A nomination makes someone feel ‘more included,’ manager says

It’s awards season. The Oscar nominations have been announced, although the winners have yet to be revealed. But there’s another award show that’s dedicated to showcasing the best and brightest of wealth professionals: the InvestmentNews Awards!

Alyssa Moeder’s first introduction to an InvestmentNews award was the See It, Be It Role Model award in 2019. The managing director and private wealth advisor at Merrill Wealth Management says when you receive a recognition like this, it’s never about being recognized but about engaging in the efforts of being an advisor because “it's something that you're passionate about and you really believe in it.”

“It was so great to be in a room surrounded by so many people who are doing all these other amazing things,” said Moeder, who is also a founder of the Merrill Lynch Women’s Exchange. “I feel like we all fuel each other.”

Moeder, who was also nominated alongside her friend and colleague Courtney Moore in the 2023 Women to Watch Allyship Champion of the Year category, noted that being nominated puts attention and focus on the topic. “I think that's what ultimately is the most important because we all benefit from having a more diverse and inclusive workplace and community.”

Sponsored by InvestmentNews and organized by its parent company, Key Media, the InvestmentNews Awards gathering will take place Thursday, June 20, at 583 Park Avenue, New York. The evening includes a pre-awards cocktail reception, awards ceremony, dinner banquet and a post-party celebration.

The awards are designed to shine a spotlight on those standouts who elevate their work, their reputations, and their industry with dedication and knowledge, and we encourage you to participate. Nominate yourself, your colleagues, or your organization in a variety of categories that acknowledge the wide range of roles people play in the field.

Christine Cappabianca, portfolio manager at Impax Asset Management, said being nominated and winning in her category of the Women to Watch Award “was an honor.

“I study work culture and inclusion a lot and I think that being nominated for anybody, it makes them feel more included,” says Cappabianca, who was the Portfolio Manager of the Year honoree in 2023. “It also increases productivity, whether it's causation or correlation … Everybody's done great things. To be a finalist is truly an award on its own.”

There are a number of nomination categories to choose from, including Advisor of the Year, CEO of the Year, and DEI Trailblazer of the Year; the awards for organizations include RIA Team of the Year (10 advisors or more), RIA Team of the Year (fewer than 10 advisors), Employer of Choice, and Asset Manager of the Year. Click here for a full rundown of the 17 award categories.

Winners will be selected by an independent judging panel. Details of the methodology can be found here.

Cappabianca highlighted that being a winner also helped her to connect and form relationships with other people who won awards, including some Raymond James advisors.

“We all shared the same level of passion for what we did,” she added. “The connections with Raymond James that I made there will continue to be strengthened. And we weren’t necessarily in competing categories, which is nice to build friends that are more in parallels so that you can work together.”

Do you know a financial planning or wealth professional worthy of the spotlight? The chance to make a nomination ends soon,