While financial adviser schools such as Quilter's and SJP's are "doing their bit" to help improve the gender balance, with a 70-30 male-female split in the student body, he admits there is "still considerable room for improvement in tackling the gender imbalance".
A lack of representation is going to matter significantly over the next decade if, as the Centre for Economics and Business Research has predicted, 60 per cent of the UK's wealth is going to be in the hands of women.
Of course, a good adviser is a good adviser, male or female, but if people do buy people, then more businesses will need to consider their diversity.
"We need to attract women into financial advice. It’s up to all of us to build a profession that is respected and coveted so we continue to attract bright, young female talent," Sofat said.
"Then we need to foster a culture and implement business practices that will nurture and promote that talent from day one and right the way through a long and fulfilling career, showing what a rewarding profession it can be."
Why did you become an adviser?
For Michelle Crowley, wealth planner at Succession Wealth, an encounter with her parents' female mortgage adviser first got her thinking about the profession.
She says: "She was so professional, I thought 'this looks like a good job'.
"Later on, my dad was ripped off by another adviser, unfortunately. This made me want to go into financial advice and put things right. I wanted to make sure the people I look after would never be in that situation."
She started out as an administrator and has worked her way up.
Similarly, Jessica Ayres, associate of the PFS and a chartered financial planner for Timothy James, had been working in financial services for a while and became impressed with the 'people' aspect of the role.
She says: "I saw that a good adviser becomes a trusted confidante who can talk to a client about their hopes, ambitions and fears.
"I found the process of creating a plan for the client and helping them achieve their dreams exceptionally rewarding. I wanted to build a business that was flexible, where I could work with clients I genuinely liked and where no two days were the same."
Serena Van der Meulen, founder of Van der Meulen Associates, did a degree in applied modern languages with international marketing, but says: "I really wasn’t cut out to be a linguist. So my dad suggested I go through the Sunday Times until something caught my eye – and that’s exactly what did it."
She adds: "A month later I was down in Bath on my training course with Chase de Vere. That was 24 years ago, so I think it was the right choice."
