Below is an interview with Jaime Desmond, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, discussing the importance of attracting more women to the financial advisory profession and the steps her firm has taken to increase their number of female advisors.

Financial Advisor magazine: How many female advisors does Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services have across its five independent broker-dealers and what percentage of all financial advisors at those companies does that number represent? 

Jaime Desmond: Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services has five independent advisory and broker-dealer firms in its network: Securities America, Triad Advisors, KMS Financial Services, Investacorp Inc. and Securities Service Network Inc.

Today, firms across the Ladenburg Thalmann network have approximately 4,000 advisors. Of those, nearly 900 are women, which translates into roughly 22 percent of the total advisor class.

FA: What are some steps Ladenburg Thalmann has taken to increase the number of female advisors? How does the company’s efforts differ from what others in the business are doing to attract women advisors?

Desmond: Our most important step was the establishment in 2012 of the Ladenburg Institute of Women & Finance. The Institute has driven much of our success in recruiting, retaining and growing the businesses of women advisors across our subsidiary firms.

The Institute’s Annual Symposium enables our top women advisors across all of our broker-dealers to come together in fun and educational setting to share their knowledge with one another.  

But we also provide an array of education, training and networking opportunities for all women advisors across our subsidiaries throughout the year. 

This includes smaller group networking opportunities through a list serve, as well as quarterly practice management and business development training webinars and conference calls.

And of course, mentoring is a critical part of our efforts. Since the Institute was founded, we’ve supported our Lift Mentoring Program, which presents a unique opportunity for a less experienced female advisor to partner with a more experienced female advisor in a highly structured, yearlong program.

Seeing participants in the program develop incredibly close personal and professional bonds that have lasted for years has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the work we do through the Institute.

FA: How have male financial advisors reacted to these initiatives?

Desmond: Many of the most enthusiastic supporters of the Institute and the work we do are our male advisors.

For example, male advisors frequently ask to participate in our Annual Symposium. A large percentage of their clients are female, and male advisors view education sessions at the Symposium as having great professional value. While we don’t invite male advisors to attend the Symposium, we do make the Institute’s learning resources available to all advisors across our enterprise, and this includes material that we develop and initially share at the Symposium.

Successful advisors, male or female, recognize that the future of this industry will be defined by financial planning-based client relationships. While this shift takes place, women will continue to enter the workforce in greater numbers and gather a larger percentage of the nation’s wealth each year. This means women advisors are uniquely positioned to connect and build relationships with the clients of the future.

At the same time, while our male advisors know you don’t have to be a woman to capture growing opportunities to serve female clients, having smart, motivated women on your team is increasingly a necessity.

FA: Why do you think it’s been hard for the industry as a whole to increase the percentage of female advisors? 

Desmond: One factor could be that women in previous generations have typically not been financial decision-makers in households and businesses. So financial advisor demographics are playing catch-up with respect to the changed demographics of our broader society.

Another factor could be that in the past, the financial advisor role was seen as a sales-driven position.  And unfortunately, there’s always been a misperception that women aren’t as capable as men in those roles.

But today’s post-DOL environment prioritizes client relationships must be built on comprehensive financial planning. This could encourage the industry to work harder to add women advisors, since women generally tend to build deeper, longer-term relationships with the people they work with, and typically take a more consultative approach. 

Multiple aspects of financial advice for today and tomorrow demand emotional sensitivity—such as healthcare and disability needs, eldercare and assistance with final wishes, including estate and trust planning, or even charitable giving. That's why deeper relationship-building traits will be rewarded more than ever.

FA: Why do you think it’s important to attract more women to the financial advisory profession? Is there a lot of competition among independent BDs to attract women advisors, and if so, how does that play out?

Desmond: First, women make up more of the workforce than ever before, and control most of the nation’s personal wealth. 

Second, these ongoing trends are about to coincide with an enormous wealth transfer. Part of this will be from the baby boomer generation to the Gen X and millennial generations, while the other part will be within baby boomer marriages, with one member of the couple outliving the other. A large portion of these assets will transition to women, possibly in disproportionate numbers since women tend to outlive men.

And, third, women advisors are best positioned to capture women client relationships. This is especially the case now that financial advice must emphasize financial planning that has its roots in long-term relationships and a consultative approach.

FA: What number or percentage of female advisors are you aiming to be affiliated or working with Ladenburg Thalmann in five years?

Desmond: We haven’t formally set a goal as an organization, although my personal view is that the percentage of women advisors across the industry should mirror the percentage of women in the total population. This would mean a 50/50 ratio.

Our industry obviously has a long way to go before we reach those kinds of numbers.

In the meantime, I’m grateful to be working with an industry leader that has been consistently ahead of the curve on this issue and prioritizes not only increased representation of women advisors but increased business growth and success for them as well.

FA: Do you help your affiliates find entry-level female advisors, and if so, how? Do you work with any colleges or universities in particular to help recruit new advisors to the profession, and if so, which ones? What do you offer more seasoned female advisors that would make them want to join Ladenburg Thalmann’s broker-dealers?

Desmond: While we don’t have a formal entry-level advisor training program at our enterprise level, we’re pleased with the work we’ve done in this area through our Lift Mentoring Program. 

We’ve helped daughters who started out with limited industry experience to take over their parents’ practices. We’ve also helped female sales assistants and other support staffers to transition to an advisor role, usually as part of a team.

For more seasoned female advisors, I think our value proposition comes down to two key areas of strength. First, as one of the largest independent broker-dealer networks in the country, we have the resources to invest in the best possible platforms, tools and expertise. 

Second, through the Institute, we're able to align practice management and advisor growth resources that are geared specifically to women advisors who have already reached a certain level of professional success, but remain committed to achieving further business growth.

FA: You’ve been closely involved with the Ladenburg Institute of Women & Finance since its inception five years ago. What Institute accomplishment are you most proud of and what initiatives do you want the Institute to tackle going forward?

Desmond: I’m proudest of the fact that the Institute is a product of its members, not a ‘top-down’ creation by the parent company.

The advisors drive the agenda for our Annual Symposium and educational events, and they collaborate informally by networking with each other.

The most popular suggestion at our inaugural event six years ago was to create a female advisor mentoring program. And we did it the very next year, thanks to an outpouring of enthusiasm and support from a much larger than expected wave of mentor volunteers. Now, we’re thrilled to celebrate the fifth year of the Lift Mentoring Program.

Going forward, our top priority is not to rest on our laurels. For as effective of a job as we’ve done through the Institute, we want to actively engage more of our existing female advisors, continue to recruit top female advisors to our firms and find ways to promote the entry of more females into the financial advisory profession.

When you look at how much our society has changed and will continue to change, the future opportunity set for women advisors and the firms and advisor businesses that support them is undeniable.