It’s a tough economic environment and that means shrinking revenues for all manner of financial advisers as well as the rest of us. Searching for new clients is increasingly difficult.
By now it’s well-documented through academic studies that women as a buying group have the majority of the clout and that they control the majority of financial assets in this country. They are also known within the financial services industry to be largely inexperienced and, to some with predatory instincts, this makes them a highly desirable target. More so, it’s understood that women especially in divorce are highly vulnerable, impressionable, and since significant dollars are changing ownership, they can be ripe for the picking.
Over the last few years I’ve witnessed an alarming number of advisers who are claiming to be “specialists” in this category. I’ve even received phone calls from some financial professionals who brazenly tell me they want to “get in on that market because that’s where the dollars are … can I give them tips from my 26 years of experience pioneering in that field?”
If your adviser – whether a financial planner, money manager or divorce financial strategist – is claiming to be a specialist in women’s financial issues, it’s time to ask them some hard questions about the nature of their ‘specialized’ knowledge.
How long have they been specializing in women’s money issues? What is different about their approach with women? What specialty training have they had related to women & money? Can they give you specifics from any of the benchmark academic studies and state specifically how they have adapted their services to address those findings? If they’re advising you on divorce matters, are they ultimately hoping to manage your portfolio post-divorce?
Think about it. In vetting for authenticity, don’t be afraid to constantly test them. All too often, I have seen women – whether current clients or among the thousands I have spoken with on these issues – who have endured catastrophic and appalling abuses simply because they did not feel entitled to qualify beyond the stated credential and self-proclaimed specialization of the financial professional. In all things financial, it’s imperative to find your financial voice and use it. Given the high likelihood that you may only have one chance to do so, you want that chance to become an experience without regrets. Remember; It’s Your Money – Own It!
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