Janine J. Moore,
HUB Retirement and Wealth Management

Business at a Glance as of 12/31/23

• Location: Houston, Texas
• How many plan assets do you have under advisement? $1.2B
• What is your median plan size (in assets)? $30M
• How many plans do you have under administration? 65
• How many participants in total do you serve? 29,000
• Parent firm: HUB International

PLANADVISER: Tell us about your practice and how you got into advising retirement plans.

Moore: I joined the Air Force to pay for college and worked under Major Robert Boggs to prepare Ohio national guardsmen to go to Desert Storm. As his Acting First Sergeant, he taught me how to lead and encouraged me to mentor others who were not getting the same opportunities. At 22, I took a management training position with a major insurance company, supporting public sector plans.

My mentor taught me corporate etiquette, golf and how to navigate office politics. Her allyship and willingness to provide visibility for me allowed a quick ascension through the corporate ranks and I was tapped at the age of 25 to transition to Regional Sales Director for the City of Houston’s 457(b) plan. The birth of my second child prompted a career change and I started as a financial adviser with another large insurer. After a short stint with individual wealth planning, I partnered with two co-workers to form Peak Financial Group. For over 17 years, I tackled women- and minority-owned businesses, sharing the story of saving for retirement.

Before we sold our retirement practice to HUB International in 2019, I had mentored over a dozen individuals and I continue to mentor young aspiring advisers.

I have countless stories of plan participants who have retired successfully by holding my hand through good and bad times. On a regular basis, I still talk with people of color who have never met a black financial adviser, so we still have work to do.

PLANADVISER: How is your team unique/competitive in the marketplace?

Moore: Our team heads up the retirement division for HUB Texas but includes plans across the country. I share equal responsibility with Darrell Ellisor for over 125 DC/DB/NQ plans with assets at $2.6 billion. We have divided the workload between five advisers and have two additional retirement plan advisers, two client relationship managers and a client services associate across multiple offices. As one of two retirement practice leaders for HUB Texas, I am responsible for leading and growing the division with our Texas producers.

Our team celebrates diversity and inclusion. We have a solid team that shatters generational and racial barriers in our industry. Gen Z, Millennial and Gen X generations are celebrated. We have equal representation by gender and also have racial balance with Black and Latinx team members. This translates to six women and four men. We are proud to reflect the workforce of the future.

I’ve spent my entire career overcoming stereotypes and bringing financial literacy to the masses. I love investing in others and helping them reach their goals. When I look back at my career, I realize that my “success” comes from the vast number of mentors and mentees in my life of all races, ages and colors. Having someone pour into you from a young age inspires you to do the same and the joy you get from watching someone else grow is more rewarding than personal achievements.

PLANADVISER: What challenges do you think the retirement plan industry faces, and what role do you have in addressing and confronting those challenges?

Moore: Industry articles continue to talk about the savings gap between white, black and brown employees and some of it comes from cultural differences, but primarily it is because the generational wealth is different. Generally, more wealth has been passed down in white households, causing them to advance further each generation.

Ultimately, plan design changes are the biggest way to move the needle, whether it is auto-enrollment, auto-escalation, stretch match or limiting loans. But we must humanize the approach and understand that there are wage and contribution disparities, as well as retirement income and health needs that cause black and Hispanic workers to use their retirement dollars at a faster pace than their white counterparts.

Access to education on hardship emergency withdrawals, loans and their effect on workplace savings accounts are two potential answers to reduce pre-retirement withdrawals. When I speak to organizations like Alpha Kappa Alpha, U.S. Tennis Association’s Black Empowerment Network, Bethel’s Family Youth, Lancaster University, Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance or my local domestic violence organization, The Bridge, my goal is to call out the things that bring additional savings – whether it is debt reduction, budgeting or starting with a small percentage and upgrading annually, and make it simple enough for Mr. and Mrs. Public to understand. Then, I provide them the tools and resources to take action and follow up to give them accountability.

PLANADVISER: How do you go about moving from words and ideas to action when it comes to addressing the lack of diversity in the financial advisory industry?

Moore: When I started in the industry, I was typically the only black female in the room of hundreds of advisers. Rather than looking at that as a negative, I decided to do what I could to change that, first by committing myself to excellence and gathering the credentials I needed for credibility, then by speaking out in a thoughtful and non-threatening way when I saw inequity or a lack of diversity.

Over my entire career, I’ve taken the initiative to seek out and mentor diverse hires. As a business owner, we created a college internship program that fed in from state universities, which typically have more diversity than private universities. Most business schools point students toward career tracks like accounting, and few focus on financial adviser careers, so we reached out to the business school diversity directors at universities and let them know about the industry and what we were looking for.

In addition, we looked for college grads already working elsewhere in financial services. Great talent can be found at insurance companies with agents/advisers who have passed their tests but can’t produce the required sales quotas. Many times, they can succeed as a junior plan adviser because it is a different type of sale. I believe there is a large pool of potential advisors who could be groomed from the administrative side for sales positions, similar to what I did.

PLANADVISER: What are some of the benefits that an equitable and inclusive culture can bring to a retirement advisory and its employees?

Moore: Organizational cultures send messages both large and small. Deep down, everyone wants to be included, to feel like they are part of the story. When someone of color walks into a firm and doesn’t see at least one person they can relate to, there is an unspoken feeling of alienation. Firms that are known for embracing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture not only open their potential talent pool—and their ability to attract the best of the best—they also benefit from the potential to better relate to and win over diverse clients.

By feeling included and considered, employees feel less stressed and are less likely to have negative emotions towards their employer and a greater diversity of voices are heard – creating more creativity, productivity and innovation.

Throughout my career, I’ve chaired industry conferences, served on adviser councils and panels, and championed diversity, equity, and inclusion. Darrell and I have made our work environment a safe and enjoyable space where everyone is heard and our team culture is incredible.

As part of the HUB Retirement and Private Wealth advisory council, I have brought forward inclusion ideas that have been heard and I value the progressive and affirming environment set by top leadership. The goal is to continue to grow HUB to reflect the people we serve.

What I’ve learned over the years is that by putting kindness first and seeking common ground, I can break through the barriers that cause prejudice, and everyone benefits through increased collaboration.