“If one partner does not want to be involved in financial decisions, the advisor can still invite both people to social events and get to know both people,” she adds.
There is also a gender gap in finances, the study shows. Male respondents are much more likely to view themselves as the primary financial decision makers (62 percent versus 43 percent) and twice as likely as female respondents to say they are more knowledgeable about financial decisions than their partners (78 percent versus 37 percent).
Younger investors are more likely to say they share the same vision for their investment portfolio as their significant others: 58 percent of Generation Y (ages approximately 21 to 36) say they have the same vision, compared to 37 percent of Gen X (ages 37 to 50) and 20 percent of baby boomers.
And yet the younger investors are less likely to make financial decisions jointly (18 percent of generation Y) than baby boomers (44 percent).
To help advisors deal with this problem, TIAA-CREF has created Get Closer: Solving the Couples Conundrum, a practice management program designed to help advisors market to both people in a couple. The program, which is available to all advisors and the public, includes interactive tools and educational material. The program is available at www.tiaa-cref.org/couples.
The survey included 500 people who were part of a couple with at least $100,000 in investable assets and who work with a financial advisor.