LEVATUS Women and Wealth | Reflections on Wealth, Values and the Female Advisor
The headline has a note of surprise, people (not just women) want female financial advisors
A recent article in the WSJ, “Clients Want to Work with Female Advisors and Firms Are Taking Notice” spoke to the uptick in demand for female financial advisors. The headline had a note of surprise, people (not just women) want female financial advisors! That note of surprise was surprising to the female financial advisors on our team.
Why are clients increasingly asking for female financial advisors?
The article points to a desire for diversity as the main reason clients are speaking up and asking for female advisors. This certainly could be part of it. Lots of research demonstrates that diverse teams consistently make better decisions than teams that have no diversity*. But could there be more? Could there be something specific to the way women think about problem solving and priorities?
We have had so many couples tell us about experiences with advisors where the whole conversation is directed toward the male side of the room, leaving both husband and wife feeling dissatisfied. The woman feels left out, with her voice not being heard. The man feels that his partner has been robbed of the sense of control she would need if suddenly the financial piece of their life fell to her. This creates deep anxiety and frustration.
Jean Chatzky’s book, “Women with Money”, speaks to the anxieties women feel about money. These lopsided conversations only feed these anxieties. Could some of the uptick in demand for female financial advisors be related to the natural listening skills and empathy female financial advisors bring to the table?
Listening to clients on this topic and a myriad of others became the catalyst for the most significant change in my professional life. I observed that while portfolio results were important, the impact of these results on clients was distinctly different. I began to think about what drove the differences in joy and satisfaction, which led to thinking about the subjects clients emphasized in conversation. I began to wonder about the question we were trying to solve for. I began to wonder if we were solving for the right problem, the most important priorities.
I happened to be reading the “Undoing Project” by Michael Lewis at the time. The book tells the story of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, authors, psychologists and winners of the Nobel Prize in economics. It explores how we feel and why we feel. It left me convinced that the wealth management industry was missing a big piece of the fundamental needs of its clients. It was missing priorities that went way beyond the money. There wasn’t enough in the financial calculus that addressed joy and a sense of well-being. This time in my life was one in which questioning the question took on new meaning. The money matters but more meaningful satisfaction needed to be addressed. The approach needed to be expanded. I was asked to do a TEDx talk on the concept. The initial title was “What About Joy?”. The final title was “Can Happy Make You Money?”.
So back to the beginning, why are people increasingly asking for female financial advisors? My professional journey has left me firmly convinced there are reasons beyond the goal of simply seeking more diversity. Does it have something to do with a desire to expand solutions and priorities? Does it have something to do with the meaningful questions that grow out of money and wealth? What about purpose? What about control? What about joy?
*Harvard Business Review, “Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter”, November 2016
Women and Wealth
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