Inclusion, Leadership in Focus at Raymond James' Event

A crowd of about 420 female advisors and 300 other guests met Renée Baker, Raymond James’ new leader of diversity and inclusion, at the 25th annual Women’s Symposium in Orlando. Baker, who is in charge of the firm’s Network for Women Advisors, Advisor Pride Network and Black Financial Advisors Network, started in the role on Sept. 1.

“I am a staunch supporter of diversity and inclusion and will work tirelessly as your champion,” she said at the event’s opening session. (Baker joined Raymond James two years ago. Earlier, she worked for Aberdeen Standard Investments, JPMorgan, Bank of New York and OppenheimerFunds.)

“Through our stories, we really connect with one another,” she said, before describing her career dream as a young child to become an astronaut and later a doctor. “I was told I was too attached to people,” Baker explained, “and I was pushed into finance. People are at the heart of what we all do. I’m so glad to be here.”

She reminded the crowd that stereotypes are changing. A 1946 poll, for instance, found that just 35% of those surveyed believed men and women to be of equal intelligence, according to the American Psychological Association.

But last year, a survey revealed that this figure had hit 86%, Baker said. In fact, the poll also found 9% of those surveyed believe women are more intelligent and only 5% think men are more intelligent.

“This network is your village, and it will take all of us to move the needle in diversity and inclusion in our industry,” the executive said. “It feels like a daunting task. But we’ve got to first start the conversation. Let’s empower each other.”

The event’s general session kicked off with a video from some of Raymond James’ advisors describing where they were 25 years ago. Some said they were in their first year of college or were raising young children while starting their careers.

“It was great to be here for the first time as a woman getting together with other women,” said Margaret Starner, certified financial planner and leader of the Starner Group. “It was like being on the U.S. women’s soccer team that just won the World Cup.”

Firm’s Progress

Michelle Lynch, the outgoing head of Raymond James’ Network for Women Advisors, says membership in this group now tops 1,100. “You have been growing your business and doing it all while encouraging others,” she explained to the audience.

“It is about progress, which is not going to happen overnight,” Lynch added. Overall, the firm’s attrition level is under 1%. “For women, it’s even lower than the firm average,” she explained.

Industrywide, women make up about 15% of advisors, while at Raymond James the figure is slightly less than 16%, according to Lynch. “We had 720 in 2014 and now have 1,100. Much of our growth is coming from the advisor [training] program — which is 36% diverse,” she said. (The firm had a total of 7,904 advisors as of June 30.)

“We will continue to fight an uphill battle for women in financial services,” Lynch explained, adding that a recent poll found that 80% of boys’ parents say their children know the value of money vs. 60% of girls’ parents.

“There are lots of messages around money and math, saying that these fields are not for girls and women. But in some programs for CFPs, for instance there is parity… ,” she said. “There is no ceiling for what you can accomplish.”

High-Flying Role Model

Col. Nicole Malachowski — who knows a thing or two about leadership in a male-dominated field — continued this theme in her speech. The retired Air Force pilot, who flew a F-15E Strike Eagle and went on to be the first female Thunderbird airshow participant in an F-16, also served in 26 combat missions.

Then-Maj. Nicole Malachowski, the first woman pilot in the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

“You never know who you are inspiring. It’s about being a woman and being darn good advisor, for instance,” she explained.

“I look out, and this is the biggest crowd of women I have ever spoken to. When I started out in the military, there weren’t these kind of events until about five years into my service,” she told the crowd.

While about 15% of advisors are women, about 18% of the active-duty Air Force is female, she says. How many women are pilots? Out of 12,000 pilots in the Air Force, just 750, or 2%, according to the former Thunderbird. But back in World War II, more than 1,000 women flew in the Army Air Corps, she adds.

As for female fighter pilots, there are 63 out of a total group of 3,000. “It’s a small number,” Malachowski explained.

Thunderbird Scene

When she was picked in 2005 to be the first female Thunderbird pilot, “I hated it,”