The inaugural Invest in Women conference, sponsored by Financial Advisor magazine, opened Monday in Las Vegas with some spirited discussion about what it will take to get more women into the advisory ranks.
 
Women simply don’t know about career opportunities in wealth management, and once in the door, they may face some unexpected headwinds, panelists said.
 
“We need to reach out to [our schools] and talk to [young people] as much as we can,” said Kate Healy managing director of marketing at TD Ameritrade Institutional. 
 
Even women MBA students don’t know that career possibilities exist in wealth management, said Eleanor Blayney, consumer advocate for the CFP Board.
 
Be on the lookout for women with some past experience in finance, said Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO of Lebenthal Holdings. 
 
“There are a lot of moms” who used to work on Wall Street but left the business to raise families who would be great at wealth management, she said during a luncheon address. “Think about ways to bring them back into the business.” 
 
Russ Hill, CEO of Halbert Hargrove, related how his firm, through trial and error, developed a “real work” intern program for college students that has produced top-notch female employees. After Hill’s assistant had a baby, the firm built an in-office nursery (employees provide their own babysitters). The RIA is also flexible with employee hours, including unlimited vacation time, as long as they get their work done.
 
Brinker Capital is likewise willing to adjust hours and pay to meet employees’ needs, said Noreen Beaman, CEO. “And that’s not just [to deal with] women’s’ issues—it’s for men, too--a family issue,” she said.
 
Tactics for attracting female advisors will also work with today’s investor, especially younger investors, panelists said. Advisory firms need to be sure they are addressing client needs with in-depth planning, avoiding the hard sell and developing close client relationships.
 
Panelists were frank in discussing some biases women advisors might face.
 
Research shows that a minority of people still feel men make better advisors, advisor Eleanor Blayney said during the opening session, The Future of Wealth Management. Ironically, these same people say that the skills an advisor needs are the ones women often have in abundance.  
 
Another form of bias can occur as a woman succeeds, Kate Healy of TD Ameritrade warned. “As women rise in an organization, they become less popular,” she said. 
 
Sometimes it is women who sabotage each other in the mistaken belief that there are only a few limited opportunities for advancement in an organization. 
 
But “you don’t need other women to fail for you to succeed,” said advisor Deena Katz, also an associate professor at Texas Tech University. 
 
No one doubts that more women could find promising careers in financial planning.
 
“Women’s’ natural curiosity makes them attuned” to handle the range of issues clients have beyond just finances, said Healy.
 
“It’s a great career,” Blayney agreed. “It gives people a sense of purpose and meaning,” which is what many women want in their work lives.