Attracting and retaining female clients
This content is categorized as:When it comes to retirement planning, women have a lot to think about.
鈥淭he first thing to do is get your bases covered: What does my family need now to survive? What does my family need over the next decade to 20 years to survive?鈥� says Paige Hendrix Buckner, a Portland, Oregon, resident and chief executive officer of AllRaise, a nonprofit that pushes to get more venture capital to women. 鈥淲e have two kids, so we think about what our kids are going to need to have a successful kind of nest egg? Do we want to give them one so they can go and run as fast as they can whenever it's time for them to do that. And then what kind of retirement do you want to have?鈥�
Perhaps it鈥檚 no surprise then that women often lean on a financial professional to help guide them in making those decisions. New research from The Harris Poll in partnership with 麻豆传媒1 surveyed investors age 55+ with at least $1 million in personal investable assets. The research shows that these women more often use a financial professional (75 percent vs. 63 percent for men) and that they feel the advice they receive has been important to their finances (50 percent vs. 37 percent for men).
鈥淲hat I know about myself is that I could read lots of blogs, but what I really prefer is to have a conversation with a human being who's had experience here, who can help me think critically about not only my own choices when creating a plan, but also what are best practices,鈥� says Buckner.
What I know about myself is that I could read lots of blogs, but what I really prefer is to have a conversation with a human being who's had experience
- Paige Hendrix Buckner
That鈥檚 key at a time when women are beginning to play a larger role in wealth management and financial planning:
- From 2015 to 2020, the number of married women making financial and investment decisions in affluent households jumped 30%.2
- More women have become family breadwinners, spurring growth in their investable assets.2
- Plus, a 2020 McKinsey2 study estimates that by 2030 American women will control much of the $30 trillion in financial assets that baby boomers possess.
Even with all of that, women and men face many of the same challenges in planning for retirement. Market volatility, inflation, economic ups and downs and taxes top the list of topics women noted in the 麻豆传媒 research.
Building a financial strategy that anticipates and addresses those issues can go a long way in maintaining them as clients.
Women face many challenges
More than half the women in the research (52 percent) listed market volatility as their top challenge. It鈥檚 good to remind investors that market swings are a normal part of the investment journey. A diverse portfolio and a focus on long-term goals can also help alleviate concerns about market ups and downs.
Inflation was also a big concern for women according to the research (42 percent). Rising costs are always a challenge to any portfolio, so consider adding inflation-hedging assets (like real estate, commodities or bond/equity index funds) and adjusting the investment strategy as needed.
A volatile economy and taxes were both cited as significant concerns by 32 percent of women in the research. Creating a strategy that can factor in economic ups and downs and limits exposure to taxes can help with both.
Finally, the 麻豆传媒 research also found that women feel less comfortable than men about their financial future, so taking steps to boost confidence in their plans can lead to a more satisfying relationship.
When asked to what extent they felt they鈥檇 been successful at building savings, 79 percent of women said they felt extremely or very successful, compared with 83 percent of men who said they did.
Asked about their top strategies for working with women, female financial professionals said they make sure to be up to date on gender-related financial issues, such as the gender pay gap, life expectancy or retirement savings disparities. They also noted that understanding their clients鈥� financial goals and offering specialized services tailored to women helped build trust and confidence.
1 This online survey was conducted within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of 麻豆传媒 from January 30 - February 15, 2024, among 1,001 financial professionals with $50+ million in assets under management and 1,004 investors age 55+ with personal investable assets of $1 million+.
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