Wealth Management: A Predominantly Male-dominated Industry?

MELANIE ALLENTHE theme for this year’s international women’s day, which is ‘Balance for Better’, affirms that just finding balance in attending to responsibilities as mothers, wives, in the corporate world, and is not just it, but it is better that balancing is also made a financial issue.

With this in mind, wealth management is the buzzword that in essence refers to coordinating everything needed to manage your money, and plan your own and your family’s current and future financial needs.

The wealth management landscape in Namibia has evolved tremendously in the past 20 years. Financial service providers and their products have improved. Additionally, the number of registered agents and independent brokers has also shot up to about 1 600 individuals.

About 35% of advisers who are so-called tied-in agents, are female. However, only about 13% of the more top-ranking independent advisers (also referred to as brokers) are female. (Source: https://www.namfisa.com.na/long-term-insurance/ registered entities).

But when looking behind the scenes at the asset management profession, portfolio management is still pretty much a male- dominated world. Being a portfolio manager is a stringent job, with long hours.

Women tend to drop off mostly due to the challenges of balancing their career and their family lives. Research has proven that women look at risk differently, but yet produce similar results in returns compared to their male counterparts. In an ever- changing financial world, constructing uncorrelated portfolios is key, needing a different approach to risk.

Asset managers not having women on board are missing out on variant and skilled confederates, and should consider creating an environment that is conducive to the multi-faceted responsibilities of a woman.

It is an interesting fact that the clientele actually seeking the services of financial advisers are mostly male. It is as much a service that is supportive to assisting women plan their finances as it is to men. In line with women’s empowerment, women should take control of their wealth, and not shy away from making that appointment with a financial adviser.

If married, I urge women to get involved and consult a financial adviser together with their husbands because many situations arise, whereby the husband/caretaker passes away, and women are left financially stranded.

The other common situation is the financial conundrum that women find themselves in when getting divorced. Having female advisers in the field is a better way for one woman to consult another woman who can advise her on finances, better understanding her needs when it comes to long-term personal wealth.

*Melanie Allen is a retail investment consultant, equity trading mentor and financial life coach. Her experience ranges across various areas in the financial services and investment industry, having held positions across market-leading businesses like KPMG, Namibia Asset Managers, Old Mutual Namibia, HangalaPrescient Investment Management and Prudential Portfolio Managers. Email her on mtamelanie@gmail.com.