Women have been historically underrepresented in Financial Services. According to a 2017 study by Stanford University, men comprise 75% of the Wealth Management field and fill 80% of the leadership roles. However, a young black woman from Georgia has continued the trend of women breaking the glass ceiling in Financial Services. In March 2017, Lauren Simmons made history as the youngest full-time woman equity trader at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). “I am proud to have a badge of a trader,” Simmons said of her achievement in an interview with LinkedIn.

Being a young Financial Advisor is not easy. Building your client base takes a lot of time, effort and patience but the payoff can be a lifetime of relationships cultivated. We sat down with several Vanderbilt Advisors and asked them “What advice would you give to a young Financial Advisor trying to make it in Financial Services?” As you read on, you’ll notice most Advisors aren’t giving advice on products or services. There’s a thorough line of advice around communication, listening and relationship building.

Summary:

• The Financial Services industry is not all about greed. Many Advisors’ intrinsic drive is helping others with planning their goals or driving capital towards impactful ventures.
• Financial Planners providing thoughtful and customized roadmaps that cater to exceptional circumstances in wealth management is an advantage over Passive Investing.
• Financial Advisors do want to bridge the Financial Literacy gap and teach clients the fact-based financial concepts relevant to their situations.

Vanderbilt’s 295 solar panels show our commitment to sustainability.

Summary:

• Companies who practice greenwashing can make both deliberate claims and unintentionally misrepresent their sustainability efforts.
• As a Financial Advisor, you can help your clients avoid these bogus claims with resources outlined at the end of the article.

Many businesses promote their credentials with the promises of having green buildings, eco-labels, and clean technologies. But how many of these pledges are authentic? How many of them are just empty corporate spins? We called these inauthentic claims “greenwashing” in our past article “Will "Impact-Washing" Be the New Greenwashing?”