WIFA winners and more female graduates: A year of diversity in financial advice

It is no surprise the finance sector has had to buck up its ideas when it comes to improving diversity in recent years and, while the representation of women has and is continuing to improve, representation of other groups are yet to be at the fore of the industry.

While the sector was certainly not lacking in female related initiatives - a step in the right direction - it was ever so slightly lacking in projects centred around other aspects of diversity. Here, though, PA looks at the biggest stories in diversity in 2019.

The adviser and author empowering the next generation of women

At the beginning of March, Milton Keynes-based financial adviser Catherine Morgan spoke to PA about empowering women and ticking ‘published author' off her to-do list. The Money Panel founder helped to publish The Woman I'm Becoming, which includes stories, experiences and advice from 20 entrepreneurial women across the globe. In her dedicated chapter, Morgan dives deep into her own relationship with money.

MP urges firms to go 'further and faster' for diversity in senior roles

Later that month economic secretary to the Treasury MP John Glen spoke at the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter's annual review event. The MP for Salisbury confirmed more than 300 organisations representing 18,000 employees had signed up to the charter - a Treasury initiative designed to improve equality within the financial sector.

A generational change: Ethnic minorities in financial services

Postcard Planning and NextGen Planners' Rohan Sivajoti spoke to PA's Hannah Godfrey about how his experience in financial services as an ethnic minority is different from his fathers' who worked in the sector around 40 years ago. His father travelled to the UK from Sri Lanka by boat in 1966 when he was just nine years old. Once old enough to work, Sivajoti Sr had between three and four different jobs at the same time to support his family.

However, unlike Rohan, who said he has experienced no prejudice at work in his career, his father put up with plenty despite being incredibly capable. Rohan said he believes his father's career was held back by half a decade because of the colour of his skin. 

Revealed: All the winners at the Women in Financial Advice Awards 2019

The 2019 Women in Financial Advice awards saw Addidi Wealth founder Anna Sofat named Financial Adviser of the Year in June. The judges said Sofat has worked tirelessly to building a business that supports women in getting access to financial advice and is well-known in the sector for supporting gender diversity in finance.

Revealed: Winners of the New Talent Awards 2019

At PA's first ever New Talent Awards in September, Rose and North paraplanner Chloe Moran picked up the Rising Star award, along with Paraplanner of the Year. The New Talent Awards were introduced to celebrate the sector's future leaders, from young graduates to those who had a career change.

CISI appoints youngest president in branch history

On that same day in September, the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments (CISI) hired its second female and youngest person in the branch's history as president for the Manchester and the North West district branch committee. BNY Mellon's Becky Jones is set to replace Castlefield Investment Partners David Gorman. She said she was "thrilled" to be taking on the new role.

Women made up one-third of latest PFS graduation

In other news, women made up nearly a third of graduates at the Personal Finance Society's (PFS) graduation on 11 October - arguably one of the highest statistics for female graduates in finance thus far. Some 483 financial advisers picked up their certificate with the ages ranging from 24 to 69 years' old - PFS chief Keith Richards was still beaming about it at the PFS conference at the end of November.

CII challenges women to talk about money

Later that month, the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)'s Insuring Women's Futures initiative set the challenge to get as many women as possible talking about money in a bid to tackle financial wellbeing.

The ‘Talk to 10,000' challenge started during Talk Money Week (from 18 November) and required ambassadors to meet and talk through the "moments that matter" in women's lives with at least 10 women. 

SJP appoints Dame Helena Morrissey as non-executive director

In late November, St James's Place (SJP) increased the proposition of women on its board by appointing Dame Helena Morrisey as non-executive director. Morrissey, whose new position will be effective from 1 January next year, left Legal & General Investment Management in October. SJP chair Iain Cornish said at the time that he was "delighted" that Morrissey is joining the board.

MP John Glen: 'Focus on action to drive diversity change'

Once more, we heard from John Glen MP. He told delegates at the PIMFA Wealth of Diversity Conference they must "welcome diversity as a matter of principle and profit".

By bemoaning the lack of women on boards, the MP was pushing for the sector to "focus on action to drive diversity change" and encouraged it to work hard to improve diversity in the workplace.

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• John Glen
• Catherine Morgan
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