Giegerich says that his younger female clients (those under 70) are often more involved in investment decisions than the older ones.
Those women who were making the financial decisions before 2008 were much less likely to abandon the market than men, says Foss. "When women understand what they are doing and feel comfortable, they make a decision and stick with it. When the market went bad, men wanted to bail out, women did not."
Barbara Shapiro, CFP and vice president of HMS Financial Group in Dedham, Mass., deals with many women who have financial decisions suddenly thrust upon them by divorce. She and Hannon both use the bag lady image to illustrate the heightened fears women have, and the fact that those fears are sometimes misplaced.
"I agree that education is the key because women usually earn less, which makes them more risk adverse than men," Shapiro says. "Not being financially educated can make women almost freeze into inactivity, but I try to tell them that leaving their money in the bank is the worst decision they can make."
Shapiro uses annuities to help her clients feel secure, but she also urges them into equities. "It takes many more sessions with women to explain the process than with a man," she says. "Not because men are smarter, but because men make decisions more quickly. Women will ask if they can take all the information home to study it and take their time. They want to understand every aspect."