With financial services firms struggling to fill skilled roles, Justin Nelson believes the industry has been overlooking a ready source of qualified candidates. Nelson serves as Managing Director and Head of the Asset Management and Financial Principals Coverage Team at JP Morgan Private Bank in Connecticut, where his group manages more than $15 billion in client assets. He argues that neurodiverse individuals, often filtered out early in hiring, could help close that gap.

A Talent Pool Hidden in Plain Sight

Nelson traces the problem back to how interviews are structured. Because communication is typically the hardest part of the process for neurodiverse candidates, Justin Nelson JP Morgan says many never get the chance to demonstrate the creative and computational strengths that make them well suited to wealth management and financial analysis. “Employers really need to change how they think about engaging with these people,” he states.

Bringing that talent in the door is only the first step, according to Nelson. Once hired, neurodiverse employees benefit from managers who assign specific, well-defined tasks and explain clearly how each one supports a larger plan. He says workers who understand that structure tend to perform with an exactness that makes them some of the strongest members of a team.

Nelson supports firms making this shift through his work with Adelphi University’s Bridges Program and Broad Futures, organizations built around preparing neurodiverse candidates for the workforce and educating employers along the way. Broad Futures helps companies get educated on how to run their own selection programs, pairing willing employers directly with candidates who fit their needs.

For an industry facing a persistent talent shortage, Nelson frames the fix as manageable rather than daunting. Redesigned interviews, structured task management, and partnerships with specialized organizations require little investment, he says, but open the door to employees whose strengths might otherwise go unnoticed entirely. He points to the jump from school to a first job as the moment where most neurodiverse candidates need the most support, making thoughtful onboarding just as valuable as a fair hiring process. Firms willing to make these adjustments, Nelson argues, position themselves to gain from a segment of the workforce that competitors continue to pass over. Visit this page for more information.

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