Australia-based wealth manager LGT Crestone says wealth management organisations should do more to attract women to the profession such as offering more workplace flexibility and paid parental care leave.
This came during the Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association (SIAA) networking event on 21 March – ‘Women advisers – driving future growth”. The event allowed female advisers to share stories on how they entered the industry, discuss barriers they encountered and what firms could do to overcome those hurdles.
Speakers included Canaccord Genuity senior wealth adviser Naomi Fraser, LGT Crestone partner and investment adviser Joanna Veitch, and Shaw and Partners investment adviser Candice Bourke. The event was moderated by LGT Crestone’s chief operating officer Michelle Inns.
Inns said: “Barriers to entry for women to enter the wealth industry can be significant. These can be overcome with a commitment by employers to achieving greater female participation and greater diversity generally in the workplace.
“LGT Crestone is working with industry participants to ensure women are involved in wealth management and that workplaces reflect both societal and client expectations. While 50% of all other roles are held by females, like others in the industry, our proportion of female advisers is much lower.
“Over the last three years, we’ve doubled our female advisers through various initiatives, including enshrining flexible workplace policies, providing 16 weeks of paid primary carer leave (or 32 weeks half-pay), generally enhancing diversity in the workplace, but most importantly setting female hiring targets. While it’s going to require sustained focus and time to get anywhere near parity, if we get our policies right, wealth management can be a fantastic career path for women.
“Women will control the bulk of the world’s wealth over coming decades, thanks to a combination of inheritance and greater financial independence, so clients should have the option of being advised by a woman on how their wealth is being managed.
“We also need to challenge existing cultures and overcome gender biases in recruitment practices which favour men getting jobs and being promoted in wealth management roles. Employers may need to focus more on outcomes than whether a person is tied to a desk.”
