INVEST IN WOMEN | WOMEN IN PLANNING
“ I also have a lot of women widowers who are in charge of their finances , but what I find fascinating is when I get a couple who comes in because the husband wants to find a woman advisor for his wife in the event he passes . I ’ ve seen this three times recently ,” Burke says .
Women already manage $ 10 trillion in wealth and are projected to wield $ 30 trillion by 2030 . So decoding what female investors want from their advisors and avoiding unforced errors is increasingly important .
“ For advisors looking to retain their women clients , the first and foremost avoidable pitfall is not having a relationship with them ,” Koh says . “ Advisors need to ensure women are part of the conversation , present at every meeting , understand and agree with recommendations , essentially , [ and ] are active partners in the relationship with their financial advisor or team .”
Carla T . Adams , a CFP and the founder and president of Ametrine Wealth in Lake Orion , Mich ., recently launched her own firm after working at a larger wealth manager for 15 years . Already , seven of her 13 clients are women , and four are from households where the woman makes the decisions .
Both women and couples who have fired their previous advisors have sought her out , Adams says .
“ What I do is simple , but it seems not enough advisors are doing it : I listen to my clients , and I talk to them in plain language that they can understand . I make no assumptions about people as I ’ m getting to know them .
“ Everybody ’ s brains work differently , so sometimes it may take a few tries for me to explain a concept in a way that makes sense to my clients . Most of my clients are very smart , highly educated people , but they are not educated in finance , which is why they ’ ve hired me in the first place ,” Adams adds .
And the role of advisors , especially women advisors , in female investors ’ financial lives has never been more important . According to institute findings , 87 % of women say they need to rely on their advisors for information about their finances and investments and some 48 % of them prefer to work with women advisors or have at least one woman advisor on the team ( something cited by 54 % of those surveyed ). This is critical because women report their investing knowledge and confidence have decreased significantly over the past five years .
Women already manage $ 10 trillion in wealth and are projected to wield $ 30 trillion by 2030 . So decoding what female investors want from their advisors and avoiding unforced errors is increasingly important .
“ The future of the financial services industry is going to belong to women , because they ’ re much more geared to financial planning as opposed to investment management ,” says Nancy Daoud , the founder and president of Opus : Advice First , an Oxford , Conn . -based private wealth advisory firm ( affiliated with Ameriprise ), that has $ 800 million under management and advises on another $ 800 million in assets held away from the firm . Three of the firm ’ s seven advisors are women .
“ The secret sauce to making clients loyal or sticky is deep relationships ,” Daoud says . “ Start with real basics . Not going into analytics and charts . One of the things that is so intuitive to me is having both spouses attend meetings , no matter what they say . It starts with engaging female spouses and making eye contact and making sure there is a relationship built with both spouses .”
She also makes sure to seek out fe- male clients ’ opinions . “ When a question is posed , I say ‘ Let ’ s start with ladies first , what ’ s your opinion ?’ When you listen and validate , clients tend to trust you more ,” Daoud says .
The firm currently works with 1,100 households in 38 states . “ We look to enhance the financial and emotional wellbeing of clients through an education process and decision-making . We have many divorcees [ and ] a good number of women whose spouse died and now they ’ re single women . As we build the next generation of clients , we ’ re seeing a real evolution , where the women in their 30s and 40s are the real earners ,” Daoud says .
To deepen relationships , Opus holds lunches , dinners and happy hours for female clients several times a year , and Daoud says she will also send a note or call clients just to say “ Happy birthday ” or touch base and see how they ’ re doing . “ It might sound insignificant , but it ’ s over-delivery . If you have a trained back office and process for providing all of these little touches , they happen automatically , but to the client they ’ re unique ,” she adds .
Bridget Grimes is the founder and president of Coronado , Calif ., firm WealthChoice , and is also the co-founder of the Equita Financial Network , an RIA platform for firms led by women . She says she has sent out a survey asking clients for the number one reason they work with her firm .
“ Overwhelmingly ,” says Grimes , “ the answer was trust . I think trust is very important for women . When they feel heard and understood , they trust you . Planners need to do a better job of listening and understanding the challenges women have so they can build trust .”
To earn that trust , advisors must help with the things that disrupt women ’ s financial plans , such as childcare and eldercare duties that create gaps in their careers . Your female clients will be less likely to leave , Grimes says , if you recognize these challenges , talk about them , come up with a plan , and make them accountable for it . Such moves will help them succeed financially , she says .
32 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | MARCH 2024 WWW . FA-MAG . COM