Emotional intelligence boosts careers for financial advisors

Speakers at the Conference of African American Financial Professionals in Chicago this week said emotional intelligence can accelerate financial advisors’ careers and help address a growing succession gap in the industry.

Saundra Davis, founder of Sage Financial Solutions and director of financial planning programs at Golden Gate University, outlined four components she said boost advisors’ businesses: self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy and relationship skills.

Davis told attendees that technical credentials and certifications do not guarantee clients will follow financial plans. ‘People don’t do what you tell them to do,’ she said, and she recommended using therapeutic practices — listening and identifying emotional barriers — without acting as a therapist.

She identified common behavioral problems in practices: moving to solutions before fully listening, feedback triggering defensive reactions, ending conversations when prospects say they need time, and professionals’ personal ‘invisible baggage’ affecting discussions. Recognizing those patterns, Davis said, helps advisors identify a client’s real barrier earlier.

The session included succession planning figures from Cerulli Associates. The research found about 35% of advisors who manage 40% of industry assets expect to retire within the next decade, and roughly one quarter of those advisors are uncertain about their succession plans.

Lindsey Lewis, managing director and chair of The American College’s Center for Women in Financial Services, spoke to students and career changers about roles beyond client-facing advising. She listed positions such as paraplanners, service advisors, operations staff, marketers, public relations staff, designers, cybersecurity analysts and compliance or human resources roles.

Lewis urged attendees to assess their skills and pay preferences before choosing a career path. She described growing up with food insecurity and said that experience shaped her preference for steady pay and influenced the jobs she considered.

Davis shared a personal example: as a broke college student she bought an insurance policy after a salesperson appealed to her emotions about her child, then canceled it two months later because it was unaffordable. ‘She sold me, but she didn’t understand me. She didn’t know how afraid I was. She didn’t hear a word I said,’ Davis recalled.

Organized by The American College of Financial Services, the conference drew students, early-career professionals and established advisors to discuss technical training, certification and career development in wealth management.