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.

Today we are talking about the financial benefits of exercise. Maybe this morning’s segment will inspire some of us to cultivate good habits.  Mellody:  It very well could! We have talked about the link between physical health and financial health here before, but a new study shines some light on the individual financial benefits of […]

  There is good news this morning: fewer people are being excluded from the banking system, correct? According to a survey from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the FDIC, which insures Americans’ bank accounts up to $100,000, more Americans are gaining access to a checking or savings account, a sign that the improving economy […]

  Open enrollment is back again. What do people need to know?  We do talk about it every year because it is really important. This is the one time of year when people are able to make changes to their healthcare coverage and more. If you are covered through Medicare, the open enrollment period started […]

What should we be thinking about if we are impacted by a natural disaster? As we watch the remnants of Hurricane Matthew swirl off the Atlantic Coast, I was thinking of those who were impacted by Katrina, and Sandy, and other events that have impacted great numbers of people in our country. Thankfully, Matthew does not […]

Saturday marked one year since the deadline for retailers to officially switch over to EMV microchip cards. Tell us about how the transition has gone.  Mellody: It has gone fairly well, considering what a huge undertaking it is. It is no small thing to change how people pay for things with their credit or debit cards, […]

Yet another story that raises concerns about privacy and security. What do we need to know about the Yahoo breach? Mellody: We have obviously seen an increase in breaches lately, as fraudsters and hackers continue to find ways into companies’ systems. But this latest breach at Yahoo is a really extraordinary for a few reasons. […]

There is good news about wages out of the Census Bureau this past week. Mellody: On Tuesday, we learned that after a slow and steady recovery in the wake of the great recession, 2015 was a breakout year for American wages. Last year, median household income grew to $56,500, up 5.2 percent from the previous year. That […]

  Last week, Wells Fargo Bank agreed to pay $185 million in fines and refund customers some $2.5 million. Why? Mellody: It’s pretty straightforward. Some employees at Wells Fargo were caught illegally signing customers up for products – credit cards, deposit accounts, other items – that they had not requested. According to Wells Fargo, the […]

You have an interesting topic on tap for us this morning: lotteries. Mellody: We are indeed talking about lotteries this morning, but not in a good way. You may have noticed that lately it seems like the major multi-state lottery jackpots have been getting larger and larger, with more frequency. And you would be right! […]

There is recent news about the Affordable Care Act that another private insurance company is pulling out of some exchanges. Can you start by telling us a little about that? Mellody: Aetna announced this week that it was withdrawing from the Obamacare exchanges in 11 of the 15 states it had been doing business – […]

What do Black Americans need to know about the racial wealth gap? Last week was a glass half-full segment, with a stellar jobs report. I want to talk about a new report from the Corporation For Enterprise Development (CFED) and the Institute For Policy Studies. The report examined the growing racial wealth divide for Black and […]

There is good news as it relates to the job market. How can listeners can take advantage of it? Mellody: In the last Money Monday segment, we covered the strong housing sector, which is a key component of the U.S. economy. On Friday, we received some great news from the Labor Department. According to the […]