Cathy Curtis, founder of Oakland, California-based Curtis Financial Planning, will deliver a clear message to women advisors at the upcoming Women Advisor Summit in New York: don't wait to launch your own registered investment advisory firm. Curtis, who was named an InvestmentNews Woman to Watch in 2020, will join Shannon Larson, president of AE Wealth Management, for a fireside chat on Nov. 5 focused on building a career with a long-term perspective.
“I'm a huge advocate for more women in the financial services industry, in particular being investment advisors and financial advisors, so being client-facing advisors, not staff, not supporting role, but lead advisor,” Curtis told InvestmentNews. “And even taking a step further, not being afraid to start their own RIA.”
Curtis's own path illustrates the potential for such a move. After a 20-year career in sales and marketing management in the packaged food industry, she founded Curtis Financial Planning from scratch in 2001. Her passion for personal finance and investing, which began in her youth, drove the transition. She credits her earlier career with teaching her essential business and marketing skills that proved invaluable in building her firm.
One of her deliberate strategies was to market specifically to women clients—a niche that was largely untapped at the time. “I, on purpose, marketed to a women clientele … at that time there wasn't hardly any advisor doing that - now there's tons of advisors that market to women, but it was sort of a new thing and it really paid off for me,” she said.
The advisory industry remains heavily male-dominated. According to research released earlier this year by AdvizorPro, women represent only 26% of practicing financial advisors. The representation varies by channel: broker-dealers have approximately 31% female advisors, wirehouses 30.6%, and hybrid advisors about 25%. RIAs lag even further, with only 18% to 20% female representation.
Curtis's advocacy aligns with broader industry efforts to increase diversity. A recent Beacon Pointe survey found that women's financial confidence triples when they lead financial decisions, underscoring the value of having more women in advisory roles. The Women Advisor Summit itself is designed to address these issues, with a theme of “the long game” emphasizing leadership, resilience, and sustained career growth.
“Truly, the long game is what has happened to me - that you need to live through all the challenges and changes and decide who you want to be in this business,” Curtis said. Her session with Larson will explore how advisors can navigate the evolving landscape of wealth management, from client acquisition to firm management.
For women considering entrepreneurship, Curtis's advice is straightforward: the industry offers a unique opportunity to become an independent business person and thrive. With the RIA channel still lagging in female representation, there is ample room for growth. As the summit approaches, her message is likely to resonate with many attendees looking to chart their own course.
