Women are the economic powerhouses of the world today with $11 trillion in wealth under their control and advisors need to cater to them, says Michelle Matson, a vice president at Matson Money.
“The financial industry has not successfully adapted to having nearly half of all investable assets in the hands of women,” Matson says. Matson Money is a Cincinnati, Ohio, based investment advisory firm with almost $6 billion in assets under management.
Women are craving financial education and advisors should use that to help build their practices, she says. “Women want it all – career, family, success. But if their finances are just one more thing they have to babysit, they are not going to be engaged in the investing decisions.”
She says that 67 percent of women say their advisors do not understand them and yet 95 percent of women will be the financial decision makers at some point in their lives. Advisors, male and female, need to take advantage of this gap.
“Women look at finances differently than men. They look at long-term goals and at what they want to accomplish in life,” she says. “Therefore, advisors should recognize the differences between men and women and help female clients focus on long-term goals and strategies rather than on short-term results.”
One way to engage more women clients is to have meetings with groups of them to talk about investing with a focus on one aspect, such as the myths of investing: what is commonly believed and what are real strategies.
“If an advisor can engage the women he or she already has as clients, they will tell others and the network will grow,” says Matson. “I’d love to see more women advisors, but if we do not have more women advisors, then the male advisors are going to have to learn to communicate to women clients.”
Women may turn to robo-advisors if they are not receiving the communication and information they need from their human advisors.
“This could be dangerous if they are not getting the full information they need to invest wisely,” Matson warns.