This article is part of our special report, “Women in Family Offices.” To see more content in the series, click here.
Panelists who took part in our recent discussion on women in family offices are a testament to the opportunities that are available to women in this space. That said, challenges remain. Some reports suggest that women are significantly underserved in the wealth management industry. For example, 80 per cent of women change financial advisors within a year of their spouse’s passing. But when a woman leaves a firm, options are limited if they prefer a female advisor to better understand their unique financial needs. In Canada, fewer than 20 per cent of financial advisors are women.
Related video: Watch our panel on Women in Family Offices
To break down why these challenges matter and what opportunities for women mean for the family office ecosystem, Canadian Family Offices (CFO) assembled an expert panel, including:
• Carolyn Cole, Founder and CEO, Cole & Associates
• Martha Simmons, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Forthlane Partners
• Anna Dayan, Head of TD Wealth Family Office
• Patricia Saputo, Co-founder, Crysalia
Early in the discussion, Canadian Family Office’s Ashley Redmond asked the panelists why equal representation matters.
Martha Simmons: One of the most important things in the family office space is that your clients trust you. Research suggests people tend to trust people who share their interests, values and beliefs. I don’t think it’s exclusive to gender.
That said, I do find a lot of our female clients will talk to me about things like parenting or kids’ schooling, where that may not be the first topic of conversation that comes up with our male colleagues.
What are the unique skills that women bring to the table?
Anna Dayan: Effective advisors tend to have strong EQ [emotional intelligence]. They tend to be good at active listening and building trusting relationships with clients. In the family office space, managing family dynamics and bringing empathy to conversations are critical.
Women, on average, do tend to excel in these areas. They do a good job of building trust, actively listening and effectively communicating with their clients. Effective advisors will read the room in meetings. They’re not going to use a lot of industry terminology. They stop to see if participants have questions, if they’re listening, if they’re understanding.
Carolyn Cole: Sometimes women, either clients or non-client advisors, are less comfortable when there’s a group of men in the room. I see quite a difference in how open female clients are with female advisors compared to how they are with male advisors.
Also, when you bring a team of wealth professionals together, each of whom might be doing different things, you can facilitate what is expected from them. I think that’s what makes women really good at this. We do well in bringing people together. We do well collaborating. We do well with that abundance theory that there’s enough for everyone. And I do feel that we have a female advantage in the family office space because we have those team-building instincts.
Do women approach investing differently, and are there specific assets they tend to prefer?
Patricia Saputo: With women, it’s about much more than just that return on investment; it is about the relationships they build, the friends they make, and the impact they have on others and their communities. If they can make money and impact their community, the environment, or whatever the cause, they feel better because they’re getting the same returns, but also doing something they feel good about. I see more of that sensitivity, empathy and caring among female investors than with men.
Anna Dayan: We talk a lot about women becoming wealth inheritors, but women are increasingly becoming wealth creators. A lot of our female clients are becoming more active. Some studies suggest women actually outperform men as investors. Women tend to be more focused on accomplishing personal goals. We see a lot of philanthropic goals in this space. We see sustaining wealth for future generations and creating a legacy. On average, they tend to prioritize capital preservation over significant returns.
Women also tend to be detail-oriented, and they ask really good questions. When you create the space for women to ask questions, we tend to get great, active engagement.
Martha Simmons: When there are market fluctuations, women are often much more comfortable waiting it out, as opposed to rushing to move things around. Maybe it is their focus on the next generation and having long-term goals, rather than ‘What’s my quick return?’ that fuels this patience.
What’s your advice for younger women getting into the family office space?
Martha Simmons: Networking is key. Meet as many people as possible, stay in touch, and make sure your reputation stays intact. That’s the one thing you can never get back. So, always make sure to remain honest and be good to other people. Pay it forward and it will all come back.
Carolyn Cole: Be clear about why you want to go into this business. Think about why you want to work with the families in this space. It’s hard work. It is not easy to balance the multidisciplinary service providers with the nuances of family dynamics. Just because you’ve got great technical skills doesn’t mean you’ll be great at applying those skills in a family office space.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Martha Simmons: Stay open to opportunities. Get educated and follow your passions, but stay open, because opportunities present themselves in the strangest times and in the strangest ways. Also, never leave work. In other words, figure out ways to stay involved in ways that make you happy. It’s a lot easier to dip back in when you’re midway through your career than fully stopping and starting.
Anna Dayan: Be an advocate for your own career. If you don’t check all the boxes for an opportunity, but you check seven out of 10, go for it. We tend to hold ourselves back when we aim to check every single box. Most of the time, you’re fully capable of doing those roles, so be open to new opportunities and advocate for yourself.
Carloyn Cole: Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. And get comfortable with making others uncomfortable. My younger self didn’t do well with uncomfortable situations. That’s a trick in itself, especially in the family office space. Understand that you may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s okay. If I had figured that out earlier, my confidence level would have changed at a younger age.
Patricia Saputo: If you make decisions based on what you truly value, you won’t regret any decision you make in life.
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