Women Advisors Making an Impact: 2022 Year in Review

How the WAMI project started

In early 2022, the Vantage Impact team was discussing the unique challenges faced by women as a minority group (less than 20%) among the total number of financial advisors. After thinking about that statistic more and in light of the questions we had, we started digging in. We began identifying women financial advisors who were willing to talk about their experiences and conducted interviews with each of them.

Aligned with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, we began sharing the results of our efforts. Our first Women Advisors Making an Impact (“WAMI”) post on LinkedIn featured Pamela Stross and her journey to become President and CEO of TruClarity Management Solutions. By the end of the year, we shared a total of 18 women’s stories.

What we learned from our featured women financial advisors

The women we interviewed come from a variety of backgrounds, including accounting, client services, consulting, education, IT, management, medical research, and social work. Some are early in their careers and working to establish themselves in the industry; others have taken a leap of faith to start their own RIA. Those who started off elsewhere often described having “a-ha” moments which resulted in the change to pursue financial advising.

Brenna Surette began in a client services role at Burney Wealth Management and hadn’t previously considered that financial advising was an option. When she realized she could combine analytical skills with her passion for building client relationships, it was a natural transition for her.

After teaching English in Venezuela, Camille (Cammy) Smith realized that financial advising could combine her love of math with her passion for helping people and making an impact. The rest is history, as she now serves as the President and CEO of Integrated Equity Management, the firm her father founded.?

As a Kenyan-born U.S. immigrant, Jane Mepham, founder of Elgon Financial Advisors, recalls being overwhelmed by her first 401(k). This experience propelled her to learn about personal finance and today she helps immigrants and foreign-born individuals and families, especially those working in the STEM space.

It became clear through our interviews that expanding collegiate financial planning programs and raising an awareness of the career path may have led many of our interviewees to pursue a financial advising career earlier.

Rachael Burns, founder of True Worth Financial Planning, emphasized that financial advising is more about relationship building than investing expertise. She shared that if more people knew that, there would likely be more women in finance.

A career well suited for women

Many women we spoke with were surprised to find that financial advising is a great career for women, especially mothers, offering flexibility for those who want to make an impact while spending time raising their children.

Raquel Hinman, founder and principal at Hinman Financial Planning, shared insight that financial advising is a great choice for those who want to make good money, solve problems and do so creatively. There are many options for full- or part-time work, making it customizable.

Brittan Leiser, an advisor with MB Wealth Management Group and founder of SavviHer, loves her career's flexibility and is looking forward to further accelerating her businesses when her children get older.

Erica Arroyo, COO and wealth advisor with MA Private Wealth, believes that women can offer a unique perspective in building client relationships due to their ability to provide trust and connection. She looks forward to the industry's continued evolution for more representation in all positions.

Advisors spoke passionately about serving women clients, understanding their unique needs, and the importance of having a diverse set of financial advisors. “We have to lift each other up,” said Jacqueline Campbell, President and CEO of Alexander Legacy Private Wealth.

To go a step further, our featured women advisors spoke of the importance diversity has on the industry. Marguerita (Rita) Cheng, co-founder and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, noted, “The reason why it’s very helpful to be more inclusive and bring more people into this, is that we are able to better serve our clients by understanding their unique personal and financial circumstances."

Mentorship and women financial advisors

What was particularly interesting was that our interviews shed light on the inconsistent access these women had to female role models and mentors in the space. Most expressed interest in participating in a larger network of women advisors and mentoring other women.?

Catherine Allen-Carlozo, a financial advisor at HFM Investment Advisors, emphasizes the importance of trying to pass down what she’s learned over the years, as she never had a mentor.

Akeiva Ellis runs The Bemused with her husband, drawing on advice and guidance she has received from mentors through the NAFPA, the AAAA, her role as a CFP Board Ambassador, as well as companies she’s worked for. She now mentors others, calling it, "one of her favorite things to do.” There are also other groups offering formal mentoring opportunities, like Women in Insurance & Financial Services, a professional association with a robust free mentorship program.

What’s next for the Vantage Impact WAMI project?

When we started, our goal was to create a buzz around the impact of women in the industry and how they have overcome unique challenges. We have been honored to share the stories of 18 women in 2022 and continue to receive recommendations for other women advisors who deserve to share their story – we hope these keep coming!

We encourage you to consider nominating a colleague or yourself to be featured and help us grow our network of trailblazing women advisors. We look forward to continuing to share these stories to raise awareness and hope you’ll tag along for the ride!

This article first appeared on the Vantage Impact blog at https://www.vantageimpact.com/women-advisors-making-an-impact/2022-year-in-review.

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About Women Advisors Making an Impact

Vantage Impact knows the importance of diversity in the financial services industry, and that women are vastly underrepresented in the field. To help increase the visibility of women in financial services, we are excited to launch?Women Advisors Making an Impact. In this collection of articles, we are spotlighting women financial advisors—their career paths, biggest challenges as women in the field, and ideas for helping grow female representation in the financial services industry. We hope you enjoy their stories as much as we do.

Want to help us share these important stories? If you are or you know of a trailblazing woman advisor we should consider spotlighting, let us know!?Nominate an Advisor??