Advisor Group Promotes Growth, Networking And Community Building For Female Advisors At 13th Annual W Forum Event In Indianapolis

PHOENIX, May 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Advisor Group, one of the nation's largest networks of independent wealth management firms, comprising FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial and Woodbury Financial, today announced the successful conclusion of its 13th annual W Forum, a conference aimed at helping women advisors take their practices to the next level and providing them with opportunities to network and build community with other female advisors. At this industry-leading event, Advisor Group also announced the successful recruitment of eight female advisors with a total of $330 million in client assets between them, including three women-led independent financial advisory practices.

Valerie Brown, Executive Chairman of Advisor Group, said, "I'm a strong believer that it will never be enough for our industry simply to hire more women. We must empower women who enter the financial advice profession, and give them the career development opportunities they need to flourish and make a major impact on their companies and the clients they serve. The W Forum is a key part of our effort to accomplish that goal."

Themed "Stretch Yourself," (#StretchYourself) the W Forum was held May 1-3 in Indianapolis and provided another clear demonstration of Advisor Group's commitment to supporting and advancing women in the independent wealth management industry. The Forum is part of Advisor Group's Women Forward initiative, which seeks to empower female independent advisors to achieve growth and lasting success through extensive networking and community-building events, facilitating discussions on best practices and providing opportunities for mentoring relationships.

Ms. Brown continued, "We could not be more pleased with the energy, engagement and optimism we saw at this year's W Forum. We encouraged attendees to push themselves, and they delivered, participating and networking with enthusiasm and purpose, while brainstorming on new ideas and approaches that we're confident will carry through as they return to their practices."

Advisor Group Welcomes New Female Recruits

At the event, Advisor Group announced the successful recruitment of eight female advisors by firms across its network, including three woman-led advisory practices. The newly-recruited firms and advisors are:

• Black Financial Services Inc. of Avon, Minn., led by Margo Scepaniak, with $126 million in client assets, affiliated with Woodbury Financial Services;
• Wayfinder Wealth Management of Santa Maria, Calif., led by Teri White, with $53 million in client assets, affiliated with FSC Securities Corporation;
• Haber Wealth Management of Ft. Worth, Texas, led by Tricia Wood, with $70 million in client assets, affiliated with FSC Securities Corporation;
• Elsa Agdinaoay-Segal, Kelle Tom, Glennel Jordan Warren, and Donna Tso joined Royal Alliance along with their firm, Occidental Underwriters of Hawaii. The four women have combined client assets of more than $70 million; and
• Taina Gude, an independent advisor with more than $10 million in client assets, joined AmeriFlex, a large advisory practice affiliated with SagePoint in Las Vegas.

Lea Goodman, Managing Partner of FSC Securities-affiliated advisory practice The Legacy One Group in Houston, said, "We're delighted to welcome these highly successful female advisors and their firms to the Advisor Group community. As a large OSJ on the FSC Securities platform, I was very pleased to play a significant role in recruiting Wayfinder and Haber, and it was gratifying to see how receptive they were to the FSC and Advisor Group value proposition, based in part on Advisor Group's consistent commitment to the cause of helping women advance within our profession. This latest wave of new recruits further underscores Advisor Group's leadership in supporting the success of women advisors across the country."

Launch of Women Forward Fellowship Program and W Forum Visionary Presentations

The conference featured the introduction of Advisor Group's Women Forward Fellowship program, which will award grants to female advisors or registered assistants, enabling them to take part in coaching or continuing education programs of their choice in order to expand and strengthen their practices. Advisor Group's Women's Advisory Board will select about 10 fellows to receive up to $5,000 each toward their chosen coaching program. Fellows will also receive one-on-one mentoring on a monthly basis and take part in a case study at the end of their experience to measure results and outcomes. Applications for the inaugural program will be due on June 7.

Advisor Group also introduced its W Forum Visionary presentations at the event, featuring four women from across the Advisor Group network giving TED Talk-style addresses on the career- or business-related topic of their choice.

Advisor Group based its speaker curation process on the TEDx model. The presentations were recorded and will be posted as episodes of the W Pulse, a podcast produced as part of the Women Forward initiative, with speakers and topics as follows:

• Nina Lloyd of Opus Financial Advisors, Chapel Hill, N.C., Breaking the Mold
• Pamela Rodriguez of Independent Capital Management, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., "Sell!" And Other Four-Letter Words They Forgot to Teach You in Business School
• Debra Brennan Tagg of Brennan Financial Services, Dallas, Texas, What You Need to Know About Negotiation to Truly be a Holistic Planner
• Kelly Ryan Smith of Kelly Ryan Financial, Charlotte, N.C., Are You Satisfied?

Susan Theder, Chief Marketing Officer of Advisor Group, said, "On behalf of Advisor Group, we were truly impressed with the talent and insights our Visionaries brought to the W Forum. They not only represent the best of our advisors – they represent the future of our profession, as well. It is crucial for our industry to create spaces where outstanding advisors can make their voices and ideas heard, and we were proud to make these opportunities available at this year's W Forum. Advisor Group is privileged to help advisors find the tools to grow and succeed by facilitating opportunities to share in the inspiration and experiences of their peers, and we are gratified to see the tangible contributions Women Forward and the W Forum are making to the industry."

About Advisor Group
Advisor Group, Inc. is one of the nation's largest networks of independent financial advisors serving over 7,000 advisors and overseeing more than $250 billion in client assets. Headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, the firm is mission-driven to support the heroic role that advisors can play in the lives of their clients, offering securities and investment advisory services through its subsidiaries FSC Securities Corp., Royal Alliance Associates Inc., SagePoint Financial, Inc. and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., as broker/dealers, registered investment advisors and members of FINRA and SIPC. Cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship and independence, Advisor Group champions the enduring value of financial advisors and is committed to being in their corner every step of the way. For more information visit http://www.advisorgroup.com.

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SOURCE Advisor Group, Inc.

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