Trade association PIMFA, which represents 1,000 investment managers and financial advisers welcomed over 100 delegates at their Women in Wealth Forum last week, in Central London.

The event featured leading industry experts, whose mission was to “inspire, empower and educate” women who are aspiring to leadership positions in the investment management and financial advice industry.

PIMFA says the event also highlighted “the importance of having an inclusive open forum for men and women, to lead the equality debate and affect real change”.

Sarah Kaiser, global head of diversity and inclusion at Fidelity, started the day with her views on how to nurture a diverse workforce.

She explained why companies needed to build “a diverse and inclusive culture to address the huge challenges thrown up by the fast-changing business environment”.

She said, “If you want to succeed in the modern world this [diversity] needs to be a priority, those that are more diverse are three times more likely to be profitable, innovative, have higher sales, attract better employees, and have up to 153% stronger customer relations.

“The business case has been decidedly proven.”

Tracey Reddings, managing director of Reddings Wealth Management, closed the day by sharing her career story and discussing the importance and key traits of authentic leadership with purpose, and how firms can combine human purpose with commercial objective.

She said: “Leading with purpose, can help create a happy and fulfilled team, which leads to satisfied clients, which ultimately leads to and equals profit. Success depends on surrounding yourself with great people and giving them space and autonomy to grow.”

PIMFA Chief Executive Liz Field said: “We are delighted to be holding our Women in Wealth forum again the year and would like to thank our Partners Fidelity International for their support throughout this series.  

“From promoting the importance of allyship, and how male colleagues can help change the industry, to practical tips to help women strategically think about their careers and how to confidently go forward and achieve success I think there has been some fantastic takeaways from today’s forum, something for all of us to keep in mind, regardless of gender.

“The Women in Wealth Forum was designed to be an interactive session to inspire, empower and educate men and women to help address and tackle the barriers to women’s careers, and enable personal development.

“We’re looking forward to holding this series again next year, to both share positive examples from firms who have implemented new strategies to enhance the diversity in their organisations and feature others, who can provide practical tools and techniques to aid personal development.”