'Women are built for this business'

The summer months may bring warm, sunny days on beaches or roasting marshmallows around the campfire while singing "Country Roads, Take Me Home", but it also brings something else to add on that vacation checklist: a nomination!

Have you met a woman advisor lately who impacted your day, week or month? Maybe someone you know is making strides in the industry that you want others to know about? If you answered yes to either or both questions, consider nominating them – or even yourself – for an award!

Not just any nomination or award. InvestmentNews is proud to announce that nominations have opened for the 2024 Women to Watch Awards, taking place on Wednesday, November 6 at Tribeca 360 New York.

The most promising and deserving individuals, chosen through an objective selection process and verified by an expert panel of independent judges, will be highlighted and honored at the Women to Watch Awards gala in the 5-star style they deserve.

Click here to nominate your candidate for a Women to Watch Award.

Past winner of the 2023 InvestmentNews Women to Watch Rising Star Advisor of the Year award, Brittney Olinger, financial advisor at Koss Olinger, believes all industry trends point toward women being a very important piece of the puzzle in the wealth management and investment industry.

“We've all read the studies about wealth transfer, and we can see in our daily lives, the more active role that women are taking in their household finances, personal finances and in the investment space,” Olinger said. “As an industry, we have to make sure we're keeping up with that, because our client base is certainly evolving, and we have to as well.

"[Nominating] the women in our industry, who continue to step up and drive progress, is a wonderful way to acknowledge them and the contributions that they’re making,” she added.

Click here to nominate your candidate for a Women to Watch Award.

Lindsey Lewis, executive director and chair at the American College Center for Women in Financial Services, who’s a main sponsor of the event, says nominating a woman professional is important because “it elevates her profile to where other people can see her.”

“We've heard the adage, ‘If you can see it, you can be it’. I love ‘If you can see her, you can be her’. By elevating these leaders to a different level, it allows other folks to see what they can do within the profession and within the industry and better serve their clients and better serve the nation at large,” Lewis said.

Lewis highlighted that when more people have been elevated, even though the message remains the same, the volume gets a little bit louder. “I think it's important to elevate that,” she added.

Click here to nominate your candidate for a Women to Watch Award.

Managing principal and chief business development officer at Commonwealth, Becca Hajjar, says sponsoring events like award shows or summits helps to highlight the next generation of advisors. “It's an opportunity to not only showcase the good work of women in our industry, but every firm gets the opportunity to showcase what they're doing at their firm,” Hajjar said. “Women are built for this business. I'm biased towards getting more women into this business because it's just an incredible career.”

InvestmentNews would like to thank this year’s award sponsors: Commonwealth and The American College of Financial Services.

For the full list of categories, criteria for the 2024 Women to Watch Awards, and to nominate, visit womentowatch.investmentnews.com.

Be sure to nominate quickly. The nomination period is closing in. You have until Friday, July 12. Click here to nominate your candidate for a Women to Watch Award.