Report: Only 16% of Financial Advisors Are Women — Here's Why (And How) Companies Should Change That

Women today control more than half of private wealth in the U.S. and about 40% of all wealth globally — and those numbers will only increase in the years to come. 

According to 2019 research from Investopedia, $30 trillion in wealth is set to change hands in the next three to four decades, with women inheriting about 70% of it from spouses and aging parents. Beyond this enormous transfer of funds, women are poised to accumulate a greater ratio of wealth through their own means, too, and they’ll exercise more autonomy over that wealth than ever. In fact, according to Pew Research, nine in 10 women are expected to be the sole financial decision-maker for themselves and their families at some point in their lives, proving that the historical image of man as the financial head of a household is, indeed, an antiquated one. 

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And yet, many financial services firms today remain married to that historic model. This becomes especially clear when looking at the gender makeup of these organizations’ financial advisory talent. As few as 16% of today’s financial advisors are women — this, when a significant body of evidence exists to suggest that female advisors are uniquely positioned to add value to their firms, particularly when working with increasingly female client bases.