Her firm tries to be competitive by working with women on a "full financial picture" as part of the overall service. It also presents potential investments based on the client's specific interests, such as community building or education.
A Financial Education
Kimberly Foss, a financial adviser in the Sacramento, California, area, says many female clients - especially those newly widowed or divorced - rely on her to fill in the gaps in basic financial education.
She is careful not to patronize, noting that some clients have told her they came to her from their prior advisers for that very reason.
"(Women) don't want to be lectured to," says Foss, whose boutique firm manages $200 million for high-net-worth clients, but they still crave information about investing basics and financial markets.
Empathy
Just being a woman and having similar life experiences can foster a connection. In Morristown, New Jersey, Jennifer Murray has focused on working with female investors since she started her practice in 2006, two years after becoming a widow in her early 40s. She didn't intend her firm - Stonebridge Financial Advisors - to develop a predominantly female clientele, but it worked out that way.
"Because of my own experience … I was getting referrals from friends and colleagues of women who were recently widowed," says Murray, whose firm has $47 million under management.
She decided not to fight what was clearly an advantage - that her clientele takes comfort in knowing their adviser has weathered similar financial challenges. They often want to connect on a personal level, asking questions about how Murray handled specific situations after becoming a widow.
Many of her clients need to work on basic budgeting issues; she has them complete an expense worksheet for fixed and variable income and sometimes distributes their investment earnings in the form of a monthly paycheck.