About Mellody Hobson

Mellody Hobson is president of Ariel Investments, a Chicago based money management firm that serves institutional clients through separately managed accounts as well as individual investors and 401(k) plans through its no load mutual funds. As president, Mellody is responsible for firm wide management and strategic planning, overseeing all operations outside of research and portfolio management. Additionally, she serves as chairman of the board of trustees for the mutual funds. She joined Ariel in 1991 after graduating from Princeton University where she received her degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy.

Mellody has become a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy and investor education. She is a regular financial contributor on “Good Morning America” and a featured guest on other ABC News programs including “World News Tonight,” “Nightline” and the 2009 special “Unbroke: What You Need to Know about Money” for which she served as executive producer and host. Mellody is also the featured consumer finance expert on Tom Joyner’s “Money Mondays” radio program and a regular columnist for Black Enterprise. In addition, she is a spokesperson for both the 2009 Ariel/Hewitt study, “401(k) Plans in Living Color” and the Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Surveys.

Beyond her work in finance and investor education, Mellody is actively involved with a variety of civic and professional institutions. Her community outreach includes serving as a board member of the Chicago Public Library and its foundation, The Field Museum, The Chicago Public Education Fund and The Sundance Institute. Additionally, she is on the board of governors of the Investment Company Institute and is a member of the SEC Investment Advisory Committee.

She is a director of three public companies: DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and Starbucks Corporation. Mellody is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Young President’s Organization (YPO) and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Additionally, in 2010, she received an honorary doctorate degree in humanities from Howard University for her contributions to both the university and the larger community.

As the TJMS comes to an end, so does Mellody Hobson’s Money Mondays column. Today’s column will be the last. Many thanks to Mellody for helping our listeners over the years make their very best financial decisions with her tips, pointers and advice. Here are 5 of her top tips that should help you live […]

Whether your retirement is two years or 22 years away, Mellody has some info for you. Here’s what she wants each age group from millennials to baby boomers to know. LET’S START WITH THOSE WHO ARE CLOSEST TO RETIREMENT: THE BOOMERS. HOW ARE THEY DOING WHEN IT COMES TO SAVING FOR THE GOLDEN YEARS? Research […]

IT’S THE TIME TO TURN OUR ATTENTION TO OUR HEALTH CARE COVERAGE OPTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR, CORRECT? WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR US TODAY?  As you know, the open enrollment period is the time of year when most people have a chance to change your health insurance coverage or sign up for new coverage for […]

TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AUTO LOANS. WHY? According to a recent report from the credit reporting agency Experian, the length of auto loans continues to get longer and longer. According to the data, the average loan length for new cars is now 69 months – 6 years and 9 months – and loans of […]

WHAT DO WE NOW KNOW ABOUT INCOME INEQUALITY? Last week, the Census Bureau reported that the gap between the richest and the poorest American households is now larger than it has been in the past 50 years. While we have seen the gap between low-income and high-income households grow in recent decades, based on the […]

WHY IS MILLENNIAL DEBT ON YOUR MIND? Last week, Northwestern Mutual released a report showing that young Americans – particularly millennials – are carrying significantly levels of debt. The data shows many young people have financial burdens that their parents and grandparents did not have, and it is likely to have profound implications for their […]

HURRICANE DORIAN HAS YOUR MIND ON THE FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS, IS THAT RIGHT? As Hurricane Dorian – now a Category 5 storm – approaches the southeastern states, I wanted to help our listeners better understand how to prepare themselves and their families financially for a natural disaster. THAT SOUNDS GREAT. LET’S START WITH […]

We heard a lot of talk about bad economic news last week.   “Recession” seemed like the word of the week last week. And it can be a word that causes people a lot of anxiety. This morning, I want to make sure our listeners understand what is going on in the economy, and how to […]

WHY ARE OLD RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS ON YOUR MIND TODAY?  MELLODY: Put simply, people change jobs pretty regularly. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker in America changes employers every 4 years or so. And when we do this, many of us end up starting a new retirement account. But that does not […]

This morning we’re talking about the recent turbulence in the markets. What have we seen lately? There is no denying that the markets have been choppy in recent weeks. After a very strong period at the beginning of the summer, the NASDAQ fell by 3.75% in the past two weeks, while the Dow Jones shed […]

THIS MORNING WE ARE ONCE AGAIN FOCUSED ON THE US-CHINA TRADE TENSIONS THEIR RIPPLE EFFECTS. WHAT IS THE LATEST OUT OF WASHINGTON? More shots were fired in the trade war last week. On Thursday, President Trump took to Twitter to announce that he intends to impose a 10 percent tariff on the remaining $300 billion […]

Today we are discussing debt collection. Why? Debt collection affects millions of Americans. For several years. the number of households who had accounts in collection was in decline, as many households embraced more responsibly financial practices in the wake of the financial crisis. However, recently we have seen this trend reverse.  Over 25 million Americans […]