Advice profession 'already quite diverse', Pimfa says

The trade association’s ‘make it’ campaign is being launched to “dispel negative perceptions around the industry”, which Pimfa said can have a significant impact on the ability of firms to attract the most talented candidates.

Pimfa has described the campaign as a “bold call to action for new talent from all kinds of backgrounds, to come in and shape old traditions into something better”.

We are still on a journey as an industryLiz Field, Pimfa chief executive

As well as highlighting opportunities for career and personal development, the campaign also aims to showcase how the industry can “act as a force for good” by helping people through difficult financial times in their lives.

The campaign is made up of a website featuring resources and videos that bring together different voices from across the industry and includes a free ‘toolkit’ for wealth management and advice firms. 

According to Pimfa chief executive, Liz Field the industry has “for many years known that it needs to better reflect the society it serves”.

Field added that the perception of wealth managers and financial advisers was “rather staid” and this did not reflect reality.

She continued: “While that’s never really been the case, that perception can inhibit the industry’s ability to attract the best talent as many people feel the industry isn’t for them.”

“As the videos we have created for the ‘make it’ campaign show, the truth is the industry is already quite diverse and becoming more so all the time,” Field said.

“We are still on a journey as an industry, but I hope this campaign, and the toolkit Pimfa is providing for firms to use, will help spread the message that, actually, wealth management and financial advice is an industry focused on helping people achieve their life goals and that it very much is an industry for everyone,” Field added.

Diversity in leadership

Pimfa has previously been criticised for a lack of diversity at its board level, which is comprised of 11 white men and two white women.

Richard Bishop, managing director of PFEP Wealth Management and author of ‘Articles of Association: Guidance and Precedents’ told FTAdviser that Pimfa's campaign is a positive step towards diversity and inclusion but said "if you're going to present new approaches and highlight our acknowledged failings, you ought to lead from the front and ensure your corporate governance reflects the outcomes you are seeking overall.”

Bishop noted that it has been highlighted recently by business leaders that a company's main governing documents should send a clear message to future generations and that “male dominate terminology such as 'chairman'” should be updated.

Bishop pointed out that Pimfa’s articles of association still use the term chairman.

“It is easy to criticise Pimfa without full knowledge of its internal governance issues, however Pimfa’s board is not outwardly diverse and predominantly white and changing the articles of association to reflect diversity is a pretty simple affair,” Bishop said.

"I'd suggest if you're going to drive the narrative on diversity and inclusion in financial services, you would perhaps start with getting your own house in order before embarking on a diversity campaign, or at least acknowledge you're going to try and get better at it."

He added however that any organisation should be “applauded if they endeavour to raise awareness around the issue of diversity in financial services, especially in financial advice which is still dominated by middle-age white males”.

Responding to Bishop’s comments, a Pimfa spokesperson said: “As we have said for some time now our industry has an issue when it comes to diversity and inclusion. But there is also a lot of good work already being done to increase diversity and inclusion within the industry as was highlighted by our recent ‘Diversity and Inclusion Awards’.

“This is something that is continuously on the minds of those that work at Pimfa, and it is part of our ongoing considerations as part of our governance.  It is not such an easy affair to change articles of association of a membership organisation, but we have been actively looking for diverse talent on our Board as places become available.”

The spokesperson continued: “We recognise that the senior pool of diverse talent is not as large as we would like it to be, but this is one of the issues we are trying to address by providing free materials through the make.it campaign and website in order to bring through talent from everywhere.”

Earlier this week, Reboot released research that showed that seven in 10 ethnic minorities in financial services firms experienced discrimination at work in the past year.

The report also highlighted that a lack of senior representation is preventing ethnic minorities progressing at work and prompting them to switch jobs.

It further highlighted that organisations need to work on their ethnicity pay-gap, their human resources departments, and their career progression opportunities, for the benefit of all employees.

Commenting at the time, Noreen Biddle Shah, founder of Reboot, said: "It is fair to say most individuals believe in a fair and diverse workforce, but the systems in which they operate are flawed and we need to find a way to make real changes and measure the impact. We also need allies and leaders to speak up to help normalise what is still sadly so taboo.”

Back in August, the City of London socio-economic diversity taskforce published a report into progression to senior levels in the financial and professional services.

The report found that 64 per cent of senior leaders surveyed were from a family with a professional background which is almost double the proportion (37 per cent) of the UK population.

It also revealed that 26 per cent of senior employees attended fee-paying schools, which is three times the national average of 7.5 per cent, while 20 per cent of junior-level and 16 per cent of mid-level respondents attended fee-paying schools.

jane.matthews@ft.com