VersaFi Report: Women Investment Advisors Face Barriers to Advancement, even as Shifting Client Dynamics Fuel Urgency for Change

Women in Wealth report offers recommendations to overcome obstacles

TORONTO, ON –(COMMUNITYWIRE)– A new report from VersaFi, the leading non-profit supporting women in the finance sector, reveals that women continue to face significant barriers to advancement in wealth management, a field where men still hold 80-85% of advisory roles. But a dramatic rise in the amount of wealth controlled by women, a looming shortage of skilled talent and changing client preferences are fuelling a new urgency to reverse the trend.

“The wealth management industry is undergoing a seismic shift, including a rising demand for talented women advisors,” says Tanya van Biesen, president and CEO of VersaFi. “Women are earning and inheriting more wealth than ever before, and are projected to control nearly half the wealth in this country by 2028. At the same time, studies consistently reinforce that women tend to prefer working with women advisors. For an industry already expected to lose almost four in 10 advisors to retirement in the next decade, advancing women is more important than ever.”

Persistent bias and inequitable succession planning among challenges

According to the Women in Wealth report, two key challenges continue to hold women investment advisors (IAs) back. The first, persistent bias and sexism, remains deeply embedded across the industry. The proof? More than six in 10 women IAs surveyed (61%) say they lack women role models; almost half experience insufficient mentorship (47%); and more than four in 10 say they have experienced bullying and harassment (44%).

The second challenge relates to inequitable succession planning, particularly around the transfer or sale of retiring advisors’ client books, often a key opportunity to grow one’s practice. Notably, while nearly eight in 10 (79%) of women IAs agree that transparent and accessible book purchasing opportunities are key to retaining women in wealth management, less than a quarter (23%) believe they have the same opportunity as their male counterparts to purchase a retiring IA’s book.

Recommendations for overcoming the obstacles

While the wealth management industry has taken a variety of proactive steps to advance the number of women staying and progressing in the field in recent years, progress has been slow. Women in Wealth offers three recommendations to advance women IAs in the current environment, to address the upcoming talent shortage and ensure the sector continues to thrive.

1) Support Advisor Teaming Programs

Wealth management organizations should proactively involve more women in team-based advisory practices, a collaborative approach that can help eliminate workplace cultural barriers, facilitate mentorship opportunities, and enable better work-life balance.

An overwhelming majority of women IAs surveyed for Women in Wealth recognize the value of advisor teaming, agreeing that it enables resource sharing (92%), offers more diverse skills and expertise for clients (90%) and improves work-life balance, reducing burnout (87%). Yet while the practice is growing, it is not embedded inclusively across the industry. While eight in 10 women IAs say that advisor teaming is crucial for retaining women in the industry, less than a quarter (24%) believe their firm is doing an excellent job supporting advisor teams.

2) Drive Behaviour Change with 360-Degree Feedback

Research repeatedly shows that implementing self-evaluations and anonymous 360-degree feedback promotes fairer reviews of employees, along with more accountability – fostering a respectful culture that supports all employees and helps dismantle problematic behaviors.

Organizations should involve employees in both giving and receiving feedback, to help individuals align their behaviors with team and organizational goals, and promote a culture of respect, inclusivity and continuous improvement.

3) Implement Transparent Succession Planning Policies

To drive more equitable succession planning, organizations should establish clear and transparent guidelines on how books will be distributed. The guidelines should include clarity around considerations related to client revenue, IA skills and expertise, individual capacity, relationship strength and geography, among others. Such a move will help level the playing field for women.

“Firms and organizations that prioritize attracting, retaining, and advancing women advisors will lead the way into the future, and benefit from stronger client loyalty, increased referrals, and top-tier talent,” says van Biesen. “Those that fail to address changing client dynamics and demands for talented women advisors risk being left behind.”

To view the full report: click here

Broadening the Talent Pipeline Even Further

Retaining and supporting women once they enter wealth management is critical, but attracting them to the industry in the first place is just as vital. To address this, VersaFi conducted a complementary study exploring the perspectives of finance and business students on wealth management as a career choice. These insights, available here, extend our research into recruiting and retaining more women investment advisors.

About VersaFi

VersaFi is a national, not-for-profit organization focused on accelerating equity for women in the finance sector. Founded in 1995 as Women in Capital Markets (WCM), the organization rebranded in 2024 to empower and advocate for women and gender-diverse individuals across the finance sector, at all stages of their careers, nationally. It does this by fostering a pipeline of talent at all levels; being the leading voice and advocate for gender equity in the sector; and by working with finance sector leaders to implement impactful and lasting structural and cultural change. Its community has grown to more than 4,000 members across the sector, representing Canadian bank-owned dealers and wealth managers, independent and foreign-owned dealers, asset managers, insurance companies, pension plans, regulatory agencies, exchanges, and advisory firms. To learn more, or to become a member, visit www.versafi.ca.

Contacts

media@versafi.ca