It’s that time of year again. Register for the Women to Watch Awards and encourage your colleagues to do the same!
Exceptional female advisors, wealth managers, financial leaders, and firms will be recognized in just a few weeks for their bold achievements, innovative leadership, and transformative impact.
This year’s illustrious awards, taking place on Nov. 6 in New York City at Tribeca 360, will honor the 54 movers and shakers in the industry across 11 categories.
Christine Cappabianca, of Impax Asset Management and last year’s Women to Watch Awards winner in the Portfolio Manager of the Year category, recalls being mesmerized by all the innovation in one room.
“Everybody who was nominated was doing something new. That was the really exciting part,” she said. “I think that's what events like this highlight, where people are thinking a little bit differently. It's that thinking differently that adds value.”
Cappabianca said she believes one of the themes the industry faces is women needing to have “a lot more confidence in themselves or experience” before they feel qualified to take on a role.
“Award ceremonies like this really encourage the nominees and the recipients to believe in themselves more to take that next step,” she said. “I think it does contribute a lot towards improving the gender diversity in the investment space.”
Other winners from last year's awards included Kay Lynn Mayhue, president of Merit Financial Advisors, who won the Female Trailblazer of the Year. Mayhue remarked the awards are a great way to get to know what some of the female leaders are doing in the industry, what they're seeing and what's to come.
"It was really great being able to actually hear from them, and for them to have that space to share," she said.
Colleen Bell, president of innovation and experience at Cambridge Investment Research Inc., was awarded the Allyship Champion of the Year award while industry icon Rita Robbins took home the Alexandra Armstrong Lifetime Achievement Award. Her daughter, Ali Arnold, stood in, accepting the award on her behalf.
Brittney Olinger, an advisor at Koss Olinger and winner of the 2023 InvestmentNews Women to Watch Rising Star Advisor of the Year award, said being nominated for – and winning – her award gave her the confidence she needed to help her career go further.
“It was a really unexpected recognition,” she said. “I felt really honored not only for myself, but for my firm. They put me in a position to have been able to gain that experience.”
As much as it was a recognition of her and what she accomplished in her first three years in the wealth management space, Olinger said, it’s also a recognition of her colleagues.
“I was really honored to accept it on behalf of them too,” she said.
As a millennial, Olinger sees the importance of recognizing younger faces, especially when they’re just starting out in the industry.
“Clients see the value of someone younger being in the room because we resemble their family with having multiple generational advisors [at our firm],” she said. “It personally gave me a lot of confidence to have won that award, which I think can be one of the more challenging aspects early on in your career.”
This year’s Women to Watch Awards will be hosted by Kerry Barrett, Emmy-winning anchor, host, and on-camera expert, who is known for helping business owners, executives, and teams overcome fears of public speaking.
Each year, InvestmentNews honors women financial advisors, industry innovators, and those who are leaders in their firms, the industry, and their communities. These women have advanced the business of providing financial advice through their passion, creativity, and willingness to help others along the way.
Congratulations once again to all the Women to Watch excellence awardees.
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