The financial services industry is finally taking note – women are a valuable advisor employee asset and an important component of a firm’s growth potential. Just this week, Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC made headlines by recruiting Blair duQuesnay, a well-regarded 36-year-old financial services advisor with a stellar resume that includes stints at both UBS and ThirtyNorth Investments, LLC. This week also saw Google Alphabet Inc. employees team up with investors to push for change in the C-suite, tying executive compensation to achieving workplace diversity.
Recruiting female talent makes sense for firms of all sizes when looking at the hard and fast numbers. Women advisors are statistically equal to, if not slightly better than, male advisors when it comes to success in achieving results for their clients, a statement supported by the Bank of Montreal report that in the U.S., 51% of the wealth is controlled by women. Additionally, female talent attracts and retains customers from the very lucrative affluent female market demographic, evidenced by the Financial Planning Association study affirming the correlation between a firm’s female advisor headcount and retaining high NET worth women clients. Further, the Insured Retirement Institute conducted a study showing 70% of women looking for a financial advisor will look to hire another woman. Also, women advisors statistically control more of their client’s assets than their male counterparts – a number which continues to grow annually. By way of example, Forbes list of Top 200 female advisors manage $210 billion dollars for their high wealth clientele.
The important consideration which needs to be made by firms wishing to reap the benefits of hiring skilled female advisors is creating and maintaining an inclusive work environment. Inclusive work environments do not simply happen but are strategically planned to include more of the benefits and culture attributes which attract and retain female talent. Work and life balance, mentorship opportunities, chances for continuing skill development and education, and a female executive leadership presence are just some of the firm attributes which secure the best of the best in female recruits.
At Elite Consulting we have experienced first-hand the remarkable level of talent women recruits can offer a firm and the importance of these firms maintaining the characteristics most desired by female recruits. Female leaders bring to the table the same skill sets as their male counter parts and, in our opinion, it is foreseeable that the number of women advisors will rise dramatically from its current 15% in years to come. This rise will be achieved not only by greater acceptance and inclusiveness in the industry overall, but also by a culture shift within the firms themselves to become more driven by holistic planning and less focused on transaction business. Additionally, as the number RIA and Hybrid firms continues to grow, so to will the number of women advisors as, in general, the intellectual capital and leadership of a RIA or Hybrid have built their firms to celebrate an inclusive, modern culture.
As a business consultant to many large teams, part of our advice will always be to focus on bringing in a successful female producer. Not only will this help capture assets vital to a team’s achievement and growth but having women as part of team offers an essential viewpoint to many key business factors vital to helping businesses grow.
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