Lincoln Financial Network has created a new initiative centered on the unique needs of women advisors and clients, recruiting from Raymond James to lead the effort.

What started as a grassroots effort at Lincoln Financial Network has evolved into The WISE Group - a new firm-wide initiative designed to support the needs of female financial advisors and clients. 

Lincoln Financial Network, the retail wealth management affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group that includes Lincoln Financial Advisors, has brought in Nicole Spinelli from Raymond James as director of The WISE Group, which stands for “women inspiring, supporting and educating.”

Spinelli was previously vice president and director of Raymond James Financial’s Network for Women Advisors in St Petersburg, FL. She has 14 years of experience building educational programs and coaching female financial advisors.

In her new role at Lincoln, she is tasked with driving forward The WISE Group’s core objectives: inspiring women to pursue opportunities in financial services to boost the overall number of female advisors within the industry; supporting LFN female advisors in the growth and development of their practice through partnerships and mentoring; and educating female clients on the importance and granularities of financial planning.

Recognition of issues surrounding the role of women in wealth management (and the financial services sector at large) has intensified at both the enterpise and client level in recent time, and are also manifesting in new ways. With the surge of interest in ESG issues, for example, there has been heightened interest among investors in efforts by organizations to promote gender diversity. Last July, Barclays launched a series of “women in leadership” exchange-traded notes on the NYSE Arca, exposing investors to US firms with gender-diverse executive leadership and governance. Pershing has also previously said that female advisors can “help unlock a variety of new market opportunities,” from divorcing women to younger investors, to name just two examples.

According to research last year by MSCI, “there continues to be a slow increase in the overall percentage of women on boards globally,” with women today holding 19.0 per cent of directorships among US S&P 500 companies, up from 16.9 per cent in 2013. However, most gains stem from markets that have instituted mandates and regulations to boost the ranks of women on boards, MSCI said

Around 100 female advisors across LFN recently attended The WISE Group's inaugural meeting.

During the event, which looked at practice management strategies and industry trends, the group also announced the appointment of its 2015 board members. They include: vice president and chief counsel of Lincoln Financial Group Distribution, Carrie Chelko; managing director of Lincoln Financial Advisors, Celeste Gurulé; and LFN affiliated advisors: Linda Corujo Ramsey, Cindy Deavel, Karen DeRose, S Diane Davis, Dawn Gordon, Kelly Kennedy, Elizabeth Liechty, Dianna Parker, Lucila Williams and Bridget Yeung.

Spinelli will report to John DiMonda, senior vice president and head of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation, and will also work with Chris Flint, senior vice president and head of Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation.

Lincoln Financial Network's parent company, Lincoln Financial Group, is headquartered in Radnor, PA.