“I do think some firms have women advisors there to help them build their women clientele,” says Housden, who adds that a large percentage of her clients are women executives who tend to refer younger female executives. She also works with many widows whose husbands hired her originally.
“I’d like to think that a woman investor would at least give the woman advisor a shot,” Housden says. “Even if she ultimately decided against her. I look at this statistic and say we absolutely need more women advisors so that it’s as normal to hire a woman as a man. As women investors outlive men, there will be such a large need for women advisors, who sometimes can be more compassionate.”
Avoiding preconceived notions about what any client wants before interviewing her or him is a mistake that can easily be seen as condescending, says Erika Safran, the founder of Safran Wealth Advisors in New York City.
“Women don’t want women advisors. Women don’t want men advisors. Women want competent advisors who invest the time to understand them as clients and work in a collaborative way without ‘mansplaining’ or ‘teaching’ or condescending their way to power,” Safran says.
“It is natural to assume that women understand each other better, but it is narrow to assume that just because there are two women that you are a good fit for a professional relationship,” she says.
Rob Greenman is a partner and lead advisor at Vista Capital Partners in Portland, Ore., which manages $1.6 billion for clients. He says working with women in an engaging way will become ever more important during an ongoing generational shift in which women are generating an increasing amount of wealth—and making the decisions about it.
“We’ve found that it’s important to go into the prospective client process without any preconceived ideas about what the individual or couple may or may not desire,” he says. “We are at our best when we ask thoughtful questions and actively listen to prospective clients.
“Perhaps an all-woman team is preferred, or maybe credentials are more important. Or similar age. Who are we to say what is important to each person?” Greenman says.
“This is why it’s a huge advantage to operate as an ensemble practice where the business development team can ask the right questions during initial contact with the prospect to place them with the right advisors.” Half of the advisors at Vista are women because they were the most qualified advisors to hire, he adds.
At the end of the day, according to Cait M. Howerton, a financial coach at SmartPath in Atlanta and the Financial Planning Association’s 2019 FPA Diversity Scholar: “No two women are alike, no two men are alike, and no two nonbinary individuals are alike. I think it’s incredibly important that instead of perpetuating gender norms and societal expectations of gendered behavior, gender expression and client gender fit—we should take a step back and instead see people as individuals with unique personalities, skill sets, needs and desires.”