 Planning & Progress Study Meanwhile, Gen X and Boomers+ are skeptical about “DIY GenAI” for financial planning Americans are most excited about AI’s advanced data analysis to potentially help financial advisors improve planning … [Read more…]
Older voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania are poised to make their presence — and preferences — felt in the upcoming fall elections that will determine control of the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Chief on their minds are issues that include Social Security and aging in place.
This is according to a poll of voters within the state conducted by AARP Research, which tabulated survey data from voters ages 50 and older. The organization enlisted a “bipartisan polling team” from Fabrizio Ward (described as a Republican pollster) and Impact Research (described as Democratic) and got perspectives from roughly 1,400 voters across the state.
This included “a statewide representative sample of 600 likely voters, with an oversample of 470 likely voters 50-plus and an additional oversample of 328 Black likely voters 50-plus, between April 24–30, 2024,” AARP Research explained.
In addition to the insights into issues driving older voters’ preferences, AARP Research also found that “Pennsylvania voters 50 and older are the most committed age group for voting in the 2024 election and appear to be on track to be deciders” in the contest, according to the organization.
The top six issues isolated to voters 50 and older include Social Security (79%); Medicare (73%), aging in place (or “policies to help seniors live independently at home as they age, 68%); utility costs (67%) and housing (59%).
For those that named aging in place as a concern, 37% of respondents described it as “extremely important,” while 34% said it was “very important.” That’s only 2% to 3% lower than the split for the Medicare issue, according to the survey.
Sixty-three percent of older voters also said they were “very worried” about their own personal financial situation, with older women (69%) more concerned than older men (59%). Republican voters found themselves more worried (73%) about it than Democratic voters (51%).
In terms of candidate preferences, voters in Pennsylvania stated they are more likely to support former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden on both a full ballot that includes certain third-party candidates (46% to 41%) and on a direct two-way ballot (49% to 45%).
“Trump is ahead in large part due to more consolidated support from Republicans than Biden is getting from Democrats, while Trump also has a slight edge with Independents,” the report explains. “There are large gender, race, education, and regional differences in [the] planned 2024 vote for president.”
According to research from Penn State Harrisburg released in 2017, “the elderly population’s (age 65 and over) growth occurred at [a] rate over 20 times that of the state’s general population — an increase by 16.3 percent from 2010 to 2017.”