\u201cI was a woman working in a financial institution at the time, on a sales floor of over 350 people, and only seven of us were women,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just ignited something in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
While she said her male colleagues have been her biggest supporters and allies, she realized, \u201chere\u2019s a problem that exists everywhere in the world, and I want to figure out a solution of how we can kind of change that narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNeily has since helped introduce a more inclusive leave program at RBC DS upon joining the firm six years ago. She\u2019s mentored dozens of women and girls across the country, and was named president and chair of FuturFund, a non-profit focused on girls\u2019 financial literacy, in 2024. She created a women\u2019s community to foster financial education and connection. And she has built an advisory practice focused on women business owners.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s one of a growing number of advisors who focus on serving women clients. To commemorate International Women\u2019s Day, we reached out to a few of them to find out how they\u2019re making the industry more friendly to women.<\/p>\n
Bringing women into the conversation<\/p>\n
Micha Choi joined Guardian Capital Advisors in 2020 \u2014 in large part because the firm\u2019s leadership was open to backing her idea for a women\u2019s initiative, providing resources for it and allowing her to focus on that alone. Choi, a portfolio manager and recently appointed vice-president, co-founded the Guardian Women initiative in 2021.<\/p>\n
She said it was inspired by Anne Maggisano, who founded Women of Burgundy at Burgundy Asset Management (now part of BMO) in 2014. Part of Choi\u2019s motivation was seeing repeated instances of women clients who deferred financial decisions and responsibility to husbands, to their detriment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYear after year, I saw women weren\u2019t engaged in the portfolios, or \u2026 how things were invested. When anything happens to the husband \u2026 they didn\u2019t know where things were, so they were taken advantage of by family members, by children, even by friends, colleagues,\u201d said Choi, who lives and works in Toronto.<\/p>\n
Part of the solution is finding different ways to engage and communicate with women clients. For example, women often respond better when investment performance is tied to real-life planning goals. So, rather than talking about a 10% return, put that number in the context of a priority the client has identified, such as helping a child buy a house.<\/p>\n
Choi said she listens carefully for the client\u2019s level of comfort with financial terms and concepts as there\u2019s wide variation among women.<\/p>\n
Similarly, McNeily said for women clients, it\u2019s important to connect with them on their values and what\u2019s important to them first, rather than leading with numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always lead with what are we trying to accomplish from a values perspective, and the portfolio should fit that value,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about the portfolio delivering X level of return,\u201d but rather, the return is the tool to achieve the thing the client values most.<\/p>\n
Danielle Martin, a senior wealth advisor and portfolio manager who\u2019s been with ScotiaMcLeod for more than 30 years in Toronto, emphasizes that women, who statistically live longer, will have the family\u2019s net worth to manage if their spouse passes away first.<\/p>\n
They need to understand \u201cwhat\u2019s going on, generally speaking, knowing that there\u2019s cash flow there, there\u2019s cash available, that things are set up properly based on asset allocation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe things that tend to appeal to women are, I want to understand what types of products I have, what is considered a growth [asset] and riskier, and what\u2019s considered more conservative, and what\u2019s my balance,\u201d Martin explained. \u201cI find when people can wrap their head around that, there\u2019s less worry about volatility.\u201d<\/p>\n
No silly questions<\/p>\n
Karen Shea, a senior wealth advisor and portfolio manager who\u2019s been with CIBC Wood Gundy in Ottawa for close to 30 years, said she has long wanted to focus on women, partially because of her own experience growing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother always struggled with money, I grew up in a household that lived paycheque to paycheque,\u201d she said. \u201cI knew that there was a better way to manage money, so I educated myself on finding a better way to do that, and now I share this information with my clients.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until about five years ago, when she had three new female clients with similar negative experiences with money management, that she was really convinced of the need.<\/p>\n
One client came to her after losing money in a high-risk company that failed \u2014 another advisor had invested her money. \u201cShe had no idea it was a high-risk investment or that her investment in the company was now worthless. She didn\u2019t think she needed to ask the questions of the advisor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shea ensures that clients feel comfortable asking questions \u2014 more than once, if necessary \u2014 and know that there are no silly questions.<\/p>\n
She had also initially worried about alienating male clients, but found that hasn\u2019t been the case, with men making up about 40% of her current clients.<\/p>\n
That concern, McNeily said, is common.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn reality, we just want to make sure that women feel heard and valued and communicated with in a way that resonates with them,\u201d McNeily said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about alienating our male clients, just about better connecting with [women, who may be] their spouses, their partners, their daughters, their mothers and making sure they feel just included in the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
A holistic approach<\/p>\n
Martin was originally focused on dentists as her client base. But she\u2019s found that her client roster has naturally shifted to women, who find her easy to relate to.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy natural market is dealing with wealthier women who have a life transition,\u201d she said. \u201cI think what appeals to clients about me is my number of years in the industry, \u2026 but also personally, it\u2019s easy for me to have conversations about divorce, \u2026 dealing with step kids, all of that kind of real life stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n