Female certified financial planners (CFPs) are more likely than their male counterparts to provide comprehensive financial, retirement and estate planning, are more confident with clients and happier in their jobs, according to a new study commissioned by the CFP Board.

On average, women CFPs provide comprehensive financial plans to 34% of clients, while male CFP professionals deliver such plans to 23% of clients, according to the survey of 400 CFPs.

Women are also more likely to give retirement and estate planning advice than male CFPs (80% vs. 73%), the survey found.
 
Firms “that hope to retain baby boomer client assets in motion and attract millennial women must have a plan to attract, develop, and retain female advisors,” the study said. The authors added that a recent study by Merrill Lynch indicated that "female clients feel more comfortable making financial decisions and talking about finances with female advisors.”

Female CFP professionals are also “as likely as their male colleagues to generate the majority of practice revenue (68%) from fee-based investment management. This investment management style indicates that they are primarily working with clients as fiduciaries, acting in the best interests of their clients,” the study said.

Female CFPs are also more satisfied with their careers (53%) compared with males (42%) and much more satisfied than female advisors who don’t have the CFP certification, the study found.

“These findings make a compelling business case for increasing the number of women in the financial planning profession,” CFP Board Chief Executive Kevin Keller said in statement. “The study confirms that financial planning is rewarding career opportunity and that CFP designation is a must-have designation for women."

The findings are also fuel for the CFP Board’s push to recruit more women to the CFP designation. The group hired its first diversity and inclusion director from NASCAR in April. Currently, about 80% of the profession is male.

The survey found women CFP professionals were more likely to be very satisfied with the following aspects of their practices:

• Confidence with clients (65% versus 51% for male CFPs).
• Client trust (74% versus 53%).
• Approach to financial planning (49% versus 34%).
• Revenue growth (24% versus 13%).