Our latest poll has produced what some may consider to be a surprising result. Advisers say that married females or females in long term relationships are more likely to be the primary decision maker when it comes to finances and financial advice. As we go to print, female partners or ‘mutual decisions’ are the most popular responses to our question:
When delivering advice to couples, who, in your experience, is usually the primary financial decision maker?
To date, 39% of advisers say the answer is female partners, while an equal percentage say that financial decision making is shared. Males lag behind, with only one in five advisers (22%) indicating that the male partner is the primary fiancial decision maker for couples.
Does this result surprise you? Or do you think it’s about right? One adviser has commented:
I find it generally is the females who are making many of the financial decisions, and the men are tagging along like lost puppies
“I find it generally is the females who are making many of the financial decisions, and the men are tagging along like lost puppies. I believe it’s the men who really need to step up and take some ownership of their finances.”
While we are keen to hear your views on this question, one of the possibilities is that we are asking the wrong question. Should we instead be asking the same question about the primary decision maker, but base it on who is the major income earner instead of differentiating by gender? Or is the answer as to who is the primary financial decision maker ultimately based on which partner is mostly responsible for paying the bills and maintaining bank account balances and household budgets?
This poll was originally inspired by last week’s announcement of the finalists in the 2012 AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award. The Award reflects outstanding leadership from female advisers and highlights the need for more female advisers in the financial services sector, as well as the challenge of delivering financial advice to more female consumers.
But as we said, is it a simple question of gender, or is the answer about who is the primary financial decision maker in couples more involved? Give us your views. Tell us what you think…
It becomes very obvious who makes the decisions by listening to the questions. I often find the ladies listen to the discussion and then ask the most probing questions. Any adviser that ignores them will do so at their own peril. Ladies are generally more conservative than men and often require a lot more reassurance before they accept your advice.
Once you gain their trust they are often the most loyal clients. Men tend to have more financial knowledge than the ladies and this sometimes leads to the assumption that they make the decisions. Ladies often rely on their intuition and my wife tells me if she likes someone or know and from past experience I have found her intuition to be spot on. According whilst I may have been swayed by the presentation if she does not agree we do not proceed. It is all very subtle.
I always ask questions directly to the ladies to understand their concerns and ensure they are addressed.
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