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March 02, 2005 at 07:00 PM
Why Financial Services Companies Are Recruiting More Women Advisors
By
I hadnt even heard of the job “financial advisor” 14 years ago when a friend mentioned it. Prior to joining this industry, I was working as a retail buyer, which meant long hours, especially on holidays and weekends, a lot of travel and not much compensation.
I needed a career flexible enough to allow me to be with my children when they needed me and lucrative enough to provide financial security. I didnt know if financial services was the right field, but a friend of a friend who was a female advisor encouraged me to look into it. I did and seized the opportunity to join North Star Consultants, a large firm in Minneapolis.
I was an advisor for three years and the job provided everything I wanted in a career. I could be with my young children when I needed to. And there was no glass ceiling to limit my professional growth.
I quickly developed a strong market for disability insurance among medical professionals and was recruited into the home office to train other advisors to sell DI. Now I am in field management, supporting the growth of Securian Financial Network firms across the country.
More recently, I took on the added challenge of overseeing a program aimed at improving the recruiting and retention of female advisors.
Wanted: Women
Financial services companies interest in women is not new, but it intensifies as the amount of money women control grows. Currently, the spending power of American women is greater than the entire economy of Japan. And women are expected to control $1 trillion by 2010. Thirty million American women are the heads of households.
Women own 28% of the nations privately owned businesses, employ 9.2 million people and control 35% of estates worth $5 million or more. By 2019, two-thirds of all wealthy Americans will be women.
As women gain financial clout, they look for help managing their money. Generally, women tend to be less confident in their ability to invest wisely. They are less risk-tolerant and more conservative than men in their investment choices.
However, they are more open to advice and consultation. Nearly three-fourths of “substantial women investors,” defined as those with investable assets of over $500,000, seek the help of financial advisors.
Additionally, a woman typically wants her financial advisor to create a financial plan that meets her unique needs. In other words, she wants a strong relationship with her advisor.
Not surprisingly, female financial advisors appear to be especially suited to working with female clients because the relationship is a priority, too. Where male financial advisors generally tend to be motivated more by sales goals and competition, women are more likely to be motivated by “doing good,” “helping others” and “supporting communities.”
Female advisors are more likely to associate financial and career success with building a strong base of clients and trusted relationships, rather than immediate income or certain product sales for commission.
Women in financial planning also say they have the flexibility they need to juggle work and family. A woman advisor in St. Louis takes her child to school at 8:15 in the morning and picks her up at 3:15. “After 3:15 Im done with work,” she says. When my child is home, I focus on her.” Though she does not work a traditional 40-hour week, this woman is a top producer.
A female advisor from Chicago says, “When I had my two babies over the last two years, the male advisor I work closely with picked up the slack. I did the same for him when his wife had children. In each instance, we both had good years.” As planners, women usually are free to make whatever arrangements they prefer to balance work and family.
Financial planning also appeals to women because theres no glass ceiling. They can be successful and earn substantial incomes without having to adhere to the sometimes rigid rules that can restrict a womans rise up a corporate ladder.
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