ETFdb Logo
ETFdb Logo
  • ETF Database
  • Channels
    • Active ETF
    • Alternatives
    • Beyond Basic Beta
    • China Insights
    • Climate Insights
    • Commodities
    • Core Strategies
    • Crypto
    • Disruptive Technology
    • Dividend
    • Dual Impact
    • Emerging Markets
    • Energy Infrastructure
    • ESG
    • ETF Building Blocks
    • ETF Education
    • ETF Strategist
    • Fixed Income
    • Free Cash Flow
    • Future ETFs
    • Global Diversification
    • Gold/Silver/Critical Minerals
    • Innovative ETFs
    • Institutional Income Strategies
    • Leveraged & Inverse
    • Managed Futures
    • Market Insights
    • Megatrends
    • Modern Alpha
    • Multi-Asset
    • Night Effect
    • Portfolio Strategies
    • Retirement Income
    • Richard Bernstein Advisors
    • Tax Efficient Income
    • Thematic Investing
    • Volatility Resource
  • Tools
    • ETF Screener
    • ETF Country Exposure Tool
    • ETF Sector Tracker Tool
    • ETF Database Categories
    • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison Tool
    • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
    • ETF Issuer Fund Flows
    • Indexes
    • Mutual Fund To ETF Converter
    • ETF Data for Journalists
    • ETF Nerds
  • Research
    • First Bitcoin ETF
    • ETF Education
    • Equity Investing
    • Dividend ETFs
    • Leveraged ETFs
    • Inverse ETFs
    • Index Education
    • Index Insights
    • Top ETF Sectors
    • Top ETF Issuers
    • Top ETF Industries
  • Webcasts
  • Themes
    • AI ETFs
    • Blockchain ETFs
    • See all Thematic Investing ETF themes
    • ESG Investing
    • Marijuana ETFs
  • Multimedia
    • ETF 360 Video Series
    • ETF Trends on Videos
    • ETF Trends on Podcasts
    • ETF Prime Podcast
  • Company
    • About Us
    • Swag Store
  • PRO
    • Pro Content
    • Pro Tools
    • Advanced
    • FAQ
    • Pricing
    • Free Sign Up
    • Login
  1. Practice Management
  2. Female Advisors Wanted: What Factors Drive a Female Advisor to Switch Firms?
Practice Management
Share

Female Advisors Wanted: What Factors Drive a Female Advisor to Switch Firms?

Kristan WojnarOct 11, 2016
2016-10-11

Ever wonder what factors might prompt a female advisor to switch to a new broker-dealer?

If you are a female advisor reading this now, have you ever thought about switching firms? And, if so, what factors would prompt you to make a change? If you are a male advisor and have a female advisor on your team, do you think she has thought about, or is thinking about, switching firms?

While switching to a different broker-dealer is certainly an extremely personal decision (whether you are a male or female advisor), the key factors that prompt women the most to move to a new broker-dealer can be summed up into the following: commitment, authenticity, and shared values. Interestingly enough, I’m sure you’d agree that all of these factors correlate directly with the culture of the firm itself.

Simply put, women advisors want the firm they work for to show commitment to adding new female advisors to the firm. Whether it is sponsoring women’s conferences and local or regional events, hosting female networking groups or initiating training and educational programs to help women reach their professional goals and create a sense of belonging and loyalty, they want their firm to create a true culture of authenticity, supportiveness, and inclusiveness.

While the general industry data says the financial services industry is now about 10 to 20% female (and some reports indicate the number is as high as 30%), as much as we may not want to admit it, the feeling of the stereotypical “old boys club” remains, since women are still so underrepresented in the industry as a whole. According to Cerulli Associates, the bank channel firms brag the most female advisors with 33%, followed by 15.6% in the independent channel and 15.4% in the wire house firms.

Overall, women advisors want their firms to believe in their long-term success; they want firms to desire to attract a more diverse client base and support their practices to increase affluent clients and prospect female relationships. They also want a firm to support commitment to client focus and attention. All of these elements help to demonstrate a firm’s culture of commitment to women advisors.

Having said that, a firm needs to demonstrate each of these very things authentically! It’s not just a matter of hiring women advisors simply to give a more diverse appearance on a firm’s website and checking off the box. Women advisors can see if a firm’s efforts aren’t authentic.

Industry firms need to not only hire new women advisors, they also need to retain those female advisors and make them feel valued. Firms should make women advisors feel welcomed and support them, as though they are part of something bigger than themselves. Broker-dealers also need to demonstrate that they take the industry statistics about the outstanding economic power of the female investor very seriously and be genuine with their efforts.

