Have you spent years working in a restrictive environment where you felt stymied? You paid your dues—waiting to go independent. You may have felt like you were on an island, trying to do everything alone. The truth is, there are many women financial advisors who can commiserate with you.
Carson’s new 2025 State of Women in Wealth Management report is the conglomeration of data compiled from surveying and conducting in-depth interviews with top female advisors. This report acts as a roadmap for the next generation by revealing five easy-to-follow strategies the majority agreed were key to building successful practices without sacrificing a positive work-life balance.
These phenoms identified the following five career-changing lessons as opportunities best seized early in your career. That being said, if you are mid-career or even in your sunset period, it’s important not to despair. Remember the old saying from Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales, “For better than never is late; never to succeed would be too long a period.” (Or, as we say in modern English, better late than never.)
Experience Breeds Wisdom
The pathway to success isn’t easy. We all experience bumps and roadblocks. The most valuable lessons often come from examining what we wish we’d done differently. When Carson surveyed 151 women financial advisors, including 51 with over $100M assets under management (AUM) each, powerful patterns emerged. The most prosperous advisors pinpointed remarkably similar turning points in their careers—turning points they wanted to share to help younger wealth managers employ best practices as early in their careers as possible.
Each insight gleaned from Carson’s report may be used as a clear and intentional roadmap for helping to build a career hallmarked by success and a greater sense of fulfillment. Experience breeds wisdom, but for those lacking experience, the wisest course is to learn from other advisors who figured out how to thrive in a competitive industry.
Women Financial Advisors Share 5 Actionable Insights
1. Act Now: Break Free from Environmental Limitations
Many of those surveyed noted they waited years for the “right time” to start their own, independent firm. If you are constantly waiting for the perfect moment to arrive, you might have regrets later in your career.
“The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.” – Steve Jobs
The women financial advisors who chose to take the leap earlier took a risk. Yet, they consistently reported the decision was transformative. If there is a glass ceiling, then pulling out Thor’s hammer to bust through it may be necessary. One respondent said, “Expanding my team from 1–2 to 8 employees improved my client experience and allowed for more efficient planning.”
2. Work Smarter, Not Harder: You Can’t Do It All
If you want to reach your full potential, it may prove beneficial to embrace delegation. The most successful organizations often strive for every employee to concentrate on working on activities considered to be the highest use of their time. This is only achieved when lower-level activities are delegated to others. If your time is best spent on client acquisition or investing, then hiring an assistant, a client services manager, a compliance manager, an HR manager, or a junior advisor is pivotal. The advisors we surveyed suggested investing in support early in their career was paramount to scaling their business and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
3. Embrace Technology: It’s Here to Stay
Women financial advisors might want to start looking at technology as the ultimate delegation tool. When used properly, tech tools have the potential to free unbelievable amounts of time, which enables you to scale your practices faster. Technology also helps with the work-life harmony women in wealth management often find elusive.
The advisors we surveyed, who initially resisted technology, found themselves scrambling to catch up. The early adoption of CRM systems, AI-driven tools, and automation didn’t just improve efficiency—it created an opportune moment for these advisors to deepen client relationships and sustain a growth trajectory they might never have otherwise achieved. It gave them more time to spend on their highest-level work activities.
4. Be Proactive: Find a Mentor and a Sponsor
Walking through life alone is not very strategic. The women Carson surveyed, who sought mentors and sponsors early, felt having these folks in their corner helped fast track their careers, and made them better equipped to confidently navigate challenges.
It’s crucial to understand the nuanced differences between the functions of a mentor versus those of a sponsor. Mentors help you learn and grow by offering support, guidance, and advice. A sponsor’s function is to actively advocate for your career advancement. They take mentorship to the next level. Sponsors do more than just take you under their wing—they leverage their influence and network specifically for your benefit.
Don’t wait for a mentor and a sponsor to find you. As one respondent put it, “Number one priority for me was finding a mentor. I knew I needed to learn from someone who had been there and done that at a high level.”
5. Begin With the End in Mind
In Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the second habit is, “begin with the end in mind.” Succession planning feels distant when building a practice, but waiting too long can cost clients and diminish the value of your business. Creating a transition strategy early in your career helps ensure continuity for clients and may significantly increase practice value when it’s time to transition. Your job is to help people plan for their future. It’s a mistake not to use your expertise to plan for your own successful retirement.
From Keds to Jimmy Choos
These five lessons represent more than hindsight. They provide a clear roadmap those seeking to advance their career in wealth management may find helpful. The accomplished women financial advisors, who participated in Carson’s survey, have walked a mile in your shoes. Figuratively speaking, they all began their careers wearing Keds. The overriding truth these ladies want to impart about their journeys—the most impactful decisions may initially feel premature. If you want Jimmy Choos, sometimes you need to be willing to extend yourself beyond your comfort zone.
Knowing about these five lessons is not enough to realize their transformative power. For any learning to be effective, knowledge must transition into action. Applying best practices to your career may be the catalyst that helps you remove Jobs’s “greatest hazard” from your career path.
You have the potential to build a thriving practice on your terms. Download Carson’s 2025 State of Women in Wealth Management report to learn key approaches other women financial advisors used to jumpstart their careers. The report may help illuminate your pathway, so you are able to take one giant step forward for womankind.
