Pru Finds Few Women Act On Good Financial Intentions

By Kimberly Parent

June 17, 2006 at 12:37 AM

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Financial services companies should do more to get women to prepare for the future.

Speakers delivered that message here earlier this week at a seminar organized by Prudential Financial Inc., Newark, N.J.

Prudential also unveiled the results of a recent survey of 1,007 U.S. women that focused on their financial knowledge, financial behaviors and confidence in attaining their financial goals.

Prudential has been conducting the survey every other year.

Although 53% of the women surveyed in 2004 said they intended to save and invest more money over the next 23 months, only 11% actually did so this year, Prudential executives said.

Along the same lines, although 41% of the women surveyed said they intended to meet with a financial advisor, only 24% actually did so.

The top financial priority for almost half of the women polled was "to pay off a loan or credit card debts," said Vivian Banta, vice chairman of Prudential's insurance division.

But speakers said other survey results suggest that lack of specific knowledge about financial products also may be contributing to women's failure to act on good financial intentions: almost 50% of the women surveyed said they did not understand individual stocks and bonds, long term care insurance, estate plans, trusts, wills, mutual funds or annuities very well or at all.

"Because I don't know what to do, I don't take action," Banta said. "Because I don't take action, I don't know what to do."

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