One Size Does Not Fit All - Talking To Women About Wealth Management

Women have known for years – one size does not fit all. Heck, one size doesn't even fit most.

So why are so many industries—including wealth management—still marketing to them as if it does? Only a third of U.S.-based women (29%) believe they are accurately represented in advertising. Meanwhile, nearly half of men (44%) think women are represented accurately.

Consider what would happen if we flipped the script. "Let's market to … MEN!" What would that look like? Camo and hunting gear? Golf courses? Buy stocks, get rich? German automotive marvels? Ridiculous? Exactly!

So, what's a firm to do? Especially considering that the landscape is changing rapidly and that by 2030, women are expected to own roughly two-thirds of the personal wealth in the US, and their share of global wealth is growing (at a rate of $5 trillion a year). Let's start with the basics.

Drop the assumptions and stereotypes.

Repeat after me: women are not a niche or homogenous group! Now louder for the people in back. Their financial needs, risk appetites, and investment goals are not all the same. Female investors have unique goals, economic circumstances, and investment priorities. It’s hard to believe that some marketing campaigns still rely on outdated stereotypes of female investors as risk- averse or less knowledgeable about finance.

Guess what? These stereotypes and assumptions lead to pretty negative consequences for advisors, even if well intended, because, well… remember what the road to hell is paved with? Women investors are far more likely to vote with their feet if their advisors fail to get the memo—a recent survey shows that 35% of women who experienced this type of stereotyping behavior simply switched advisors as a result.

Pay close attention to life stages and events.

Women's financial needs evolve and change over many different life stages, such as marriage, childbirth, divorce, caregiving, and retirement—and depending on the investor, they don't always follow the same order or timeline. For women that do marry, they are entering into marriage with their own assets and investing experience. And when a married woman becomes widowed, she is quite likely—70% likely, to be precise—to find a new advisor to help manage her investments. Wealth managers mustn't overlook the importance of meeting their individual clients where they are and truly understanding and addressing these complex stages and life events with personalized solutions and guidance.

Talk less. Listen more.

It was Malcom Forbes himself who said, ‘The art of conversation lies in listening.’ Like all clients, women want to be heard and understood, especially about their financial goals, especially since women tend to prioritize their financial goals over market performance – and those goals are unique to each individual investor.

In a world where one size doesn't fit all, it's time for the wealth management industry to recognize that women are not a monolith. As we navigate the shifting landscape of personal wealth and a seismic shift in who controls that wealth, advisors must drop outdated assumptions and stereotypes and pay attention to the diverse needs and goals of female investors. From life stages to individual priorities, personalized solutions and genuine listening are the keys to building lasting relationships and capitalizing on a tremendous opportunity in the process. .