We are pleased to announce the publication of a new white paper: Women in Investing: Why balanced gender representation on your advisory team helps lead to success. While other industries are beginning to see a greater balance between men and women, the financial services industry continues to be heavily male dominated. This paper discusses why the investment industry would benefit from including more female financial professionals and how to foster that change.

“Arnerich Massena is unique in that the firm has had an equal or near-equal gender balance among its leadership and advisory team throughout the company’s history,” notes Reegan Rae, contributor to the paper, firm principal, and managing director of wealth management. “We think this balance has improved our strategic thinking and our ability to connect and communicate with our clients, and want to share our experience. There is research that supports the idea that bringing both male and female perspectives to the table can contribute to long-term outcomes.”

“We need different perspectives, which ultimately help foster collaboration and better long-term results,” she adds. “The most effective teams don’t all look the same or think the same. We maintain the gender balance of our advisory teams because we are convicted that it presents a material advantage for our clients, and we’re pleased to do our part to foster this change across the financial services industry, ultimately benefiting all people who are seeking investment advice and assistance.”

The white paper takes a deeper look at how significant the gender disparity is in the investment industry and some of the reasons the imbalance has remained so pronounced. The discussion then focuses on why we need women in the financial services profession and what the industry can do to help promote this. The paper is intended to provide real solutions that will be of long-term benefit to financial services firms, their clients, and the industry itself.

Arnerich Massena is 100% employee-owned, and was listed among the top 20 largest women-owned firms by The Portland Business Journal in 2018. The company’s executive leadership team is evenly divided between men and women. The firm’s overall investment advisory team is 45% female, with the wealth management advisory team comprised of 50% women.