TD Ameritrade Institutional announced it is supporting the professional development of women advisors and expanding efforts to help independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) market to women investors.
Kate Healy, the firm's director of solutions marketing and industry relations, told AdvisorOne at the 2012 FPA Retreat on Monday that the program was developed from a recent white paper titled, "One Size Does Not Fit All."
"It's the recognition that women can't be painted with a broad brush, and those that are married, single, retired, divorced, etc. all have varying needs," Healy said.
TDAI will offer instruction and networking sessions for interested advisors at the 2012 National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) Women's Initiative at NAPFA's National Conference in Chicago beginning on Tuesday. The company will also make available the "Women of Wealth Report," a study revealing what women want from their financial advisors.
"The study was conducted with 500 women in 44 states," Healy explained. "One thing it showed was that women don't necessarily care about the gender of the advisor, as long as the advisor is competent and gets the job done (unless they're divorced or widowed women, who have certain trust issues. They said they'd rather work with female advisors)."
Advisors can request a copy of the report by emailing [email protected].
Conference sessions at the Women's Initiative include:
Interactive Working Session: Presenting Yourself Powerfully: A session designed to help advisors communicate effectively with clients and staff and develop skills to inspire trust and credibility.
