Women embarrassed to seek advice
Most women tended to be financial advice industry avoiders as they lacked the confidence to see an adviser and feared they would be judged for their choices, the Association of Financial Advisers said.
Speaking at a panel discussion at Money Management's Women's Wealth breakfast event in Sydney, national president, Deborah Kent, told a panel discussion the financial services industry as a whole needed to empower women to feel confident enough to seek advice.
"The women that I see, first thing they always say is ‘I'm going to ask you a stupid question'. There is no stupid question," Kent said.
"They would have gone through a single situation where they've had a lot of fun and they're doing a lot of things with their lives.
"But all of a sudden they get to a point in their life and they say ‘I haven't got anything, I don't have a house, I don't have any savings'.
"This is a real problem but then if I go and sit in front of someone, I'm going to feel embarrassed. I'm going to feel like I haven't done the right thing. That they're going to judge me".
Since women often sought out female advisers, it is vital for the financial advice industry to encourage more women to enter the industry and give advice so women felt more confident to seek advice.
Kent also said the onus was on licensees and the industry to drive financial literacy and education towards women, and inform them that they did not have to be wealthy to seek advice.
"Bring trust back in advice because we've been smashed around a fair bit," she said.
AUTHOR
Malavika Santhebennur
Recommended for you
Despite the year almost at an end, advisers have been considerably active in licensee switching this week while the profession has reported a slight uptick in numbers.
AMP has agreed in principle to settle an advice and insurance class action that commenced in 2020 related to historic commission payment activity.
BT has kicked off its second annual Career Pathways Program in partnership with Striver, almost doubling its intake from the inaugural program last year.
Kaplan has launched a six-week intensive program to start in January, targeting advisers who are unlikely to meet the education deadline but intend to return to the profession once they do.
