A study sheds new light on gender gaps within the IFA sector.

More women are seeking financial advice because of increasing divorce rates and rising numbers of female entrepreneurs, according to new data from Investec Wealth & Investment.

Research among intermediaries found that women accounted for 40 per cent of independent financial advisors’ (IFAs) clients in 2012, but 47 per cent of new clients gained over the past two years, Investec said.

Over half (51 per cent) of advisors said the main driving force behind spiking numbers of female clients was divorce, while 35 per cent cited death of a spouse, followed by 19 per cent who suggested women’s business success. 

“Women are of growing importance to IFAs and we can expect to see their client bases continue moving away from a male bias towards a balanced gender split,” said Mark Stevens, head of intermediary services at Investec Wealth & Investment. 

The research comes at a time when several players in investment management - including UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager - are looking to ramp up numbers of female staff in order to better serve the gender as a client base. 

But the study highlights a different trend in the IFA sector.

Despite the swelling number of female clients, IFAs, on average, estimated that only 11 per cent of their advisors were women, and almost half (47 per cent) of firms had no female advisors. Just 5 per cent of firms said they were looking to up numbers of female staff.

“Given the growing importance of women as clients, surprisingly few firms are currently taking steps to encourage greater gender diversity among their advisers but this may start to gather momentum over the coming years as the industry evolves,” Stevens added.