Following on from this publication’s recent examination of how wealth managers are improving the recruitment of female advisors, we now take a fresh look at what they are doing to retain that female talent.

While geopolitical events such as the war between Ukraine and Russia and worries about strong inflation currently dominate the world, long-term issues about how to make the wealth management industry more diverse persist. This publication has spoken to several firms about how they are trying to achieve this when it comes to the recruitment and retention of women wealth advisors. Following on from our examination of recruitment initiatives, here we highlight companies’ retention policies.

Flexible working
Initiatives by UK private bank Kleinwort Hambros include flexible contract opportunities and part-time variations. The firm rolled out a connected working policy to enable flexible working from home for all staff pre-pandemic.

London-based Brooks Macdonald has also adopted connected working to allow employees to pursue a work-life balance that suits them. It only expects staff to be in the office for half of their working week and does not stipulate start/finish times. The firm takes a “very flexible” approach to support staff and their needs –  whether that be childcare or looking after an adult dependant – and encourages part-time working and job sharing. “For example, three of the senior people in my team work part-time, so it’s something that can be done and should be encouraged,” Tom Emery, chief people officer at Brooks Macdonald, told this publication.

Work-life balance 
Staff at the firm are managed depending on what they deliver and not based on their working hours. “We have created a big shift in our culture over the last few years. We have moved from “we’re in the office 9 to 5” to getting the job done at a time and location that suits the individual, whether that is in the office or working remotely. We do not worry about what time people start and finish,” Emery said.

As part of Lombard Odier’s efforts to improve work-life balance for women, the Geneva-based private bank allows staff to work from home one or two days a week and operates flexitime. 

In Geneva it pays for employees to use the “Chaperon Rouge” service which provides emergency childcare for sick children under twelve. And it was the first bank in Switzerland to receive EDGE certification, the global assessment methodology and business certification standard, at MOVE level (the second highest of three levels), the firm told this publication. 

Lombard Odier also has a women leadership programme, launched in 2017, with forty-six women taking part so far. And its HR department ensures that the number of employees receiving promotions each year is as representative as possible in terms of gender diversity. It also undertakes an annual equal pay analysis. 

London-listed wealth management house Kingswood offers a work-life integration framework, working with “each and every employee” to determine a flexible working arrangement that benefits both employee and business.

Mentoring, training, and networking
Kleinwort Hambros, which has a gender equality forum, is a founding member of the WealthiHer Network and, as part of Societe Generale, is a signatory to the Women in Business charter. It told WealthBriefing that it has “already achieved its target to increase the representation of women in senior roles.”

Training initiatives have included coding classes for women and lunch and learn sessions on topics impacting women, such as the menopause. With Societe Generale, it launched a female talent training programme last year and offers staff a range of reverse mentoring programmes. A few years ago, it piloted a career returners’ programme. 

“We firmly believe that promoting diversity and inclusion is key,” Delyth Richards, head of client solutions group at Kleinwort Hambros, told this news service.

For its part, Julius Baer told this publication that it has a “relentless” focus on building and fostering an inclusive career environment, and a “collective responsibility” to improve inclusion for current and future clients regardless of their gender or background. 

Initiatives include its senior women mentoring programme, a dedicated working group to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace, while in Asia, it offers a Women@Julius Baer employee network. 

“We have a history of supporting women in the workplace and are committed to creating a supportive career environment for our employees,” Benjamin Hauenstein, head of human resources in Asia-Pacific, Julius Baer, said.

Brooks Macdonald also offers all staff a mentoring programme with around thirty trained mentors from across the business.

"Open dialogue"
Over at Schroders Private Wealth, Kate Turner, regional director for its London Hub, and chair of SPWomen, keeps an open dialogue within her own team to make sure that she knows what is working for them and their clients. “It’s important to get the balance right, once you do it’s a great outcome for both sides,” she told this publication.

The firm has also found that female role models are essential for women to be able to see a career path, hence an important part of its women's network group is about highlighting success and providing mentoring opportunities. It also offers a separate mentoring programme at SPW.

Parenthood
Kleinwort Hambros offers parental leave flexible options including “keeping in touch” days, and a parental leave variable compensation programme for staff on maternity and parental leave. The London-based bank also offers up to 10 days a year emergency childcare provision for staff.

Meanwhile, Brooks Macdonald allows new fathers to take six weeks parental leave, with parental and adoption leave matching its enhanced maternity leave, meaning that all new parents can take extended leave on the birth of a child.

The company also offers parental coaching before and after extended parental leave, partnering with business management consultancy Talking Talent in this. The firm also partners with, and is a founder and corporate member of City Hive, which works towards an inclusive investment management industry.

Multi-faceted approach
UK wealth manager Brown Shipley said a multi-faceted approach is needed to encourage and retain more women across financial services. It does this through corporate initiatives and partnerships, networks and events, and ongoing career development. 

Role models are an important part of initiating change for the firm. A third of its senior management team are currently women and, as part of its Women in Finance Charter commitment, it aims to increase this to 40 per cent by the end of next year.

Efforts to drive change need to be industry-wide to succeed, the firm said, hence its partnership with the WealthiHer Network.

“2021 saw us commit to new ways of working under our hybrid working model, where flexibility and agility are the norm for all employees as we embrace the benefits that working flexibly brings whilst encompassing the value of connection, collaboration and coaching when in the office environment,” Elizabeth Weir, head of private banking and London at Brown Shipley, said. 

The future
Banks and wealth management firms do appear to be pushing the boat out to retain female advisor talent. Yet while “there are countless more examples within RBC and other companies doing great things to make workplaces more inclusive, this is not going to be resolved overnight,” Katherine Waller, head of new sales delivery at RBC Wealth Management, told WealthBriefing. “Diversity and inclusion are an evolving journey, and we must all continually push ourselves and challenge one another to improve.”

Why? Because wealth managers that succeed in acquiring and retaining women will also have a replicable road map for connecting with other growing customer segments, such as Millennials and Gen Xers, the global management consultancy, McKinsey & Company, said.