FPA Helps to Create Financial Awareness in the Hispanic Community

In an effort to increase financial literacy in the Hispanic community, FPA of Dallas-Fort Worth President Mario Yngerto, CFP®, past FPA of Miami President Helen Salazar-Realini, CFP®, and past national FPA board member Louis Barajas, CFP® are all starring in a soon-to-be-released DVD.

The 30-minute informational film, targeted at three distinct types of Hispanic Americans, features the three planners as the financial advisers they are, answering the questions of real, everyday Hispanic Americans. Shooting will begin in early April with distribution set for later that same month.

The first segment of the film focuses on those Hispanics who are newest to the American economic system. “These could be new immigrants who are waiting for citizenship and need to start working,” said Yngerto, “We have found that this group needs help in learning how to open a bank account and how to establish good credit.”

The second segment assumes that the viewer is educated, possibly professional and speaks English or has been living in the U.S. for more than a decade. “This group needs more advanced financial literacy,” Yngerto said. “Many Hispanics are very poor savers and are not sure how to best save for college or retirement. They also may be confused about how Social Security actually works. We show them how to make a budgeting plan and how to look for a financial planner.”

In the third segment, which is in English, a wealthier demographic is engaged. “These are people who, like my parents, have lived here for 30 or 40 years and have amassed some wealth,” explained Yngerto. “They could be worth $500,000 or more and they mainly have issues related to inheritance.”

FPA of Dallas-Fort Worth received a $40,000 grant from Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards after former pro bono chapter leader Angela Harper, CFP®, submitted the paperwork. “Angela should get a lot of credit,” said Yngerto. “It was her vision. But as the only Hispanic on our board, I’m completely passionate about this. It’s my own ethnic group and to have this kind of support is an honor.”

In response to a recent Dallas Morning News account of the group’s plans, Yngerto has been fielding calls from around the world. “The film will be aired in 40 different countries,” he said.

Yngerto says that the DVD will be available free of charge on FPA’s Web site and on local FPA chapter Web sites. “We want to eventually raise more money to do a ‘part two,’” he said.