With funds under management growing faster among females than males, financial planners need to attract more female clients now even if they have been reluctant to work with them in the past.
Such was the opinion of managing director, insurance at ANZ Global Wealth, Alexis George, who told the Association of Financial Advisers Conference in Cairns that with managed funds alone growing three times faster among women than men, it presented an opportunity for financial advisers to get different clients coming through their doors.
But George highlighted the importance of referrals for female clients, pointing out that female clients tended to talk to friends and family first before talking to a professional adviser.
The way to attain those referrals is for financial planners to give women the opportunity to talk through their concerns, she said.
“I think they just engage differently and financial planners typically haven’t recognised that,” George said.
“Typically it’s still a male dominated industry. We all know that you tend to go to people that look like you, talk like you, act like you. I just think financial planners have been very financial oriented without answering the questions, and understanding what women worry about because women worry more than men.”
George also echoed suggestions made by others that there should be a lifetime contribution cap to superannuation instead of annual contribution caps to offer women the flexibility to contribute to their super at their convenience, taking into consideration career breaks to accommodate career responsibilities.
She also suggested joint superannuation accounts, similar to joint bank accounts to address the gap in superannuation balances between men and women.
