Yolanda Beattie

Australia’s private wealth sector must deepen its commitment to attracting and developing future female investment advisers to meet the changing demands of clients, with women set to be the primary beneficiaries of the greatest wealth transfer in Australia’s history. Collaborating to address structural barriers will be key, according to a new report by industry initiative, Future IM/Pact.

Future IM/Pact’s report – Women in Wealth: The status of gender equality in Australian private wealth firms – finds that women currently make up 25% of roles in the advice career stream, with gender balance at entry level positions falling dramatically at the adviser levels, where women comprise just 19% of advisers and 13% of senior advisers.​

Future IM/Pact Founder Yolanda Beattie said that while overall gender parity is possible by 2030 if the industry appoints, promotes and retains women at equal rates to men, the key adviser levels are moribund with women leaving at almost the same rate as they’re joining, largely due to talent poaching across firms. At this rate, it will be 2047 before parity is reached at the senior adviser level.

“Increasing the number of female private wealth advisers will take bold leadership, a long term commitment, and collaborating across industry to tackle the barriers that stop women from successfully applying for these roles that in many ways are ideally suited to them.​

“Once they overcome the barriers to securing an advice role, female advisers love applying their intellectual curiosity, passion for markets and entrepreneurial ambition to developing deep and lifelong client relationships and making a profound impact on their client’s lives,” Beattie said.

As highlighted by JBWere’s 2024 report, The Growth of Women and Wealth, women are poised to inherit over 65% of the projected $5 trillion wealth transfer by 2034. Women are growing their own wealth at a faster rate than men too. Women’s preference to work with female advisers presents a compelling business case for the industry to tackle the barriers that women in wealth face on their path to advice roles.

Systemic barriers exist

The report reveals barriers exist at the level of system, leader and self, making it disproportionately challenging for women to thrive in comparison to their male counterparts.

Limited promotion of the profession at universities, long career progression timelines that collide with starting a family, male-dominated environments, and subtle practices that exclude or diminish women’s contributions combine to create environments where women are three times more likely than men to exit at the key client service associate level – the step before they move into an adviser role.

The challenges of balancing family responsibilities and navigating male-centric networking events further exacerbate the situation, often leading to a higher attrition rate among women, particularly at the senior associate levels.

LGT Crestone Chief Operating Officer, Michelle Inns, said her firm was committed to working across industry to tackle these barriers. “As an industry, we must recognise and validate the unique challenges women face, and support and incentivise senior advisers to develop future female advisers while creating the team environment where they can flourish.”​

Beattie explains shifting the mindset around parental leave is key.

“Having time off to have babies just as your career and responsibilities are ramping up is undoubtedly hard for the mums and their teams. But this is a very short period in what will be a multi-decade long career. Leaders and teams need to adopt a ‘we make it work’ mindset, with the support of the organisation via additional resources,” she said.​

Tailored training and development programs targeting confidence and career conviction, networking and sales must also be a priority.

“The nuances of how women network and cultivate connections differ from men, necessitating training and development programs that acknowledge and leverage these differences rather than attempting to fit women into a predefined mould traditionally occupied by men,” she said.

Promoting private wealth careers to young women, and supporting them to launch their careers through mentoring and advocacy is another key part of the solution. With the addition of new partners to working alongside current private wealth partner LGT Crestone, Future IM/Pact’s established platform is ideally placed to unite private wealth firms and amplify their efforts to inspire and enable the next generation.

Read the report: The Growth of Women and Wealth

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Yolanda Beattie

The industry initiative dedicated to building gender-balance within Australia’s largest investment managers continues to grow, as Future IM/Pact announces an exclusive recruitment partner, and signs three more influential local investors.

Future IM/Pact has announced an exclusive partnership with Platinum Pacific Partners, leading financial services recruitment specialists.

Set to increase the impact of both organisations’ efforts to boost the representation of women in investment management, the partnership builds on Future IM/Pact and Platinum Pacific Partners’ shared passion for helping women launch fulfilling front-office careers.

Future IM/Pact Founder Yolanda Beattie said this partnership will accelerate Future IM/Pact’s ability to build a pipeline of future female investors who are well-placed for entry level investment roles.

“Because few investment teams recruit graduates, these roles usually require 2 to 5 years’ work experience. This strategic partnership allows us to connect with more exceptional women in key feeder roles like investment banking and corporate finance, while sharing the career insights Platinum Pacific Partners have gained over decades to help early career women land sought-after analyst roles,” she said.

Victoria Biggs and Meredith Jordan, Platinum Pacific Partners’ Founders, welcomed the partnership to deepen their impact on gender diversity in funds management.

“We see first-hand the industry’s desire to recruit more women and we know we must deepen the talent pool over time to meet the challenge. This partnership allows us to amplify our current efforts to champion female representation in finance,” Ms Biggs said.

New partners, new pathways

Separately, Future IM/Pact has welcomed three new partners to the program, in the form of the $70 billion profit-to-member super fund Rest, $19 billion international equity manager Platinum Asset Management, and leading private wealth manager LGT Crestone.

LGT Crestone Chief Operating Officer Michelle Inns said the firm was delighted to join Future IM/Pact as the first wholesale investor investment advice business.

Ms Innes added, “Investing on behalf of family offices, high net worth investors and for- purpose organisations presents incredible career pathways for women. Future IM/Pact helps us grow our female talent pool so we can continue to build high performing and diverse teams.”

Platinum Head of Investments Douglas Isles added the partnership with Future IM/Pact will help Platinum support more high potential women to launch an investing career.

“Thinking differently is the cornerstone of our investment philosophy and gender diversity is one way we can bring new perspectives to find the best investment ideas. We’re excited to join Future IM/Pact and are eager to play a leading in role in helping young women to build an investment management career,” Mr Isles said.

Rest Chief Investment Officer Andrew Lill said the profit-to-member super fund would use its partnership with Future IM/Pact to provide further opportunities for young women aspiring to investment management careers.

“Rest represents more than one million women in our membership, and are dedicated to promoting greater gender equality. Our partnership with Future IM/Pact builds on our existing program of offering internships to women in actuarial studies, while also helping us source great female talent for our investment team. It’s also consistent with Rest’s commitment to contribute to five of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including ‘Gender Equality’,” said Mr Lill.

“Widespread industry collaboration is essential for tackling the entrenched structural and cultural barriers that stop women from becoming professional investments. With 23 partners now working with us to address these issues, we’re better placed than ever to shift the dial on this issue,” Ms Beattie said.

Since launching in 2018, Future IM/Pact has provided over 350 women with experience working in investments through its virtual intern program, mentoring circles, investment competition and intern and grad placements with partners.

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