“Reach out to a man that you know . . . and really educate them about what it is that you do and the impact you make in your clients’ lives,” said Michelle Lynch, vice president of Raymond James Network for Women Advisors, during her opening remarks at Raymond James’ 24th Annual Women’s Symposium in Tampa, Fla.
“And then in turn ask them to pass that on to a woman that they know, and perhaps they can make an introduction to you and that woman,” Lynch added. “Because women having men as our advocates is going to be one of the best ways that we are able to increase our numbers.”
More than 650 people attended the conference. Of that, 405 were women financial advisors, marking the largest-ever number of attendees and advisors at the symposium.
Men make up about 85 percent of Raymond James’ advisors, according to Lynch, who added that 1,100 of Raymond James advisors are women. Marina Shtyrkov, an analyst with research analytics firm Cerulli Associates, told Financial Advisor in 2017 that 15.7 percent of the industry were women, a figure similar to Raymond James’ workforce.
Raymond James CEO and chairman Paul Reilly told the conference the company was hiring women at the top level, as well. For example, it recently promoted Jodi Perry from national sales director to president of its independent contractor division. But the increase in women at the top was small compared to what's happening at lower levels of the firm.
The company continues to attract women from other wirehouses, but Lynch says there aren’t enough women in the industry to really boost that 15 percent figure higher. Accordingly, Raymond James is turning to outside the industry for additional women employees.
Its advisory mastery program, an apprenticeship for new financial advisors, has 25 to 30 percent women representation. Lynch told conference attendees the firm is working to push that number to 35 to 40 percent. Raymond James actively participates in the industry-wide effort to recruit more women from various streams such as career changers (one of the highest pool of recruits) and college campuses.
“When I first took on this role about three years ago, we weren’t doing enough in trying to increase and get women in,” Lynch said during a press session. Raymond James markets to other professions through business journals and publications aimed at professions that tend to have the highest transition of individuals into financial advice, such as educators.
Lynch shared how Raymond James has partnered with a university nearby its headquarters in St. Petersburg, Fla. Specifically, the firm last year donated $200,000 to the University of South Florida’s personal financial planning degree program. (Lynch is one of a handful of financial professionals who sits on its advisors counsel.)
The initiative is relatively new, said Lynch, and Raymond James hadn’t done any outreach until recently when it invited some of its women students to this year’s women’s symposium for free.