PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 37

finding someone. There's not a big pool. There aren't a lot of
female advisers to whom you can say, 'Why don't you come
over into the 401(k) space.' We need an event or something to
happen to pull women into the retirement plan adviser side. "
One means she suggests is being a mentor: a proactive
female, or male, who will notice a woman's potential and
say, " We think you've got something that would really be of
value over here. Would you consider being an adviser? "
Stout herself was mentored into the field by such a man.
" He saw the success I was having as a payroll representative
at ADP, and he tapped me on the shoulder and asked if
I wanted to join our firm, " she recalls. " I hadn't thought of it
before. I was a philosophy major in college. "
Her point is important to keep in mind. " Students don't
ordinarily come out of school saying they specifically want
to be an adviser, " Hunt agreed. And though more women are
in the business than 10 years ago, they need support, she
added. Both men and women need to be mindful to share
opportunities with newcomer women.
Making it even harder to attract women, no obvious
career path leads to the adviser job, Stout says. Therefore,
" we can't just sit and wait for someone to knock on our door.
We've got to go find them. "
She recently used this approach to hire a new female
adviser. " I went to the University of Maryland's women's
lacrosse team and reached out to them for new graduates
because I wanted a female and a go-getter, " Stout says. " That
school won the national championship, so I went for the best. "
Bringing women into the business is more than being
be fair. When asked if having too few women is a problem
in the industry, Vince Morris, president of Bukaty Companies
Financial Services and Resources Investment Advisors,
in Leawood, Kansas, responds affirmatively. " I think
anytime you lack diversity in race or gender it's a problem.
Most studies say that if you have more diversity in whatever
service you deliver in a marketplace, you actually excel
above or outperform averages in that industry. " Bukaty has
24 female advisers and, of the firm's leadership team of
eight, four are women.
Having women advisers also enables the company to
think in a more varied way, approach challenges and decisions
from new angles, and build relationships, Morris says.
" It's sometimes difficult for men to get into certain relationships
and programs, for instance, while women have experience
in these areas. The women advisers we have continually
outperform in the marketplace. "
Morris, too, looks for new women advisers among recent
graduates. Historically for women, the gender gap became
set careerwise in college, where few of them majored in
economics or similar subjects. Today, at Kansas State University,
where students can earn a degree in personal financial
planning entitling them to sit for Certified Financial Planner
(CFP) exam, half the enrollees are female. Morris recruits
from this program.
While the gap may be narrowing in colleges, it traces
back into women's years before that,
he suggests. " From
my perspective, you've got to get people interested early
The challenge
is not just
about getting
women into
the industry
but giving
them reason
to stay.
on, whether you're talking
minorities or gender, so
you can get them exposed
to the education programs
that will lead to more robust
career paths. "
He recognizes, too,
that some women, though
otherwise qualified, may
shy away from the adviser
profession. Compensation
that is based on sales and
production has been considered
" a high-risk model for
women to enter into, especially
if they're responsible
for child care, " Morris
observes. " From a behavioral
standpoint, women tend to be more risk averse, and so
that model is not always conducive to them. "
Retention 'How-to's
The challenge is not just about getting women into the
industry, but giving them reason to stay.
According to findings from Oliver Wyman, female executives
in financial services are 20% to 30% more likely to leave,
mid-career, than women in any other industry.
And Mercer found that financial services executive
women leave at a rate of 15.8% a year compared with 7.7%
for executive men.
Bucking the statistics is advisory firm Edward Jones, the
No. 1-ranked company in the J.D. Powers study. Last year,
both the increase and retention rates for female financial
advisers outpaced those for males. At the end of the year,
more than 20% of financial advisers at the firm were women.
Edward Jones leads the industry in number of female
advisers, says Kellie Wise, principal, firm inclusion and
diversity, at the company in Tempe, Arizona. Wise has been
with Edward Jones for 20 years and knows first-hand about
women advisers. She started her own practice as a single
mother and worked as a financial adviser for 18 years, plus
as a regional manager over 60 offices for 10 years.
" Where we put effort is into having women's recognition
conferences, having the Women Helping Other Women
(WHOW) conferences, mentorship programs to make sure
that if a woman comes to Edward Jones and wants to be an
adviser, she'll have full support; also diversity summits,
which offer an opportunity into a network of support. " Wise
says. " We had 44 diversity summits across the country last
year, and we invite local professionals who might be interested
in learning about a career with Edward Jones. Inclusion
means looking at every individual, " she stresses, " at the very
best candidates regardless of gender, race, background, etc. "
The point is that each can contribute something important.
Men and women each bring specific strengths, skills and
attitudes, echoes Stout. " I'd say that the best scenario is a
team that has both. " -Judy Faust Hartnett
planadviser.com November-December 2019 | 37
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