Organizations and members of the public may submit written statements to Larry Good,
executive secretary of the ERISA Advisory council, by May 24. Individuals or
representatives of organizations who want to address the Advisory Council
should forward requests to Good. Oral presentations will be
limited to 10 minutes, but an extended written statement may be submitted for
the record.
More information on the
council and the discussion topics is available on the DOL’s
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) website.
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Even though most
women (70%) would prefer to work with a female adviser, currently only three in
10 advisers are female. This presents a significant opportunity for female
advisers, as women continue to own a greater share of financial assets and take
more control of financial decision making, the Insured Retirement Institute
(IRI) said in a survey.
In its report,
“Women and Financial Advising Careers: Perspectives and Priorities,” IRI
outlined strategies to recruit women to the advisory field. In 2009, according
to the report, women controlled 27% of investable assets globally. In 2011, 51%
of working women were employed in management and professional occupations, with
24% as executives. In 2010, the proportion of wives earning more than their
husbands was 29%.
Yet women feel
underserved by the financial services industry. The Boston Consulting Group
found more than half of the women surveyed felt that wealth managers could do a
better job of meeting the needs of female clients—and nearly a quarter think
that wealth managers could significantly improve how they serve women.
“What we have is
a women’s market that is flourishing,” said Cathy Weatherford, president and chief executive of IRI. “By and
large, women consumers would prefer to work with women advisers. The financial
advising field is already experiencing considerable growth, but given the
emergence of the women’s market, the opportunities for women advisers are more
than substantial.”
Other findings
from the report are:
The
survey of college-educated women aged 25 to 49 found job-training provisions
would increase the likelihood of women pursuing careers as financial advisers.
On-the-job training would be the most effective, followed by online training or
training through a local college or university.
When
evaluating a job, 94% of college-educated women value work/life balance. Among
other very or extremely important factors, 90% value a good relationship with
their boss, 87% value meaningful work, 85% value good relationships with
colleagues, and 85% value salary.
Salary
considerations and growth of the field were the primary drivers for women who
expressed an interest in becoming a financial adviser
Firms
can enhance their appeal to women by providing affinity groups and mentoring
programs to enhance on-the-job training. When recruiting female advisers, firms
should emphasize these programs as well as efforts to improve work/life balance
to overcome perception barriers regarding generating clients and job stress.
Testing
associated with licensing to become a financial adviser does not inhibit most
women from pursuing the profession. Three-quarters of women said testing has no
influence on their interest in becoming an adviser.
“Firms’ ability
to recruit and retain women advisers is only going to grow in importance,” Weatherford said.
The IRI
commissioned an independent research firm to survey 603 college-educated women
ages 25 to 49 to determine how to recruit women into the financial advisory
profession. The survey was fielded through telephone interviews in March.