"People have heard the message of, 'You've got to save for retirement,'" Lazarus says. "But a pretty common theme is that it's not all about retirement. There is a lot of intentionality of how they want to be using their money now, but it's not all about the future."

Part of that shift, she believes, may be due to Generation X's expectation that they will be working beyond age 65. Lazarus often finds herself in the role of career coach, discussing with younger clients whether they enjoy their work. If they don't, she recommends that they seek something more fulfilling.

"That's a very different discussion," she says, "than you'd have with someone who is 58, and coming in to see if they can retire at 62, as they've always planned. In that situation, the discussion becomes: Are the numbers going to work?"

Advisors are also seeing changes when it comes to the role of women as investors. Many women find themselves managing their own or their families' money, since they tend to outlive their husbands or they may have gone through a divorce (though overall divorce rates in the U.S. have been dropping).

Gulati's client base includes both older and younger women. He finds that older women are educating themselves about ways to generate current income, keep expenses down and leave an inheritance for their heirs. Working-age women, meanwhile, are frequently tasked with care for elderly parents, as well as their own children. With female clients, Gulati says it's often necessary to take a different approach from the ones that have traditionally worked with men.

"The biggest thing is: Women want to know they can trust their advisor," he says. "They want to know: Do you understand me? What my fears are, what my concerns are, what I need to get done? And can you help me do that?"

In Albuquerque, N.M., Lee Munson, chief investment officer at Portfolio LLC, shares the view that advisors should focus more on the women's market. "Depending on what study you use, we now see 51% or more of the wealth in America controlled in some way, shape or form by women," Munson says. "This should come as no surprise, not only because women live longer than men, but they've also been coming up in the corporate ranks, albeit slowly. And when people get divorced, women get a chunk of money every time that happens, in most cases."

Munson says it's important to reconsider how advisors will connect with these women. "We've had a graying of this profession," he says. "Registered investment advisors, stockbrokers, people in the investment services industry. More than half are in their 50s or 60s or older. Stereotypically, it's accurate to say they are old, white men. In the past, their clients were other white guys. Now, more and more women are seeking financial advice, and find they are meeting up with their ex-husband's former stockbroker, who now calls himself an investment advisor-or a newly minted certified financial planner."

Munson's research has shown that many women are dissatisfied with the financial services options they are finding. One problem is that male advisors tend to be more interested in investing, and less attuned to developing comprehensive financial plans, which women are often looking for. To attract more female clients, he says, "The industry needs to stop basing client relationships on stock picks-should I buy Facebook or not-and base them on goals, objectives to be accomplished. It's difficult for a lot of men to learn how to talk to women about the financial landscape. Advisors have to admit there's a new facet they have to learn, and it's often challenging, but a lot of these guys don't want to do that."

The Hispanic market is another rapidly growing market that many advisors are not addressing. The Hispanic population in the U.S. is currently 52 million, according to U.S. Census data. That's 16.7% of the population. By 2050, it's predicted that Hispanics will constitute more than 30% of the U.S. population.