What It Means to Serve Women Clients

Women investors aren’t a monolith, but there are meaningful ways advisors can cater to them.

That’s because women stand to inherit trillions of dollars over the next two decades with about $54 trillion getting passed down to widowed spouses, the vast majority of whom are women, according to Cerulli. Yet four in five widowed women will leave their advisor within a year of their husband’s death, and nearly half have reported feeling patronized by them. But by training both men and women on how to discuss everything from divorce to inheritance, firms can improve retention across the board, said Jillian Berry, senior director of RFG Advisory’s StrongHer Money program.

“As advisors are taking that training, they really can implement it into their practice,” Berry said during a panel session at the Future Proof conference in Huntington Beach, California. “Through that, they’ve gained resources, both for themselves, for their toolkits, sales enablement, marketing… and also for their clients.”

Gripping the Purse Strings

Because women are brought up to be “savers” rather than investors, they still invest 40% less than men, despite consistently earning higher returns, according to Ranie Verby, director of practice management at Plancorp. Even though many women handle the day-to-day, and experience decision making fatigue as a result, long-term investing often goes untaught.

“I was not socialized to invest as a child,” she said. “Anybody 50 and up, your husband did the finances… These things are changing rapidly in front of our eyes, but you have to be empathetic to the person across the table from you.” The opportunity is there for all advisors, however, because women don’t have a preference for male or female advisors, according to Berry. Women are also 2.5x more likely to refer when served well, she added. The most important things to consider when winning over women, per the panelists, are:

• Women’s financial decisions often occur alongside caregiving, divorce, entrepreneurship or widowhood.
• Women often make decisions communally and may internalize financial setbacks as letting down their community.
• Before a prospective client hops on Zoom, she’s already checked your LinkedIn, said Lacy Garcia, CEO of Willow. Advisors should ensure their online profiles reflect their values, trustworthiness, and relevance to women’s experiences.

Not A Monolith. It’s important to remember that women aren’t a homogenous population. Not every woman has gone through a divorce — or was ever married to begin with — and many are primary breadwinners. “Not everybody’s a mom. Not everybody has five children that they’re running around after,” Verby said. “Everyone wants different things, so it’s all about the connection you’re building.”