Despite its reputation for being male dominated, the private wealth industry contains many women in leadership positions and driving change, making it hard to select just ten for this list.
Charlotte Ransom
Ms Ransom launched Netwealth in May 2016. Having started her career at JPMorgan, she spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs, serving as a partner for 10 years. From 2012, she explored the impact of digital technologies on a variety of industries.
Ms Ransom provides the sector with thought leadership on issues including diversity, fee transparency, and technology. About half of Netwealth’s clients are women – double the industry average.
She is vice president of Save the Children and a recipient of the 2015 Mary Lou Carrington Award for her work with Speakers for Schools, an organisation focused on providing young people access to top opportunities. She is an active donor and supporter of overseas educational projects.
Helena Morrissey
Baroness Helena Morrissey was formerly the chief executive of Newton Investment Management and is now on the board of St James’s Place, among other roles.
In 2010, she established the '30% Club' to campaign for greater female representation on company boards.
Ms Morrissey is chair of the Diversity Project – an organisation which promotes diversity and inclusion in the investment sector and holds a number of other non-profit and advisory roles, including being chair of the Investment Association between 2014 and 2017.
She is also a published author, having penned ‘A Good Time to be a Girl’, released in 2018.
Catherine Grum
A former eprivateclient Top 35 Under 35, Ms Grum was recently appointed as partner and head of family office services at BDO.
Ms Grum's passion is helping families engage and connect with their financial affairs with meaning and purpose, particularly regarding philanthropy and succession planning.
She is a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners, the Purposeful Planning Institute and Philanthropy Impact.
Anna Lane
Ms Lane is chief executive of The Wisdom Council and a PAM Awards judge – the awards ceremony run by PAM Insight, thewealthnet’s parent company.
She is a vocal supporter of empowering women and their finances. In 2019 she launched the Yes She Can project, in conjunction with other financial services firms, to tackle the gender pensions and investment gap.
Ms Lane was also recently appointed president of Women in Banking and Finance – UK.
Rebecca Durrant
An eprivateclient 50 Most Influential, Ms Durrant is a partner and national head of private clients at accountancy firm Crowe.
She also lead’s the firm’s national Women’s Empowerment Programme which supports the female pipeline and promotes an environment that enables people to reach their full potential.
Ms Durrant is heavily involved in the firm’s Women in Business podcast series, which explores the connection between diversity and business growth.
Gina Miller
Ms Miller is probably one of the wealth management industry’s most recognisable faces.
She founded SCM, which stands for ‘Smart, Common Sense and Modern’, in 2008 with her husband, Alan.
Most famous for taking the government to court over its handling of Brexit (there is a play entitled Bloody Difficult Woman running at Riverside Studios in west London), her latest cause is getting the Treasury Select Committee to investigate and 'illegal' FCA compensation scheme.
Clare Maurice
Ms Maurice is one of the founders of boutique law firm Maurice Turnor Gardner. She is now senior partner.
Her practice has a distinctly international focus and she advises clients from all over the world (and, in particular, the Americas, the Middle East and Europe) on all aspects of pre-arrival planning, residence/domicile issues and the establishment of asset holding structures.
Ms Maurice has a particular interest in US/UK succession planning and speaks regularly in the US and the Caribbean.
She is also an eprivateclient 50 Most Influential.
Barbara-Ann King
Barbara-Ann King is deputy chief executive at Investec Wealth and Investment (IW&I) in the UK.
A former lawyer and academic, Ms King has over 25 years' global financial services experience. She joined Investec in 2020 and is responsible for leading its UK wealth and investment division, enhancing the services available to private clients, intermediaries and charities to meet their evolving needs.
Ms King is passionate about gender equality and was an early proponent of change in the financial services industry. She is a senior associate of Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge and on the advisory board of The Diversity Project. She holds an LLM in Intellectual Property and Competition law and is undertaking her PhD in gender economics in 2022.
Nicola Roberts
Named as head of private client services in 2017 at Deloitte, Ms Roberts, who has over 20 years’ experience in providing private client tax services, became one of the firm’s youngest partners in 2011.
She leads the firm’s relationships with private clients and has been pivotal in the practice’s success in advising international entrepreneurial clients from around the globe.
Ms Roberts is an eprivateclient 50 Most Influential.
Penny Lovell
Until recently, chief executive of Sanlam’s private wealth arm, Penny Lovell, has over 25 years’ experience advising private clients, families and charities. She was previously managing director at Rothschild and Fleming Family before becoming head of private client, marketing and distribution at Close Brothers Asset Management, a position she held for five years.
Passionate about financial education, Ms Lovell is a trustee of Pennies the Digital Money Box and Prism the Gift Fund. She also sits on the board of PIMFA and the advisory board at the Park Theatre.