With more women climbing the corporate ladder, launching new businesses and receiving inheritances from the Great Wealth Transfer, women control more wealth than ever. There’s one problem: there aren’t enough women advisors to serve this growing clientele, who tend to feel more comfortable with women rather than men.
One of the reasons only 18 percent of advisors at Canadian full-service brokerages are women – up just three percentage points in 2023 from 2015, according to ISS Market Intelligence1 – is that, unlike male advisors, women don’t get the mentorship they need to help them network and grow their practice.
BMO Private Wealth wants to change that. In January 2023, the company launched the Women in Wealth Mentorship Program, which paired four established women advisors at BMO who have more than a decade of experience, with 12 up-and-coming investment advisors who are passionate about growing their career in the wealth space.
The goal is to help women advisors expand their business, become the primary relationship manager for their clients and develop a robust network of likeminded financial professionals.
Seeing the benefits
During the 12-month program, participants meet formally with their mentors on a monthly basis for alternating one-on-one and group mentorship calls. While there are certain talking points to cover, such as growing their business and work/life balance, mentees can also pick up the phone if they have a quick question or need advice.
Both mentors and mentees are encouraged to share their experiences and advice with each other to truly build a sisterhood within BMO. The goal is that mentees, after expanding their own careers, will pay it forward and one day become mentors.
The pilot only ended in December 2023, so it’s too early to tell whether the advisors have expanded their practice, but they all say they’ve benefited greatly from the program.
“It has been a privilege to participate,” says Kelly Fisk, a Toronto-based Investment Advisor with BMO Private Wealth. “Having the chance to develop meaningful connections with exceptional women from across the firm, and to have guidance from amazing female leaders who have lived our experiences, has been invaluable.”
Jessica Jolin, a BMO Private Wealth Investment Advisor and Financial Planner in Point-Claire, Quebec, said the program did exactly what it set out to do. “It empowered me to confidently navigate and excel in a traditionally male-dominated industry, ensuring I have the tools and allies to thrive,” she says.
“The power of being seen and heard can’t be understated,” added Shannan Daley, a BMO Private Wealth Senior Investment Associate in Calgary. “Experiencing a level of acknowledgment and understanding that was both genuine and transformative, while building connections with other women who have navigated this industry successfully, provided a sense of community I wasn’t aware I was seeking.”
A new cohort is currently being identified for an early spring launch, but in the meantime, BMO is already thinking about how the program can evolve in the years ahead. The goal is to eventually expand this mentorship to other areas and roles within North American Private Wealth. The company hopes more women will join BMO as its reputation for supporting women in the industry and fostering their success grows.
While there’s still a long way to go before the number of women and men advisors is balanced, that equality will inevitably come as more women are supported throughout their career journey.
1Women in Brokerage June 2023, ISS Market Intelligence
