Women athletes can help wealth management jump succession hurdles

Over a third of financial advisors are set to retire in the next decade amid a U.S. economy transitioning into a woman-driven "she-conomy." That means succession issues — always a delicate topic in wealth management — have assumed new urgency. 

The next three to five years could see a $30 trillion asset shift to U.S. women, yet just 23.8% of CFP registered professionals are female. These numbers don't align. We need more women advisors, and I believe we can look to sports to recruit talented young women who are highly likely to thrive in our industry. 

Indeed, female athletes represent a source of talent desperately needed to secure the short- and long-term health of wealth management. 

My own story is a great illustration. For years I was an accomplished equestrian — one of the very few sports where men and women compete equally against one another. When I began my career in wealth management in the early 1980s, I did not know I would face a decidedly unlevel playing field. I had to advocate for and over-prove myself, as did so many women and diverse candidates. Especially in those early days, it was my "athlete's mindset" — less the desire to win, but more the refusal to lose — that gave me the confidence to stay resilient, set personal goals, and focus on my own growth within a male-dominated field. 

Today, industry demographics are undoubtedly changing. Yet even with more female financial advisor role models for women entering the field to look up to, I believe the athlete's mindset remains a differentiator. It can multiply the power of an aspiring professional's skills, abilities and determination and translate directly into many of the qualities we need to foster in the next generation of advisors.

Transferable skill sets, values

The world of an elite athlete may seem very different from that of a financial advisor, but the two spheres have a lot in common. Wealth management is an exciting field for those with an ambitious and entrepreneurial spirit, providing flexibility and many potential pathways for specialization and growth. 

I began to hire female athletes years ago, and I have been incredibly proud of the results. Female athletes thrive in the competitive, team-based, problem-solving environment wealth management offers. The advisory teams they join value and benefit from the perspective and drive they bring to their practices.

READ MORE: The future of wealth management is female, so why isn't the present?

Women with a sports background have the inherent and proven skills and attributes to be successful — and in my experience, they embrace and love this industry. But female athletes need to know what wealth management offers in order to choose it as a career path. 

One of the greatest barriers we face in recruiting and promoting female advisors is awareness. A recent study from the CFP Board found candidates just don't have enough information about financial planning as a career and that gender bias and discrimination are still factors.

Raise awareness and open doors

As a former board member, and now trustee emerita, of the Women's Sports Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1974 by tennis legend Billie Jean King to advance the lives of women and girls through sports and physical activity, I work to educate female athletes about our industry and what a successful career in wealth management can look like. Each year, Morgan Stanley partners with the WSF to host the Athlete Leadership Connection, a day of education, networking and dialogue designed to support collegiate athletes as they identify next steps for their post-sport careers. 

The reality is that most college athletes will not pursue a professional athletic career, and this realization can often be a difficult turning point for those who have dedicated their entire lives to their chosen sport. Beyond helping them understand the advantages their athlete's mindset can bring to other areas of life, I also encourage them to explore wealth management, a path which most have never considered previously. We host these events to show college athletes that new and welcoming doors are open for them and that there are well-compensated, non-athletic career paths that highly value the strengths they've built as athletes. 

As we all know, you don't need to be a finance major to become a successful financial advisor. We simply need more diverse candidates who enjoy competition, are empathetic, like to educate and help people meet their goals and are constantly pushing themselves to improve every day. 

Female athletes should become a recruitment priority for wealth management. This pool of talent has been ignored for too long and may just be the face of change the future requires.