Over the next few decades, the financial advice industry will face a major challenge as it strives to fill the shoes of retiring advisors. Couple that with the pressing need to recruit more women into our industry to better reflect the U.S. population of 51 percent females who are expected to control an estimated $22 trillion in wealth, and it’s clear that our industry has its work cut out when it comes to recruiting.

Many independent firms, however, have yet to explore one important potential solution that may be closer than they think: Providing mentorship and training opportunities to the daughters of successful financial advisors.  

It’s well recognized that women are in many ways ideally suited to the evolving relationship-focused direction of our industry. Read any trade publication or attend any industry conference and you can’t miss the theme that women are in high demand to bring more diversity to our business. Inspiring the daughters of current advisors to follow in their parents’ footsteps could not only replenish the advisory workforce, but help us meet this demand.

Indeed, firms that recognize the opportunity to work with the daughters of advisors can pave the way toward their professional success by implementing the following:

Build On Parental Introductions

The main reason daughters of financial advisors make ideal candidates to become advisors themselves is their early exposure to hearing mom or dad talk about the joys of helping others use their money to enjoy life more fully. Advisors may start by simply talking with their daughters about how work went that day and how they helped someone fulfill their goals. Advisors can also instill in their children an understanding of finance’s central role in life and a vision for a rewarding career by sharing stories of their close involvement in clients’ lives.

In addition to being a great bonding experience, this allows daughters to envision their futures as professional women. These conversations may also prevent common misconceptions about the industry—including that it’s all about number crunching—and help daughters see firsthand that it takes both deep smarts and a big heart to excel at the noble profession of being a financial advisor.

Firms can further build on this dynamic by encouraging advisors to introduce their daughters to their advisory colleagues, whether by visiting the advisor’s office or attending family retreats centered around the firm’s conferences. If the advisor is a father, these gatherings will likely provide opportunities for daughters to meet female advisors, perhaps for the first time. If the advisor is a mom, these settings can help daughters meet even more successful female advisors—and see that there is a place for them in a community of highly talented, engaging and supportive women.

Develop A Growth Track

While in high school, daughters may enjoy working paid summer jobs at their parents’ advisory practices, taking on tasks like updating spreadsheets, answering phones and shadowing staff. Parents who want their daughters to enter the profession can always make such offers themselves.

If a daughter wishes to continue with the advisory track during college and beyond, a parent may encourage her to pursue internships and full-time work elsewhere for a few years, since some advisors lack the resources to train their children effectively on the more complex aspects of the profession. This can also give the daughter greater perspective on the life of a financial advisor.

Independent firms can help by making college internship programs available at their home office, connecting students with other practices across the network, facilitating mentorships that pair young women with experienced female advisors, and inviting the children of advisors to conferences where they can meet advisors of all ages, learn about the industry and network with other like-minded students.

When ready, a daughter may work full time as a junior advisor for two or three years at a different firm than her parent (potentially within the same firm’s community of independent advisors). After learning and growing into the profession, the daughter will be ready to decide whether she wants to work full-time with her parent or forge her own path.

Position Successful Women As Informal Recruiters

Adult daughters of advisors who come to thrive in the profession on their own make especially strong ambassadors to other women who are considering this career path. Such successful women can speak to how the profession allows advisors to have careers and still be active parents, potentially addressing women’s concerns regarding work-life challenges.

Advisors who become mothers themselves can speak to other women about their firsthand experiences as active parents who also give financial guidance to clients. And they can attest to how fulfilling it is to build a business by helping others weather life’s unpredictable challenges and gain financial security and independence.

The Future Is Right In Front Of Us

As financial advisors and industry executives ask themselves who will serve as succession partners for the scores of advisors who will be retiring in the years ahead, they should recognize that the right person may just be sitting at the dinner table when they get home each night. The daughters (and sons) of current advisors are poised to help form the future of our profession, if we take the right steps to prepare and inspire them today.

Janine Wertheim is president of Securities America Advisors and chief marketing officer of Securities America, a wholly owned independent advisory and brokerage subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services. She also serves on the Steering Committee of the Ladenburg Institute of Women & Finance, which recently held its Annual Symposium, as part of the Institute’s mission of increasing the number of women advisors in the independent financial advice space, while supporting their professional growth.