A significant portion of female financial advisors feel there has been no progress in the last three to five years in bringing women into the profession, according to an Edward Jones survey released Tuesday.
Nineteen percent of the 103 female, top-performing Edward Jones advisors surveyed felt women have made no progress; another 51 percent felt a little progress has been made, but there is a long way to go before women advisors reach equality.
Promoting women to executive positions is the best way a firm can attract and retain female talent, according to 52 percent of the survey participants.
Twenty-three percent of female financial advisors said offering internal networking and mentorship opportunities were the best strategies for attracting and retaining talent.
Seventeen percent said providing more generous maternity leave policies and benefits is most effective, while 8 percent said guaranteeing and enforcing equal pay for equal work as the best strategy, the Edward Jones survey said.
“Although much work has been done in the financial services industry to level the playing field, there remains a gap in ensuring women are given the opportunities and tools they need to succeed,” said Monica Giuseffi, principal of financial advisor inclusion and diversity at Edward Jones.
When asked about female clients, 70 percent of advisors felt women investors still are underserved even though women control more than half the wealth in the nation.
“With nearly 60 percent of wealth in the United States owned by women, amounting to over $11 trillion in assets, it is important that the financial services industry engages and deeply serves this critical group,” Katherine Mauzy, principal of financial advisor talent acquisition at Edward Jones, said in a statement.
Almost all of the women advisors (94 percent) said word of mouth is the most effective way to acquire new women clients. An earlier study by the Center for Talent Innovation showed 75 percent of women under 40 do not have a financial advisor. This amounts to more than $5 trillion in under-leveraged assets.
Other approaches include partnering with other financial professionals (55 percent), and creating women’s networking groups in the community (30 percent), the respondents said.