Traditionally, it has only been the men who have been the recipient of financial advisory, the paradigm is now clearly shifting to include women in the financial and investment decision making. Women have taken great strides towards the goal of empowerment, setting out of their homes and chalking out a career for themselves. Males are no longer the only earnings members of a household as an increasing number of women are joining the workforce and earning. Women are now emerging as interested, committed, and knowledgeable investors.
Women live longer than men, generally tend to be more conservative and seldom have a straight line career graph. Consequently, the way they are advised on managing their wealth should be differentiated and tailored to their unique requirements. Today, women represent a meaningful investor segment. Financial advisors should recognise this opportunity and implement solutions that can ably meet the nuanced needs of female investors. To successfully capture the burgeoning investment needs of this segment, advisors should focus on the following:
Education: Women are very interested in understanding their investments before making the investment decision. They want to know about the available investment products and prefer to understand the need to invest in a particular instrument. This makes education a critical service offering. Women want to learn from their advisors and place a premium on such partnerships. Financial advisors should recognise this service opportunity.
Personalised investor experience: Most women want to feel valued by their advisor. This can be critical in building trust and forms the bedrock of an enduring relationship with the advisor. Value-add conversations can increase a woman’s confidence and comfort with the advisor and influence her investment decision making process. Financial advisors should invest their time and resources in fostering such relationships.
Catering to unique investment preferences: According to research, women, unlike men, tend to be more interested in investing and/or are motivated to invest in companies that they believe deliver meaning or purpose. Typically, they view investments more personally and consequently, have a greater attachment to where they choose to invest their money. They tend to gravitate towards companies with diversity in leadership and are more inclined to use their investments as an opportunity to make a positive impact on society. Financial advisors should recognize and respect these preferences as they try to serve female investors.
There is a large proportion of working women who do not invest their money or are unable to make optimal investment decisions. While prevailing cultural norms and lack of financial education are the main factors perpetuating this apathy towards investing, an absence of customised advice is exacerbating this issue. Financial advisors should be aware of the nuanced needs of female investors and create solutions specifically to serve them.
