Advisers are missing out on opportunities to provide more women with advice about their financial future, according to CoreData.
The research firm’s ‘Invisible Sex 2010’ report has found that women are more likely to seek financial advice from other people who are more experienced than them, or from family and friends.
But those ‘other people who are more experienced’ tend not to be financial advisers, because the report goes on to state:
- Women are more likely to have never used a financial adviser and are also less likely to have a dedicated adviser
CoreData senior analyst, Kristen Paech, said “The research shows that women do indeed seek guidance from others when making financial decisions, but are more likely to turn to people they know than to a professional adviser.”
There’s a big opportunity here [to] … tap into what is currently an underserviced segment of the market
“There’s a big opportunity here for the financial advice industry to demonstrate value to the female population and tap into what is currently an underserviced segment of the market,” said Ms Paech, adding that the benefits of doing this are twofold.
Firstly, many women have a strong influence on their male partners, and research reveals that these partners tend to have a greater level of financial control within the household.
Ms Paech says that if advisers can therefore find a way to reach out to women, they will also be reaching out to the key decision-makers within the family and hence boost their potential to grow their business.
The report findings confirm there is still a large gap between males and females when it comes to financial literacy. It found that:
- Men are almost three times more likely to have good financial literacy and confidence than women
- Men are twice as likely as women to have a high level of financial control
Ms Paech said “Australian women need a good injection of confidence – they need to start asking questions about the best ways to get the most out of their money and take charge of their finances.”
