Financial planners need to boost women’s confidence in finance and investing in order to harness the growing clout of females when it comes to money.
Financial services executive, Patricia Curtin, told a “Women want more!” session at the 2014 SPAA SMSF National Conference in Brisbane that the role of women in financial affairs is growing, with one in four families post-GFC having females as the major breadwinners, and 75 per cent of all financial decisions now being made jointly or by women alone.
But Curtin said while women are confident savers, they lack confidence in finances. Advisers need to translate that savings prowess into long-term wealth building and investment. “It’s not hard, it’s just a mindset that needs to be changed,” she said, adding that women equate wealth with home equity alone.
Social ambiguity
Curtin said also advisers need to be comfortable with growing social ambiguity, including the growth of non-traditional families. “Abnormal is normal,” she said.
Olivia Maragna, chief executive officer of Aspire Retire Financial Services, said women are a powerful source of business because they are more likely to be long-term clients and make referrals. But advisers need to be aware of how they engage and converse with women.
“It’s the little things that really matter to women,” she said, adding that 57 per cent of women say the client experience is the most important factor in their sales choice.
Maragna said advisers need to let women talk more, which may require an extra meeting. Advisers also need to actively listen: the reason women don’t proceed with any sales is because they feel as though the sales person hasn’t listened.
Advisers also should consider documenting women’s words in advice to show female clients they’ve heard them; and women take longer to make decisions, so give them time.
