Wealth Management firms that want to win business need to do more to support women. Two important trends make this an incredibly smart move. The first generation of women advisors are facing retirement and want to find like-minded partners to sell their business to or a younger advisor to train to take over. Simultaneously, the largest transfer of wealth in history will put trillions of dollars into women's control.

Both groups want to work with women.

Countless studies suggest that women prefer to work with a financial advisor who is also female. However, industry surveys suggest that only about 20% to 30% of our nation's financial advisors are women. How can counselors ensure experienced women find a partner who shares their values ​​and approach? How can we ensure that female clients who need smart financial guidance can be served in the way they want by the professionals they feel most comfortable with?

We must actively advocate for the advancement of women in wealth management and ensure we are training the next generation of women advisors to address the needs of both key demographics.

The Way Forward

As a financial services provider, we spend our careers advocating the importance of investing for the future. Let's take our own advice and invest in our professional women. It's easier than you think. There are tangible and easy-to-implement steps that firms can take to meaningfully impact this gender disparity and strengthen our industry's ability to meet customer needs.

Supporting women's education, empowerment and networking programs are mission critical to wealth management firms' ability to grow in the future – especially when helping retiring advisors find a potential next-generation advisor to take over their book of business. Implementing corporate strategies and initiatives that foster an environment in which professional women can succeed is not a complex undertaking, but it must be intentional, actionable, and measurable.

Steps Along the Way

Below are some proven tactics to support your firm's women advisors and drive progress toward a more inclusive industry.

• Supports continuing education for non-traditional employees. Women represent about 25% of all Certified Financial Planner professionals. Firms can support women aspiring to the CFP designation or other accreditations by offering tuition assistance, peer support, and flexible work hours for preparation and study. It also means they should look to career changers, Generation Z and female caregivers returning to the workforce as potential planners. They need more than advocacy, but an introduction to a career path and an understanding that they don't need to master the entire investment landscape; rather, these determinations realign the industry toward the customer's goals.
• Create a mentoring program. Leverage the expertise of veteran financial professionals by pairing them with new advisors or other employees considering a transition into advising. Critically, advisors who are three to five years from retirement should receive mentees, as they have a generation of experience to offer and may find a potential successor in the process.
• Encourage networking. Organizations such as The W Source, a professional platform that facilitates networking opportunities for women with women across industries locally and nationally, provide a unique ecosystem that promotes connection and drives mutual success.
• Provide training. In-house or external training programs are an efficient way to capture skills, build confidence and set goals.
• Participation. Be careful about the advisors you bring up at your firm's conferences. Provide opportunities for women professionals to present their expertise, participate in peer sessions or lead discussions. Also, encourage attendance at industry events for networking and educational purposes.

At AmeriFlex Group, we have set a goal to achieve gender parity among our partner advisors by the end of next year. We prioritize an inclusive environment, offer women-to-women mentoring, and invest in the success of our employees with a tuition sponsorship program.

We have already seen results and once we have achieved our initial equality target, we will continue to introduce initiatives to maintain this momentum. Our industry is at an inflection point – and so is an entire community of aging advisors and millions of young investors. Let's take the opportunity to meet these challenges head on.

Hannah Buschbom is The AmeriFlex GroupChief Transitional Wealth Planner and founder of The W Source, a networking and support platform by women for women. Thomas Goodson is the founder and CEO of The AmeriFlex Group.