Women, Not Men, Consult Spouse on Finances

It’s not only women who bring their spouses into the equation; advisers tend to as well. In a Brinker Capital survey, 63% of married female clients say advisers direct their relationship jointly to them and their spouse, versus 41% of married male clients who say their adviser directs the relationship to them and their spouse. Only 29% of married women say their adviser directs the relationship solely to them.

Additionally, there is disparity when it comes to knowledge and taking risks. Female clients feel less knowledgeable than men in most key areas of finance and investing, the survey found. Overall, women feel less knowledgeable than men in the areas of personal finance, investing, estate planning, and understanding of financial markets. Women are also more risk averse than men with only 21% of female clients categorizing themselves as being “extremely/very comfortable” in taking investment risk versus 42% of the male population sampled.

Gender Differences 

The survey also examines how female and male investors take gender into consideration when choosing an adviser. Key findings include:

• Twenty-five percent of women use female advisers while only 10% of men gravitate toward female advisers.
• Thirty-four percent of single female clients select a female adviser versus 22% of married female clients.
• Eighty-four percent of female clients think their adviser listens and understands their financial needs; 74% of male clients think their adviser listens and understands their needs.
• Female clients (40%) working with female advisers express higher tolerance for investment decisions made by their adviser that did not meet expectations versus only about 22% of the male clients.
• Forty-six percent of females using an adviser say their adviser helps them build knowledge, while 37% of male clients feel their adviser helps them build knowledge.

Brinker Capital’s research was based on a national survey of 323 male and female participants working with financial advisers from 78 different financial institutions.