Women want more financial advice……from women

There is a lot of research on the reasons why women don’t seek financial advice. The reasons include:

• The gender pay gap means women are less likely to have funds available for investing (46% of women in the UK have no financial investments at all)
• Married women have relied on their partner to deal with financial investment
• Access to financial advice can be less accessible and more intimidating for women             

But the picture is now changing. More women are taking control of their own finances and as the gender pay gap closes they now do have the opportunity to make their own financial investments.

Recent research shows that women believe they would benefit from more financial advice, particularly from other women who have financial expertise. Yet the numbers of female financial advisors are still very small compared to their male counterparts.

There are however organisations that are trying to change that.  The Government’s Women in Finance Charter, first launched in 2016, is one notable attempt to build a more balanced and fair industry. The Charter reflects the Government’s aspiration to see gender balance at all levels across financial services firms and particularly in senior jobs.

There are private organisations too such as Openwork. Chief Executive, Mark Duckworth says “The financial services industry needs to do more to promote gender equality. Over the next few years Openwork will strive to increase the numbers of female advisers across our network, with financial advice offering excellent career prospects.”

These are welcome developments in an industry that needs to change in order to reflect the marketplace.

Lisa Davies, senior financial consultant at RobMac understands and sees the benefit of being a woman in a predominantly male environment. “Women often find it much easier to talk to another women about their financial position. I think there is often more empathy which allows for a greater sharing of information and their particular personal circumstances.”

“I know that my experience and expertise is just the same no matter who I’m giving financial advice to, but I believe women get more peace of mind from the experience.”

“RobMac has always had a high percentage of clients who are women. In fact its nearly 50%, which we believe benefits the business as a whole as so we’re delighted to part of this changing marketplace.”

If you would like to discuss your financial position with Lisa Davies please click on the following link to arrange an appointment.