FA Magazine December 2023 | Page 31

are somewhat different in how they approach advisors , they ’ re not as different as you think .

Men and women largely look for the same traits in advisors : We gave survey participants 19 characteristics to choose from in an ideal professional , then asked them to pick their top three . The choices of men and women were very consistent . Both men and women look for somebody very experienced — that ’ s the overwhelming first choice for both . They also want someone who is a CFP and who has great investment returns . Note that the last characteristic is really discouraging to the planning profession — despite two decades in which we ’ ve been emphasizing planning , clients still want returns .

The answers start diverging after that , and when we get down to the fourth trait , women start mentioning that they ’ d like somebody they got through a recommendation . Men start saying they want a “ fiduciary .”

What ’ s almost as interesting is the traits that were not as important to them .

• Female clients did not seem very focused on choosing a female advisor . When given advisor traits to choose from , neither men nor women seem to be focused on gender . Only 6 % of women chose “ female ” as being one of the top three traits of the advisor they wanted to work with ( while 3 % of males did ). This is not to say that it ’ s never important . A female advisor is more important to female widows and divorcees , But overall , it seemed to be less important in our data .

• Independence does not seem to matter as much . Overall , only 9 % of consumers chose “ independent ” as one of the top three characteristics , and it matters a bit more to men than women ( 12 % versus 6 %). We purposefully did not define independent because most advisory firms don ’ t define it either . Many firms describe themselves as “ independent ” on their site but don ’ t say what that means .

• Consumers also don ’ t care as much if the advisor is published , works with celebrities or has the same hobbies the clients do . All these things were chosen by fewer than 5 % of the respondents .

One of the differences between men and women is how they research their advisors . When asked how they begin , both sexes seek out the recommendations of friends or colleagues . After that , men rush online while women rely more on the recommendation ( with some online research ).

In our sample , 56 % of participants were female , and of those , 39 % said they work with an advisor while 43 % of the male participants did . Female consumers in our survey had less in investable assets : 63 % had under $ 500,000 while 55 % of the male consumers did . Female participants in our surveys were also more likely to be employees , 72 %, while 68 % of the male participants were .

Young And Old

Next we have generational misconceptions . A popular myth is that young consumers are “ do-it-yourselfers ” and aren ’ t interested in financial advisors . We came to the opposite conclusion in our research — they ’ re interested ; they just don ’ t have money yet .

When asked if they would like ongoing help from a financial advisor , younger consumers were predictably less likely to say yes — only 25 % of those under 25 said they would , while 34 % of those under 40 or under 56 said so . Note how people ’ s appreciation for financial advice jumps sharply when they reach their late 50s — when they ’ re staring down retirement , at which point they start knocking on your doors .

More telling , though , is the category of

Top Characteristics Of A Financial Advisor As Chosen By Men And Women ( Participants could pick three out of 19 characteristics .)

50 %

25 %

41 %

48 %

37 %

40 % 36 % 36 %

■ Male ■ Female

27 %

30 %

21 %

33 %

If you were hiring a new financial advisor or looking to change your current financial advisor , how would you begin ?

80 %

40 %

56 %

■ Male ■ Female

69 %

51 % 44 %

DECEMBER 2023 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 29