Women Of Different Generations Have Different Attitudes About Money

La Gro says this is "a big concern" when allocating money for long-term care, should the need arise.

"For pennies on the dollar, long-term care insurance protection is a lot cheaper than what the cost is going to be," he says. Women have "earned less and are probably living on less so we need to have a protection tool to keep them from being a Medicaid victim."

La Gro often finds that an older woman will leave the workforce to tend to her ailing spouse. When the spouse dies, the caregiver is left with no one to care for her, he says.

This scenario opens up the discussion to "how dually important a long-term care conversation can be," he says. "Marketing those facts to women really does open up a lot of interest.

"I would be sure there are enough assets in conservative vehicles, equity index annuities, even using annuities to fund LTC" he says. "A lump sum grows at a conservative return and provides more than enough each year that could go toward premium for LTC, and theres still enough growth to leave a nest egg that you can never deplete that can be left to a beneficiary."

Unlike Noren-Iacovino, La Gros experience with women clients is that they do tend to be more emotional regarding finances than men, perhaps because his clients are the products of a different generation who might not have had as much control over their own finances as do baby boomers or wealthy women.

"And thats not a slight against women," he says. "I think theyre more mature in what the future holds, theyre more concerned about it."

James Cotto, managing director, Cotto and Padovani Financial Strategies Group of First Union Securities, Mt. Kisco, N.Y., works with high-net worth clients and business owners, a number of whom are divorced or widowed women over 50.

Their highest priority is usually consolidating their finances, he says.

Their concerns revolve around whether they are borrowing correctly on their mortgage, whether they should take a home equity loan to consolidate debt, whether theyve saved enough to retire well and whether they will be able financially to help their children, he says.

"My women clients are astute investors, theyre well read," Cotto says.

Although Cotto does find his women clients to be more conservative than his male clients, he does not find them more emotional when it comes to their finances.

"Their priority is to maintain the lifestyle they have and not take unnecessary risks and make sure theres a remainder for their heirs," he says. "Theyre very business-like about it."

The main difference Cotto finds between working with women and men clients is that men business owners tend to know their business so well, they assume they understand the financial services business just as well and consequently can be somewhat difficult to work with.

While equally adept at handling their business, Cottos women clients tend not to project their business acumen onto his line of work.

"Women like to have a sounding board, they like advice," he says. "They really seek out information."

Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, April 22, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.