According to Diamond Consultants (in a report published by Pershing), a New Jersey-based consulting firm that specializes in recruiting financial advisors, “When a woman chooses to make a change, it’s typically because of cultural dissonance with her firm. Women want to control the client experience as well as their own professional lives. Most senior women advisors are very well-heeled; they are in the business because they want to work, not because they have to work. They are looking for a place that fosters a quality professional life and lets them serve their clients as they see fit.”

Women advisors need to feel their broker-dealer shares their core values. They typically seek coaching and mentoring opportunities that demonstrate opportunities to grow within the company, flexibility and work/life balance when contemplating switching firms. When a woman chooses to enter the financial services field for the first time as an advisor, according to research from the Insured Retirement Institute, she also seeks shared values from the firm, such as work/life balance, relationships, and meaningful work.

JD Powers’ research says that firms that desire to attract top women advisors or new women advisors in general, should ensure they are leveraging very successful, highly satisfied women advisors as advocates to help attract more women to the profession, as well as to their firm. JD Powers’ research also indicates women advisors overall are more satisfied than men advisors, and they exhibit a higher degree of loyalty to their firm based on such aspects as culture and client focus.

What questions might women advisors consider before switching firms?

The following are a few to think about to help make this very personal decision:

  1. Do you feel women are represented well within your firm? Why or why not?
  2. What plans has your firm made to hire new female advisors to the industry and/or recruit more female advisors from other firms?
  3. What progress has your firm made to achieve these goals?
  4. Do you feel your firm demonstrates commitment, authenticity, and shared values? Why or why not?
  5. What specific factors are personally important to you that might make you decide to switch firms?
  6. Does your firm foster retention of female advisors? How? Are their efforts genuine?
  7. Do you believe you receive the support, coaching, mentoring and training you need from your firm?
  8. Does your firm demonstrate that they understand the economic power of the female investor? What marketing efforts and programs do they have for you to use in your practice?

What do you think? Do any of the responses to the questions above light a fire under you enough to consider a change to a new broker-dealer? The choice is yours, so consider it carefully.


Content continues below advertisement

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that for a firm to stand out and appeal to women advisors it needs to be visible in the marketplace and clearly position what differentiates it from other firms. The firm also needs to commit and do so authentically.

» Popular Pages

  • Tickers
  • Articles

Feb 08

New Dawn for Hotel Industry Could Underpin JRNY Gains

Feb 08

Invesco CEO to Retire, Replacement Named

Feb 08

Opportunities in Short-Term Treasuries With XONE

Feb 08

A Closer Look at NightShares' NSPL

Feb 08

Exchange and Junior Achievements Build Community

Feb 08

China's Aggressive Clean Energy Stance Sets Up This ETF

Feb 08

Earnings, the Economy, and the Market’s Reality

Feb 08

California’s Aggressive Climate Measures Puts this ETF in Play

Feb 08

As Financial Companies Embrace Blockchain, Look at BLKC

Feb 08

Get Exposure With This ETF as Industries Rely on AI

QQQ

Invesco QQQ Trust

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

VOO

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

VGT

Vanguard Information...

SMH

VanEck Semiconductor ETF

XLK

Technology Select Sector SPDR...

VTI

Vanguard Total Stock Market...

SOXX

iShares Semiconductor ETF

BLOK

Amplify Transformational Data...

META

Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF

Loading Articles...
Help & Info
  • Contact Us
Tools
  • ETF Screener
  • ETF Analyzer
  • Mutual Fund to ETF Converter
  • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison
  • ETF Country Exposure Tool
  • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
  • ETF Performance Visualizer
  • ETF Database Model Portfolios
  • ETF Database Realtime Ratings
  • ETF Database Pro
More Tools
  • ETF Launch Center
  • Financial Advisor & RIA Center
  • ETF Database RSS Feed
Explore ETFs
  • ETF News
  • ETF Picks of the Month
  • ETF Category Reports
  • Premium Articles
  • Alphabetical Listing of ETFs
  • Best ETFs
  • Browse ETFs by ETF Database Category
  • Browse ETFs by Index
  • Browse ETFs by Issuer
  • Compare ETFs
Legal
  • Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
  • © 2023 VettaFi LLC. All rights reserved.
Follow ETF Database
Follow ETF Database

Advertisement

Is Your Portfolio Positioned With Enough Global Exposure?

ETF Education Channel

How to Allocate Commodities in Portfolios

Tom LydonApr 26, 2022
2022-04-26

A long-running debate in asset allocation circles is how much of a portfolio an investor should...

Core Strategies Channel

Why ETFs Experience Limit Up/Down Protections

Karrie GordonMay 13, 2022
2022-05-13

In a digital age where information moves in milliseconds and millions of participants can transact...

}
X