Attracting Female Advisors to Your Firm

Sheehan likewise notes that she was first hired as a staff member, not an advisor. With the help of her mentor, she earned the experience and certifications necessary to build her own book of business.

“By the time my mentor brought me on to the team, all the other advisors said that was a good idea, and they wished they’d thought of it,” she says.

Barring that path, firms will need to scout local talent – ideally those about to graduate or recent graduates.

“If they’re serious, they need to start actively looking, not just waiting for them to come,” says Sheehan. Paid internships, in particular, work well for qualifying and capturing top-notch staff, many of whom may not have explored into finance in their undergraduate studies.

Finally, when scouting more experienced female advisors, it pays to dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

“Experienced female advisors tend to be very detail-oriented in understanding how the relationship will impact their book,” says Hunt-Ruddy. “You’d better have your facts straight and be able to articulate why their clients are better served at your firm.”

Mentorship, education and retention

Given the lack of older female advisors, however, it may be a better path to develop talent. To that end, the more mentorship and educational opportunities you can provide, the more likely young women will be to rise through your ranks and stay with your firm.

“We have a wealth planning analyst program that helps us develop young talent to get them ready to become advisors,” says Sheehan. “Advanced education is always going to be to their benefit, and if people are going to trust you with their money, you need to give them a reason.”

Aside from helping young advisors get their CFPs, firms can help them find and develop more specific talents that will earn them spots on productive teams.

“I always get people to start thinking about what roles they may play,” says Sheehan. “We all know our area of expertise and the value we provide, and we stick to it.”

Planning, investments, marketing: If a mentee shows talent for a specific role, leveraging it will only improve their career and your firm.

Likewise, it may be to everyone’s benefit to not commission your younger women and men – at least not right off the bat.

“The reason our programs are so successful is they’re different from traditional training programs, and being different, they attract a lot of women,” says Hunt-Ruddy. “People aren’t commissioned the day after they get licensed. There are on-ramps and time to build, and that appeals to new grads who might be intimidated building a book of business purely on commission.”

Of course, it requires an upfront investment and long-term vision to offer that kind of on-ramping

Finally, it’s a good idea to create opportunities for female advisors to interact.

“I’m a big believer that you have to create networks for women,” says Hunt-Ruddy. “Our population isn’t that big, and in a firm where people are spread out all over the country, creating an avenue for us to get together and network is a big deal.” Ultimately, these networks create community, which leads to greater retention, more professional development and better client outcomes.

Painting the picture

Given the aging advisor pool and women’s increasing share of national wealth, it’s a great time to start hiring and developing more female advisors. To that end, it’s critical to communicate the benefits of both your firm and the profession as a whole. Specifically, the entrepreneurial, self-directed nature of the profession may appeal to women with other aspirations, and they want to know you’ll support them.

“My management team does everything they can to support me and keep me at the firm,” says Sheehan. “Before I even became an advisor, I told them I’d be having a family at some point, and I wanted to make sure this career will allow me to do that.”

“Start early in looking for talent, and really help create a picture in the person’s mind of what a career in wealth management could look like – the more details, the better,” says Sheehan.