Advisers patronizing, dismissive of women clients: Survey

Women control about 27% of the world’s wealth — roughly $20 trillion — but many feel that their advisers patronize them. What’s more, many contend that they don’t get the same “square deal” as men.
More than half of the women recently surveyed by The Boston Consulting Group said that wealth managers could do a better job of meeting their needs. For advisers, it’s important to do so, BCG posited, because women will become more important as clients only as their pay and career opportunities continue to improve.
Currently, “many wealth managers either overlook women as a discrete and important group or else use superficial strategies to reach them,” BCG said in its report. “In fact, some of the most common approaches are worse than ineffective — they can alienate the very clients they’re meant to attract, particularly if they revolve around “women-labeled” products, pitches, or promotions that come across as patronizing or contrived.”
One wealthy woman in North America who was interviewed for the study had this comment: “Aside from not taking women seriously in general, [wealth managers] should be focusing on generating the best returns for the client, regardless of gender. I don’t need a tea party.”
To appeal to women more effectively, advisers need to pull off a tough balancing act: They need to offer a tailored and empathetic approach without coming across as condescending.
For example, instead of assuming that all women have a low risk tolerance, or are more interested than men in socially conscious investments, advisers should consider a woman’s investment needs as if she were a man, while being sensitive to women-specific issues such as childbirth, divorce, etc., BCG said.
Over the next five years, women’s share of total wealth is expected to grow at an average rate of 8% annually. Though North America and Europe are currently the wealthiest areas, emerging markets will become more important in future years. As well, more women will be considered high-net-worth clients, those with at least $1 million in investible assets, BCG said.
The BCG survey took into account 500 responses from women with at least $250,000 in bankable assets, as well as interviews with about 70 wealthy women worldwide.