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In Practice December 2, 2006
Relationship with Financial Adviser Benefits Women
Approximately half (51%) of women who work with a financial adviser consider themselves “very financially secure″ in their current situation, while only 31% of those without an adviser agree.
Reported by Alison Cooke
Women who work with financial advisers are also more likely to participate in financial decisions than those without advisers (62% versus 47%), according to a recent survey of 518 women by Securian Financial Group and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation.
Of those surveyed, women working with advisers were also more confident in their knowledge about finances. Those with advisers were more likely to say they knew “quite a bit” about their family finances in all categories discussed, including:
- Investments (74% of women working with an adviser vs. 49% not working with an adviser)
- Retirement plans (71% vs. 55%)
- Monthly household budget (84% vs. 77%)
- Insurance coverage on spouse (72% vs. 60%)
Projected retirement income (67% vs. 47%)
A clear majority, 80%, of the women surveyed who work with advisers work with a male adviser. However, of those not yet working with an adviser who expressed a gender preference, they clearly prefer a female over a male adviser (27% to 9%, respectively).
This confidence coming from a woman’s relationship with a financial adviser offers opportunity for financial advisers because, according to the Insurance Advisory Board, women currently influence 80% of financial decisions in the household, and are predicted to control 60% ($1 trillion) of US wealth by 2010. Further, since only 20% of the financial advisers nationwide are female, there is also an opportunity for women to get into the industry, a study report says.