Financial Advisor: Marguerita Cheng, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, tops this year’s Women in Planning list!

Congratulations to Marguerita Cheng, who tops the 2026 Women in Planning list by Financial Advisor!

March 19, 2026 — Female advisors still make up somewhere around only a quarter of the financial advice industry, according to various sources like AdvizorPro and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

And that’s a problem, because women are going to be big inheritors of wealth over the next couple of decades. They’re also going to be intimately involved in estate planning and caregiving issues that will be critical to financial advisors trying to understand their clients and what they’re going through.

For this month’s cover story, Financial Advisor magazine sat down with some of the most high-profile women in the advisory business and asked them how they got their start, why they thought planning was important, what they think it is and what it’s going to become.

Their backgrounds are all different. Kelly Henning, for instance, said she stumbled into wealth management as a college junior. Marguerita Cheng came into the industry as a career-changer with two young children. Kristen Bauer started her career as an accountant before the family office world beckoned her into its ranks. They all found a world both welcoming and confounding, with the career paths often unclear.

Marguerita Cheng, Chief Executive Officer
Blue Ocean Global Wealth | Gaithersburg, Md.

A Career-Changer On A Mission
Marguerita Cheng had her mind set on becoming a financial planner and nothing was going to stop her from pursuing that goal.

She started out working in corporate finance at a Japanese brokerage firm as an editor/translator and junior analyst. “It was great experience, but something was missing,” she says.

Her journey to becoming a financial planner began with guiding family members and her community on managing student loan and credit card debts and buying a house. That gained her the credibility and confidence she needed to help people work toward what’s important to them, she says. “I fell in love with the ability to use my analytical problem-solving skills and people skills to change conversations about money and wealth.”

In 1999, Cheng landed a job with Ameriprise Financial Services. She admits to being a “bit shocked” at the industry’s demographics. “I didn’t realize how few people there were that looked like me,” Cheng says, noting that she was not just referring to her ethnicity or gender, but also the fact that she was a career-changer with two children, a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old.

She says a lot of leaders questioned her later start in the profession, doubting she could be successful with two young children. But she would not be deterred. “I didn’t react or snap back. I really reflected on what that person said, and I gave them the benefit of the doubt.”

She passed four required exams in six weeks and became a certified financial planner in 2004. She remained with Ameriprise until 2013, when she founded financial planning firm Blue Ocean Global Wealth. Her client base is made up of “regular people,” many of whom are mission driven, she says. She also works with retired federal employees from the many biotech companies in Maryland.

Reflecting on the importance of women in the industry, Cheng says, “Women are valuable as part of the financial planning process because we wear a variety of hats and can relate and connect with what the clients are experiencing in a way where people feel seen, heard and respected. And that’s something very powerful.”

Cheng says she believes in creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for clients. “You want to be able to direct people and guide them. But most importantly, you need to make yourself referable by just treating people with kindness and care, and of course, technical expertise.”

And one of the most important pieces of advice Cheng says she can pass on to young women entering the profession is to commit to being a lifelong learner. “Make sure that you have opportunities for that lifelong learning as well as personal and professional development,” she says.

Additionally, Cheng emphasizes the importance of joining professional associations and communities where you can meet and connect with other people.

—Jacqueline Sergeant