Nobody seems to be denying that the lack of female advisors in the financial planning industry is, at the very least, problematic. Women are slated to control nearly two-thirds of the wealth in the United States over the next decade, yet only 23 percent of CFP professionals are women.
That’s a problem when an estimated 70 percent of women seeking financial advice say they would prefer a female advisor to a male. For women who currently have an advisor, 73 percent report they are not happy with the one they have, and 87 percent say they don’t “connect” with their advisor. Another 71 percent say that Wall Street is not in touch with women’s financial needs. That’s concerning.
The financial planning industry is not ignoring the problem. In 2013, the CFP Board launched its Women’s Initiative (WIN) under Nancy Kistner, CFP to “address the ‘feminine famine’ in financial planning.” Since then, CFP Board has actively sought to address the issue. And though there has been a slight increase in the number of women entering the financial planning field, it’s not an easy problem to solve. It’s a paradigm shift.
Most of the leadership positions within the financial planning profession are still held predominantly by men, who are generally failing to provide what’s needed to attract and train female talent. According to a 2014 report by the Center for American Progress, “women make up 54 percent of the financial-services labor force but only 12 percent of its executive officers and 18 percent of its directors.” If we’re going to bring in more female advisors, we need more female voices speaking about the place of women in our industry.
Woman-to-woman mentoring opens a channel for that to happen. It connects accomplished female advisors with aspiring female advisors to address the essential role women play in the traditionally male-dominated financial planning industry. Mentoring operates where initiatives, incentives, and programs can’t go alone.
Women Mentors Can Attract More Women To The Financial Planning Industry By:
1. Sharing their journey
Mentoring provides a platform where women can empower other women by sharing their journey to CFP certification. A one-on-one mentor who understands the personal, educational and professional investment necessary to become a successful female advisor has considerable insight for those either starting down the path or considering it. Not only can they answer their questions, but they can provide the inspiration, vision and confidence mentees need to take the next steps in their education or careers.
2. Becoming role models
Mentors are role models. They’ve completed CFP Board’s course requirements, attained the certification, and done the hard work to succeed in the financial planning profession. Seeing other women prospering in a male-dominated industry is encouraging because it makes a career as a financial professional seem achievable and provides a reference point for success. Aspiring female advisors relate to their mentors as living and breathing examples of what they can accomplish.
3. Demonstrating a work-life balance
Women have a lot to offer the financial planning industry. They tend to be more communicative, empathetic and in tune with the concerns of female investors, but the industry also has a lot to offer women pursuing careers as financial advisors.
Financial planning is an extremely flexible and rewarding career. Women mentors can help their mentees see how being an advisor allows them to invest in people’s lives in ways that few other professions do while providing the flexibility that few other careers can. Mentors offer a vital model of work-life-balance that demonstrates how women can flourish in their careers without sacrificing the needs of their families.
4. Defying stereotypes
Women do not need to act like men to be financial advisors. They just need to demolish the stereotype that only middle-aged men can be financial advisors. Mentoring does that. Successful female mentors show that women are impacting the industry with uniquely feminine insights and making important contributions of their own.
So, when a young woman finds herself facing a panel of middle-aged men in an interview, she’s not intimated by antiquated attitudes but empowered by confidence in what she as a woman has to offer.
5. Exposing young women to the financial planning industry
Mentoring isn’t academic, but it works well in academic settings because it exposes young women to opportunities in the financial planning field while they’re still in college. By hosting seminars on what’s on the horizon for female advisors, mentors can attract and nurture talented future female advisors. Those with senior positions in financial planning can also be instrumental in creating mentorship programs that allow able female students to interact and develop relationships with seasoned female advisors.
Mentoring allows female advisors to increase awareness about financial planning while addressing common misconceptions and developing communities that strengthen the industry.
6. Inspiring confidence
Knowledge inspires confidence. Mentors can provide a voice in our schools and culture at large that encourages women to develop strong mathematical skills, technical competencies and awareness about financial planning. They can also help educate girls and young women in the art of financial planning and applications of mathematics by sponsoring workshops and financial planning career days. By helping the next generation of women understand money and math and finance and business, mentors can empower them to move confidently into the world of financial planning.
7. Advocating for our industry
Mentors are advocates, and established female advisors participating in mentoring relationships are advocating both for women and the future of our industry. Everybody agrees that we need more female advisors to accommodate the growing number of women investors. Mentoring allows us to address that need by increasing the visibility of female financial planning professionals.
Women mentors can advocate for aspiring female advisors in our industry by developing and leading mentoring networks, supporting companies subsidizing apprenticeships, and encouraging women to take positions in firms with subsidized entrance costs. They can also establish their presence as a viable voice within the industry through social media, online and in-person forums, community and professional events, and by positioning themselves as thought leaders within the industry through publishing and public speaking.
Through WIN, the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning is encouraging firms to create a more welcoming profession for women, including promoting woman-to-woman mentoring as part of its solution to the industry’s “feminine famine.” As a mentor, I’ve seen the impact women-to-women mentoring is having on women pursuing careers in the financial planning field. We are establishing a female presence within the industry and are actively engaging a new generation of female advisors.
Marguerita Cheng, CFP, is CFP Board ambassador and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth.