Recognizing Differences
Stephanie Bowyer, a financial planner with AEPG Wealth Strategies, a Warren, N.J.-based RIA firm managing $875 million in assets for approximately 500 clients (70% of whom are women), emphasizes it’s important to recognize that each woman has different levels of financial knowledge and interest. “We can’t be put in a pigeonhole,” she says.
That said, she’s observed during client meetings that married women are often quiet, defer to their husbands and express uncertainty through body language. But she has noticed more husbands wanting to make sure their wives understand the couple’s finances. “Men have realized they’re not going to live forever,” she says. At every client meeting, AEPG uses a web-based financial planning tool to review documents and show cash-flow models.
Bowyer received much support from AEPG when she proposed starting a women’s division to provide additional education. AEPG Women—open to female clients and non-clients of all ages, backgrounds and marital statuses—published its first quarterly newsletter at the end of 2015 and planned to hold its first event in late April.
“I wanted something that was inclusive of all women,” says Bowyer, including corporate executives, business owners and professionals. She sees AEPG Women as an extension of the divorce division AEPG launched in 2014 after acquiring Freedom Divorce Advisors (which is open to men and women).
In addition to holding meetings a couple of times a year, AEPG Women will provide articles, videos and podcasts to accommodate a variety of learning styles, says Bowyer. From debt and aging parents, to estate planning and insurance, “the topics can go on and on,” she says. “I want to get around all the jargon and get all the jargon decoded.”
Educating clients comes naturally for Bowyer, a former economist who taught economics in the U.K. before coming to the U.S. in 2008 and earning her CFP credentials. An instructor of yoga and barre (ballet-inspired fitness), she is also eager to help clients find a way to marry their lifestyles with their financial planning. “I call it financial serenity, financial peace of mind, financial fitness,” she says.
Bowyer recently helped a married client in her 50s pin down her excessive spending and develop a spending plan—something the client had never done although she handles her household finances. “She’s great; she is one of my favorite clients, but she was completely out of control,” says Bowyer. The couple has also traded in their huge line of credit on their house for a mortgage.
Werba Rubin Wealth Management, which manages approximately $325 million in assets for just over 300 clients, is looking to hire a female wealth manager because it’s been working more with female clients, says Aaron Rubin, a senior wealth manager with the San Jose, Calif.-based RIA firm. A handful of husbands died in recent months and the firm is working closer with their surviving spouses. It has also been in contact more with wives, especially among younger couples.
“I think women are the future of this industry,” says Rubin. “The demographics are what they are.”
Whether women prefer to work with male or female advisors, the important thing, says Bowyer, is finding the right fit. “Trust is a big part of this business,” she says. “We don’t make the decision for the clients, but we give them options.”
Harezlak agrees. “You are ultimately the one in charge of your financial security,” she tells clients. “It is not your husband, not your grown children, not your attorney, accountant or investment manager.”