I recently celebrated my 10th anniversary here at Advisor Group and, with that, reflected and reminisced with colleagues about the past decade.
More has changed than not. But here’s one thing that hasn’t: when I attend industry conferences, I can still count on two hands the number of women advisors in the audience.
Yes, this industry is obviously male-dominated — by a 3:1 ratio if our Annual Dollars & Sense Survey results are any indication. But at the many industry conferences I’ve attended over the years, the split is usually closer to 90/10.
In 2003, we sought to mix things up. Advisor’s Edge was celebrating its fifth anniversary, so we hosted a special invite-only symposium for advisors and pundits to discuss the key issues facing our industry. I invited the brightest and most innovative people I knew, male or female.
The result was a direct 50/50 ratio of attendees. Many of the women attendees told me they found the experience refreshing. “I’ve just never attended a conference with so many women,” one said to me in the ladies’ room. “It’s so surreal.” Perhaps this feeling came from actually queuing to use the ladies’ room.
Now, six years later, we’re taking things even further by hosting a special conference exclusively for women financial advisors.
Some questioned the move. “I’m interested in financial planning issues. Those issues are universal to men and women advisors,” one seasoned female advisor told me.
And, yes, it’s true that some topics are universal. I would argue, though, that women, specifically younger women who are at the midpoint of their advisor careers, crave female mentorship and an outlet or opportunity to meet peers within their gender. The up-and-coming female advisor has not been served particularly well by our industry. We hope this conference will be the start of some change.
These younger women are tomorrow’s leaders. One day they’ll take over your practices. Currently, they are juggling their careers, young families, charity work and other pursuits. It’s difficult to find time just for themselves.
They want to learn from the best. They aren’t afraid to work hard like their predecessors, but to survive this economic downturn, they need and truly value support and advice.
Thus, the birth of Investing in You: Not Just Another Industry Event. Our one-day event, which will be held on May 7 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto, is unique in its mission to combine content that will help the mid-career female advisor to grow, both personally and professionally. We teamed up with two award-winning life coaches, Tanya Chernova and Joanna Andros of Courageous Living, who promise an engaging, must-attend experience for all attendees.
As for industry mentors, top advisors Cynthia Kett, Susan Latremoille and Diane McCurdy will share their diverse and fascinating experiences about how they entered the business and balanced career and family, and tell the next generation what keeps them motivated. Finally, we’re pleased that Kim Shannon of Sionna Investment Managers will speak about the three stages career women go through and how she went from fund manager to running her own independent fund company worth $19 billion.
Throw in some gourmet food and plenty of networking, and we have what we know will be an inspirational day for attendees. We hope you can join us. For more details about this event, visit www.advisorlive.ca/investinginyou or contact me directly.
(04/01/09)