For its study of women, New York Life Investments surveyed 500 breadwinners over the age of 25 along with 165 of their spouses.
Nearly a quarter of advisors in a separate survey by New York Life Investments, 23%, identified married breadwinners as the biggest subset of female investors in their books of business. More than a third of the survey, 36%, said that married breadwinners were the most challenging subset of female investors to work with, followed by suddenly single women.
Advisors correctly reported that the chief concern among these breadwinning women is retirement—47% of advisors reported this as the biggest area of focus when working with female married breadwinners. The subject of retirement was followed by the improvement of financial literacy, named by 24% of advisors, and investing for a comfortable lifestyle, named by 23% of advisors.
Similarly, just under a quarter of advisors, 23%, said that married breadwinners were proactive about seeking out additional financial education. Yet two-fifths of the survey, 42%, said they only offer educational opportunities annually. Just 18% of the survey respondents offered financial literacy assistance to clients monthly and only 2% did weekly.
Households with female breadwinners tend to have significant differences in goals and engagement between spouses—84% of advisors reported stark differences in engagement in households with married spouses, and 76% reported a difference in investing needs and goals.
Advisors were divided on whether breadwinning women should be viewed as primary decision-makers in their households, with approximately half believing that female married breadwinners should be treated as a primary decision-maker (51%) and half viewing female married breadwinners as equal partners with their spouse.
The supplemental New York Life Investments survey of advisors was fielded among 213 financial advisors online during July 2020.