Waddell & Reed Financial Continues to Expand Diversity & Inclusion Strategies

Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. WDR, parent company of Ivy Investment Management Company and Waddell & Reed, Inc., has taken further action to advance its position as a values-based and purpose-driven organization. Highlights of the additional actions include:

CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ "Taking Action Together" Events

• When Philip J. Sanders, CEO of Waddell & Reed Financial, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ pledge in March, he acknowledged that the organization will act to cultivate trust, diversity, flexibility and understanding. The CEO Action pledge currently has been signed by more than 600 CEOs nationwide, representing 85 industries and more than 50 academic institutions or associations.
• In this month's "Taking Action Together" events, the company offered numerous in-person and virtual educational sessions exploring bias and inclusion, designed to create conversations around the impact of our natural biases and how the organization can continue to foster an environment of belonging and an inclusive workplace.
• These events culminated with a signing ceremony where employees took the "I Act On" pledge by signing a large billboard signifying their personal commitments to fostering a culture of belonging at the company. The pledge states: I pledge to check my bias, speak up for others and show up for all. Employees were served breakfast, received a copy of the pledge and a t-shirt reading "I Show Up for ALL" that can be worn at future diversity and inclusion events.

Pride Month Celebration and Awareness

• Waddell & Reed Financial also recognized Pride Month, providing all employees an opportunity to show support for the LGBTQ community, including painting multiple areas of the six-building campus with rainbow colors within the Waddell & Reed Financial logo and the slogan "Show Up for All."
• A Pride celebration on campus brought employees together to show support with "I Show Up for ALL" t-shirts and special pride buttons while learning more about the LGBTQ community and their experiences in the workplace.

Rock The Street, Wall Street (RTSWS)

• The company took the next step in its partnership with RTSWS, announcing it will work with Shawnee Mission North High School to deliver a curriculum that offers financial education through workshops, role modeling, mentoring and on-site office experiences. The partnership facilitates work with an innovative, national financial education program targeted to young women in grades 9 through 12. Waddell & Reed Financial will offer field trips to its headquarters offices and help with the fall and spring curriculums focused on budgeting, learning financial basics, stocks and investing, career assessment and resume building. Waddell & Reed Financial is the first organization in the Kansas City metro area to partner with RTSWS, which is a national, non-profit organization committed to attracting young women to the field of finance.

"These additional actions continue to illustrate our commitment to being a values-based, purpose-driven company. Having a culture of belonging, that is centered on our core values, is critical to our long-term success," said Sanders.

About CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™

CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. This commitment is driven by a realization that addressing diversity and inclusion is not a competitive issue, but a societal issue. Recognizing that change starts at the executive level, more than 600 CEOs of the world's leading companies and business organizations, are leveraging their individual and collective voices to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ aims to rally the business community to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace by working collectively across organizations and sectors. It outlines a specific set of actions the undersigned companies will take to cultivate a trusting environment where all ideas are welcomed and employees feel comfortable and empowered to discuss diversity and inclusion. Visit ceoaction.com.

About Rock The Street, Wall Street

Rock The Street, Wall Street, founded in 2013, inspires and equips girls with skills to succeed financially throughout their lives and potentially pursue careers in finance. Girls learn about savings and investment, budgeting, the capital markets and their role in maintaining the welfare of their families and the economy, while simultaneously helping them see the real world application of the math content they learn in the classroom. Visit rockthestreetwallstreet.com.

About the Company

Through its subsidiaries, Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. has provided investment management and wealth management services to clients throughout the United States since 1937. Today, we distribute our investment products through the unaffiliated channel under the IVY INVESTMENTS^® brand (encompassing broker/dealer, retirement, and registered investment advisors), our wealth management channel (through independent financial advisors associated with WADDELL & REED, INC.), and our institutional channel (including defined benefit plans, pension plans, endowments and subadvisory relationships). For more information, visit ir.waddell.com.

IVY INVESTMENTS^® refers to the investment management and investment advisory services offered by Ivy Investment Management Company, the financial services offered by Ivy Distributors, Inc., a FINRA member broker dealer and the distributor of the IVY FUNDS^® mutual funds and IVY VARIABLE INSURANCE PORTFOLIOS^®, and the financial services offered by their affiliates.

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