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.
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 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.

 

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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.

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