Purpose just as powerful as profits as a magnet for women: J.P. Morgan's Lemkau

It’s the killer combination of 5,000 bank branches and a new app that draws consumers into the wealth management funnel that will propel J.P. Morgan to industry dominance, Kristin Lemkau, CEO of J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, told the 200 attendees at the annual Women Working in Wealth conference hosted Wednesday by the American College of Financial Services.

Winning clients early and easing them into ever more personalized advisory services is how the firm plays the “long game,” Lemkau said.

“Good luck just focusing on the high end,” she said. “Typically when someone gets a financial advisor they stay with them. Only 20% of clients switch. Our strategy is to deepen with existing clients.”

That parallels the firm’s strategy on drawing in and keeping women advisors: Four of the wealth management operation’s top advisors are women, Lemkau said.

“I wish more women got into this business earlier,” she said of the profession’s efforts to recruit and advance women. “We have to get women early on and tell them, 'You can do this. You’re there to help people achieve their dreams. You’ll love it.'”

At J.P. Morgan, women comprise 39% of senior executives, running well ahead of long-term trends at large companies.

This week, Morningstar released its latest count of the S&P 500, finding that women comprise 15% of named executive officers at the largest publicly held companies. (Morningstar defines "named executive officers" as the CEO, chief financial officer and at least three more of the most highly compensated executives.) Over the past decade, women’s share of these named positions grew six percentage points, a steady pace that, Morningstar projects, will not lift women to gender parity for more than a century.

Only 6.3% of all S&P 500 companies are headed by women, a rise of two percentage points from a decade ago. The proportion of S&P 500 companies that are led completely by men is now 43%, a significant drop in the last 10 years from 66%.

Last year, financial advisory and related investment firms rolled out a steady stream of scholarships and programs intended to smooth the way into the profession for underrepresented groups, including women. This week, Abacus Wealth Partners added another scholarship for ethnically diverse people pursuing credentials through the CFP Board.

“This industry is focusing on those who have been underserved, to be better served,” George Nichols III, president and CEO of the American College of Financial Services, said at the conference.