Get the Word Out to Get Women In; Blending Active and Passive Strategies: October Investment Advisor Features—Slideshow

September 29, 2014 at 08:00 PM
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For our second annual women's issue, Investment Advisor spoke with several female executives and business owners for an inside look at the state of women in the industry. We discovered that while there aren't enough women in the industry, the problem isn't that women aren't interested or wouldn't be good at it—they just don't know much about the profession.

Check out the October cover story to get insights from leaders like Kim Dellarocca of Pershing, Janet Stanzak of FPA and Amy Webber of Cambridge about how to attract more women to an industry that desperately needs to bring in new talent if it wants to sustain itself.

Plus, visit the Women in Wealth Management home page for additional coverage on the trends and challenges women face in the industry.

Daniel Kern of Advisor Partners shares his firm's process for blending active and passive strategies for a portfolio that integrates the benefits of high value-added active strategies with low-cost, tax-efficient passive strategies.

A 2012 report by the European Commission found companies with a gender-diverse board had a 42% higher return in sales, 66% greater return on invested capital and 53% higher return on equity. A 2010 study by McKinsey and Co. found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity had a 47% better average return on equity and 55% better average earnings before interest and tax.

And yet the industry struggles to attract women to the profession, even as it wrestles with finding successors to firms whose leaders—most of whom are male—are on the edge of retirement.

Women and the industry in general benefit when firms are more diverse. So why are so few women choosing to become financial professionals? IA editors Danielle Andrus and Jamie Green and Washington Bureau Chief Melanie Waddell interviewed 10 female executives and entrepreneurs to learn more about the state of women in the industry, why the relatively low number of women in the industry needs to change, and what having a more gender-diverse advisor force means for the end client.

Advisors historically invested exclusively in either active strategies or passive strategies, rarely using them together. We are proponents of blending the two strategies, having the firm belief that combining active and passive strategies provides a superior risk-return profile than exclusively using one or the other.

Many advisors are recognizing the benefits of integrating high value-added active strategies with low-cost, tax-efficient passive strategies. However, many advisors also make the active/passive decision subjectively, often being overly influenced by buzz surrounding the latest hot performing fund or investment vehicle.

Daniel Kern of Advisor Partners explains the framework and thought process his firm uses to blend passive and active strategies.

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