Increasing female representation in financial advice is vital to closing gender gaps in wealth and pensions. As we celebrate International Women’s Day today, we’re grateful to both Kim Balasubramaniam and Katrina Horstead, Directors at Versed Financial, for sharing the following blog with us why they believe that advocacy, support, and community are key.f
Take a look around a room of IFAs, and chances are there won’t be too many female faces. It’s something that we are keenly aware of at Versed Financial, as a firm established and run by two female advisors.
One of the driving factors in our decision to move networks last year, and joining Rosemount Financial Solutions (IFA) was to expand what we do beyond mortgages – it was clear that our clients wanted something more all-encompassing, an advice service that helps them with every area of their finances, and not just getting the keys to their new home.
Having more women, and women-led businesses, in wider financial advice is perhaps even more important than addressing the gaps in the mortgage advice sector. There are significant numbers of women who aren’t engaging with important aspects of their financial arrangements, potentially putting the long-term future of them and their families at risk.
For example, there is a troubling gender gap when it comes to pension saving. A new study by Interactive Investor[1] found that women aged 55-64 typically have around £89,000 less in pension savings than men. That 46% difference is not only a shocking disparity, but it’s also getting worse – back in 2016 the gap was ‘only’ around 25%.
It’s a similar story with investing, where research[2] has repeatedly found that women are much less likely to be putting their money into equities or other assets.
This is a gap that has to be addressed, and we firmly believe that having more women delivering financial planning has a big role to play in doing so. There will be some who have been put off investigating their options precisely because they can’t find advisors who look like them, or have some sense of shared experience.
That’s why representation is so important – it lowers barriers, and opens up opportunities for those who might otherwise miss out.
Advocates for advice
As an industry, we need to do more to attract fresh blood into financial advice. This is a sector that’s not only male dominated, but also skews a little older. Bringing in younger advisors, and particularly women, will not only help fill the gaps as more experienced peers retire, but it can also bring new customer groups into financial advice.
So how do we do it? A good start for all of us, especially women, is to act as advocates for providing financial advice as a career.
This is a rewarding career, one which allows you to work with clients to enhance their financial position and set them up for future success. The sense of satisfaction that comes from making a tangible difference is unique to this profession and not easily found elsewhere. However, unless we actively promote the industry, many talented women who could thrive as advisors may never realise it’s a viable career path for them.
It’s also important to keep promoting the progress we’ve made in recent years. The greater adoption of flexible working policies is not just resulting in people enjoying a better work/life balance, it’s also enabling women to build long-term careers within advice.
It’s a great start but there’s more to do.
And once we get women through the door, and into financial advice, then we need to ensure there is a proper support network in place, so they can reach their full potential. Having those around you who not only encourage growth and development, but who will actually go the extra mile to help that happen. It was our desire to build a business that really matches up with our ambitions for full financial planning that led to joining Rosemount, and our experience has shown just what a dramatic impact having that support in place can make.
At Versed, we look to connect with other female financial advisors and related industry professionals, so that we can share experiences, resources and connections. That sense of community is incredibly powerful, and builds both confidence and a shared sense of purpose.
Going further
The theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘Accelerate Action’, which is one that really resonates with us as a business. We don’t just need to act, but act quickly, if we are to transform this industry into one where women are genuinely on equal footing.
We have seen first hand the impact that female-led advice businesses can have, particularly when they have the right support around them. Attracting more women into advice is not only good for the advice sector itself, but for our clients too.
