On today’s episode of Framework, Jamie talks with Jennifer Tarsney, Director of Practice Management at New York Life Investments.
Jennifer remembers selling chocolate bars in grade school. But other than standard salesmanship, she learned next to nothing about money management. In fact, her entry into financial services was unexpected. Making pennies in the fashion industry, her friends in finance shared their salaries and convinced her to jump ship. So she began her career with zero experience, and blessed with a series of phenomenal female mentors.
The statistics on financial literacy among women are grim but Jennifer is committed to rewriting the narrative. She focuses on helping advisors better serve their female clients through education.
Jennifer talks with Jamie about the importance of diversity in advisory firms, what we can do to encourage women in finance, and why the ruthless advisor stereotype is a far cry from reality.
(29:14) “When we get (women) in, it is a fight to keep them in. Because when they show up, they look around and often there’s not a lot of them to connect with. And even now, we’ve onboarded young women remotely, they’ve never even physically met us, they’ve never even physically been in the building. So to all of my fellow ladies with experience in this business, please, go identify five or six young women who are currently here that you can schedule monthly or quarterly calls with. Just so they can pick your brain on the business.” ~Jennifer Tarsney
Main Takeaways
- More women struggle with finding financial advisors. Women need to seek out financial educators. And financial advisors should focus on educating women rather than speaking solely in robotic financial jargon.
- Most women will become responsible for their own finances at some point in their lives. When that happens, and it may happen unexpectedly, women need to be prepared.
- The perception of advisors as ruthless money-grabbers is far from reality. The truth is, most advisors are intimately ingrained in their clients’ lives.
- Experienced women in finance must work towards creating a healthy women’s network and mentoring women entering the industry.
Links and Important Mentions
- Jennifer on Linkedin
- New York Life Investments
- New York Life Investments Practice Management
- James Beard Foundation
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