For women advancing in the industry, there are 2 sides to comparisons

Women working in the male-dominated wealth management industry can advance more quickly toward milestones like independence by avoiding comparisons, one financial advisor said.

"In this industry, we're already very compelled to compare," said LaVaisha Davis, the founder of Atlanta-based registered investment advisory firm Ell Wess Advisors. "We're comparing designations, we're comparing experience, we're comparing where we start, and I was fortunate enough to have a partner who encouraged me to start just off of my power."

In a panel discussion at last week's Association of African American Financial Advisors (Quad-A) Women's Impact Initiative Network Conference in Chicago, Davis shared the story of her spouse demonstrating that point through the rules of chess for each piece on the board. For a field in which only 2% of certified financial planners are Black or African American and less than 25% are women, the lessons explained by her and other speakers at the event could prove beneficial to any professional from both a practical and inspirational perspective.

"He showed me that the king can only move one space at a time, one space to the left, one space to the right, one space to the front, one space to the back," Davis said. "When he was going to explain the queen, he said, 'Now there's no limitation for the queen. The queen is able to move all across the board.' So you have the power to get in any room. You have the power to speak to anybody. You have the power to help elevate anybody's family. So we don't need to feel compelled to compare. You just need to lean on your power, because we are natural leaders in our households, in these organizations. Our power is being recognized by everyone else. So, I just encourage you all to recognize it."

READ MORE: A contrarian Social Security strategy for the ultrawealthy 

Other lenses on comparison

The hundreds of women and men in attendance broke out in applause for Davis, and the point about how comparison can be an unhealthy habit came up again when Nicole James Gilchrist, a vice president and managing counsel with wealth and investment management firm Thrivent, explained why she runs in several races each year. Just as in "my professional life," James Gilchrist is "running my race," rather than someone else's down the street or track, she said. 

"I'm not trying to be the fastest, I'm not trying to win. I'm trying to move my body, so all those runners who are zooming past me, good for them," James Gilchrist said. "As you're thinking about what's next, go inward. Check in with yourself about what your intentions are. What actions are you willing to take and invest in? What are your aspirations? It's not a comparison of, 'Here's what he's doing over here,' and, 'She's the same age,' or what he's doing over here. … The comparison is a waste of time for me, and so I just say, run your race, figure out what it is that you want to do and what you're willing to commit to, and listen to that, and trust it."

At the same time, some of the comparisons could also demonstrate that women are just as capable of taking the step of launching their own firms as men. The passionate goal of "attracting and supporting more women in this profession" drew Laura Webb, a former planner who is now a board member with the Women's Alliance of Financial Advisors, a networking organization for women advisors and other industry professionals, to stay involved with the industry in her retirement. She started her career decades ago as the first woman wholesaler with an asset management firm, which assigned her to travel to the predominantly male advisors around the Southeast.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, if they can do it, I can do it," Webb said. "So I went home and took control of my destiny and started my own practice. I think, first, when you start, you're thinking about, 'What can you do for yourself?' and 'How can you build that?' Then it becomes, 'What can I do for others and how can I help there, how can I help build in the community?' which has brought me to this stage in my life."

Part of moving to the next phase in an advisor's career, like opening an independent firm, though, involves "a lot of homework" in terms of researching the right vendors and gaining some experience through the trials earlier in their professional development, according to Stephanie Ackler, the president and co-founder of New York-based AKD Wealth Partners. Once they complete that journey, most advisors aren't likely to go back to their former employers.

"There is an immense satisfaction of owning your own business and controlling your business P&L, and, just for me, also getting rid of what I call 15 layers of bureaucracy," Ackler said. "We could be nimble. It was a lot of fun seeing our name on the door, having that signage go up, being able to develop the team and the diversity and the structure we wanted, and having that so they could align with the clients and the demographics we were serving and not just who we were serving, but how we wanted to serve them, right? So you, in starting an RIA, it's just powerful advocacy in yourself on actually seeing this vision unfold."

READ MORE: Changes to BNY Pershing's fees are a sign of the times 

Norvell Tolbert/Five11cinema/Association of African American Financial Advisors

Taking advantage of available resources and networks

Even if advisors do plan to run a solo practice or operate with a much smaller team after opening their own firms, however, they won't have to do that entirely on their own. For example, independent wealth management firm Cambridge Investment Research strives to be "making sure that we are protecting that independence for all of you on a daily basis," according to Colleen Bell, the president of the firm's Innovation and Experience Division.

"We are here to support independent financial advisors," Bell said. "We also are internally controlled. That's a way that we can protect our own independence. The industry is being reshaped consistently, unfortunately, by firms going public, firms being bought up by private equity, firms being bought up by other firms, and it's really important for us to maintain internal control. A majority shareholder, Eric Schwartz, was our founder. He has slowly, over time, given control to others on the board, such as myself, and then advisors actually can buy into it as well. So that is definitely our goal, is to remain internally controlled. What we provide to our advisors is that choice without complexity." 

To that point, external firms and other companies hailing from other parts of the industry could help independent advisors through many types of challenges with services that often go untapped, according to presentations by Maura Scherer, a senior director with Invesco's consulting arm, Invesco Global Consulting, and Lanän Clark, the head of practice management and advisor development with JPMorgan Wealth Management. In her presentation, Clark asked for a show of hands of any advisors who thought they may not have taken advantage of a resource offered to them through the corporate headquarters of their brokerages or another firm.

"Please understand that this is not about JPMorgan. This is about you as women in the industry building these phenomenal practices, and me as a woman in the industry standing on stage wanting you to double and triple what it is you do," Clark said. "You have things at your fingertips that I can assure you that you're not taking advantage of. Can anybody already say that?"

Several women in the audience raised their hands. At the end of the conference, Eric Harley, a financial planner with Merrick, New York-based advisory practice Merrick Financial Group and a board member with Quad-A, delivered a closing message that tied the presentations together.  

"Thank you for investing in yourselves, in one another, and in the future of this industry. I encourage each of you to leave here with a renewed confidence, stronger connection and the continued commitment to leading with a purpose and intention," he said. "I want you to advocate for greater representation and create opportunities for the next generation. Remember what our keynote speaker [author and consultant Minda Harts] said this morning: Be the advocate for yourself. That's what we want you to do."