Being a financial advisor lets you help people and get paid for it, which is particularly appropriate for women, according to Kim Hayes, director of corporate relations at the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
A career as a financial advisor is a good fit for women from a variety of perspectives, both professionally and personally, Hayes and two female advisors said in interviews.
Successful financial planning requires collaboration and, in general, “women value collaboration and understand the need for a comprehensive overview of finances when making a plan,” said Marguerita Cheng, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth and of Blue Ocean Global Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., and a CFP Board ambassador.
“Actually, financial planning is a good career for anyone,” countered Akeiva Ellis, financial education specialist at Ballentine Partners, founder of The Bemused, and a CFP Board ambassador. Ballentine Partners is a financial services and wealth management firm based in Waltham, Mass. The Bemused is a financial education firm designed for younger adults.Ballentine Partners has more women than men on staff, which has been a benefit to the firm.”
Ellis noted that having a majority of women in a firm that's in a male-oriented industry makes everyone more aware of diversity and makes the firm, as a whole, more intentional about being diverse.
“For women who want a career in financial planning, it is important to know there are jobs available out there and firms that want them as advisors,” Ellis said. Women who become advisors serve as role models for other young women both as mentors and just by being employed in their chosen field, she said.
It is important to draw women to the field so they can have access to a good career and to make more women advisors available to women clients who prefer to work with a woman, Hayes said.
More young women are postponing marriage and making their own financial decisions, according to the advisors. In addition, the great wealth transfer that is occurring will result in women having control of $30 trillion in assets by 2030. Many women who are will be inheriting some of that money, are more comfortable dealing with another woman..
Female clients are often seeking someone to walk them through a process, not just someone to make investment recommendations, and women advisors are particularly adept at doing that, Hayes said. “From the female advisor’s point of view, there are so many avenues to pursue in financial planning that an advisor can find a number of different types of opportunities,” she said.
“Being a financial planner is intellectually stimulating, emotionally gratifying and financially rewarding, plus it allows the planner to make a positive impact on the community,” which makes it a good career for women and men, Cheng explained. “A career in financial planning gives you freedom and flexibility. The advisor can choose her specialty and what kind of clients she wants to work with. This is good for women because we already have so many roles in life that it is easy to relate to different types of clients.”