"Financial services, particularly post the global crisis, had been seen to bathe itself in dishonor," says Audette Exel, a former lawyer and banking executive in Sydney. "Many great bankers and financial-services professionals-people of great integrity-had huge concerns about that."Exel operates an unusual consulting company that capitalizes on that anxiety. Called Adara Partners and based in New South Wales, Australia, it's staffed by people with day jobs at the likes of Goldman Sachs, UBS, and Deutsche Bank who contribute their time on a pro bono basis. One-hundred percent of the advisory fees paid by Adara's clients flow into Adara Development, Exel's charity, which she started way back in 1998 to help people living in poverty. The consultants get the benefit of good karma, while Adara gets a steady source of income.
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