As we celebrate International Women’s Day today with a campaign looking at the role of women in finance, it’s useful to explore key research which lifts the lid on what’s going on at the coal face.
Dynamic Planner has produced its latest Spotlight Report based on a sample of UK financial advisers and support staff within advice firms that currently hold at least one Dynamic Planner licence. The research was carried out in the autumn of 2023, via an online survey completed by 341 financial advice professionals between 9 and 31 October.
The findings of the Dynamic Planner report have been summarised below and provide an interesting insight into the differences in attitude, behaviour and outlooks between male and female financial advisers.
- The median age for male financial advice professionals is 45-50 years old while it is 40-44 years old for females. This could show a closing gap in the age gap between male and female employees noted in previous years.
- Women were more likely to recommend their profession to others with 85% of female respondents answering yes, while only 75% of male respondents answered yes to the same question.
- Thinking ahead to the next five years, 62% of female financial advice professionals said they would actively try to grow their business while only 46% of male financial advice professionals said they would actively try to grow their business. This could be due to the age gap between male and female respondents as the average age of male respondents is older and more likely closer to retirement age.
- When asked “Looking ahead to the next three years, do you expect the number of clients you personally service on an ongoing basis to?” Female advice professionals were more optimistic with increasing this number with almost 70% of all female respondents to our report indicating that they expect to increase the no. of clients served whereas only 56% of male respondents answered the same.
- Looking at the past five years male and female respondents were on par with the change in the number of clients they served.
Yasmina Siadatan, Chief Revenue Officer, Dynamic Planner said:
“Women are making huge strides in the financial advice industry. They clearly love their jobs, with an overwhelming majority saying they would recommend their profession to others.”
“This year’s theme #InspireInclusion for International Women’s should be looked at through every lens, be it attracting more women into the industry or ensuring that what we as an industry deliver in terms of product, brand and communications resonates with female investors.”
“The industry has moved on significantly from where it once was, and that is evident in this analysis for our Spotlight Report. Building a more inclusive financial planning industry will have more positive outcomes for everyone – female advice professionals and female clients alike.”
