‘They need to see they’re represented’: The importance of women in advice
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7 March 2023
by
Nina Hendy, Professional Planner
Article link:
https://www.professionalplanner.com.au/2023/03/they-need-to-see-theyre-represented-the-importance-of-women-in-advice/
As International Women’s Day rolls around for another year, the finance industry openly acknowledges that it needs to find new ways to better accommodate female planners.
For every female in the financial advice industry, there are four males (just 22.5 per cent of advisers are women), according to data from Adviser Ratings.
But behind closed doors, financial advice firms are working to better understand what it takes to attract women so that the industry can work towards achieving gender parity.
While some firms are making decent inroads, others continue to struggle to overcome the older white male financial adviser stereotype plaguing the industry.
Jade Financial Group managing director Dianne Charman has three financial planners in her business, recruiting one young woman from the reception desk after a gentle nudge.
“Finding those pathways and thinking about recruiting differently is crucial,” Charman says.
“We also really have to promote flexibility. One of our key advisers works four days a week, which suits her work/life balance.”
Building a foundation
Alteris Financial Group boats over 60 per cent of its firm being women including the senior executive team.
Joanne Akkari, Alteris FG brand and marketing manager, says the women in the group created Alteris Women to help support and empower each other.
“Alteris Women’s mission is to advance women’s economic standing from a position of knowledge, skill and lived experience,” she says.
“We are active in our pursuit to empower more women to take control of their finances through knowledge sharing and charitable contribution.”
Akkari says this has benefitted the businesses Employee Value Proposition.
“Many of our new staff, female and male, [cite] it as a driver for their interest in joining Alteris; and our current staff citing their pride in the program and their desire to actively participate in the community,” she says.
Tribeca Financial CEO Ryan Watson has been running an adviser development program called ‘Administrator to Adviser’ for the past nine years in a bid to build the number of female advisers in his business.
Participants have the opportunity to contribute in client appointments early on in their employment, expediating the professional development process, he explains.
“We also have several women in our practice who hold strong and influential leadership positions,” Watson says.
Anecdotally, he’s noticed that single female clients tend to build trust more easily with female advisers. “Tribeca is on a significant growth trajectory, and I expect the number of female advisers will overtake male advisers within three years,” he says.
However, Firefly Wealth director Adele Martin says more needs to change to make the profession more flexible for women.
She suggests pro-rated or paused PI insurance fees during maternity leave or part-time work would help, since the fees don’t change whether an adviser is working one or five days a week.
Additionally, a locum financial adviser that fills in the duties of a planner during maternity leave would also help.
“If we want more Australians to get advice, they need to see they’re represented,” Martin says.
“When I started in financial advice I felt like I had to be one of the boys to be an adviser… I didn’t realise you could be yourself and be feminine.
She adds the choice of words used is important too and phrases like “you have to have balls to do that” or “harden up princess” should be avoided.
“It seems like such a subtle thing and I’ve been guilty of using that language in the past but I’m much more aware of it now,” Martin says.
In demand
Pushing for gender equality is also important for Chris Haggart, principal and director of Independent Wealth Partners. Clients self-select the gender of the financial adviser they want to book an appointment for on the website well before the first meeting, he says.
“It’s particularly difficult to recruit female advisers who are already in the industry because they’re so highly sought after,” he says.
Recruitment agency RIVA noted to Professional Planner last year there was a 15 per cent salary premium to hire female advisers.
Haggart says flexibility and actively encouraging all advisers to prioritise families is crucial.
“We had one candidate apply to work for us who mentioned that she wanted to go and live overseas for two months because she hadn’t seen her family,” Haggart says. “We were happy to facilitate this because our overall philosophy is people first.”
Meanwhile, there are several initiatives out there to encourage more women into the industry.
Financial Planning Association CEO Sarah Abood says more female financial planners would enable the profession to fully represent the community it serves.
The FPA runs a scholarship program for women valued at up to $50,000 each, designed to encourage women to pursue careers in financial planning.
“Many of our members are keen to hire and retain female planners, and offer benefits including flexible working from home arrangements, permanent part-time hours, and study and professional year support, important both for younger new entrants and mature career changers,” Abood says.
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