Given the fact that women control nearly one-third of investable assets worldwide, it is not surprising that wealth managers seek to refine their strategies for capturing the high-net-worth women segment.
To help members better attract and serve this segment, The VIP Forum recently analyzed its HNW baby boomer survey data to understand the similarities and differences between HNW women and men.
What we learned in “Understanding the High-Net-Worth Women Segment” is that women and men are quite similar in terms of their overall financial outlook and the types of activities they engage in with their advisors. The differences are more pronounced when it comes to financial decision making, retirement expectations, depth of financial planning, and satisfaction with advisor.
The data behind these differences led us to six key insights for wealth managers seeking to capture the HNW women segment:
1. Involve women early in planning conversations to ensure that financial advice reflects the entire household’s goals, as heads of households are usually not sole decision makers.
2. Engage women in financial discussions and educational seminars to improve their financial acumen and satisfy their desire to learn, taking care not to talk down to or alienate women with “women-only” education events.
3. Address working women’s uncertainty about working part time in retirement with conversations and comprehensive financial plans that explain how to generate sufficient income in retirement.
4. Increase advisors’ expertise and confidence in pitching planning to female and male clients through advisor education and coaching programs.
5. Regularly reassess and respond to women’s individual financial objectives to continue achieving high client satisfaction levels.
6. Build on women’s engagement with and trust in their advisors to deepen the relationship with the entire family and generate referrals.