The Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA) is looking for sponsors to support its women mentoring program after government funding ran out late last year.

GM Education and Professionalism Anne Palmer says the program is “incredibly” important to the profession, as it seeks to encourage more women to consider a career as an adviser.

The initial program, launched in 2022 with a $2.2 million grant from the Federal Government, paired 96 mentors and mentees from February to August that year, while the second program paired 36 mentors and mentees from March to October the following year.

“With women only accounting for around 22% of financial planners and around 28% of the FAAA membership, initiatives such as this one are incredibly important to encourage more women to not only consider financial advice as a career but also remain in the profession once they are fully qualified,” Ms Palmer said.
 
“We need more of them coming into our profession to ensure we have enough advisers to serve the needs of the growing number of Australian consumers seeking advice. 
  
“There is no reason that we can’t reach more than 100,000 financial advisers in Australia, with a goal of half of those being women. There are around 200,000 registered accountants in Australia, and the need for financial advice is just as significant.”