At some point in their lives, nine out of 10 women will be solely responsible for their finances. This presents financial advisors with both an opportunity and a challenge, according to new insights Fidelity Investments reported Thursday from its 2012 Fidelity Millionaire Outlook Study.
The study identified key differences between male and female sole decision makers that make it imperative for financial advisors to involve both spouses in all planning.
Some $2 trillion are in motion each year because of divorce or death of a spouse, Meg Kelleher, executive vice president at Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, said in a statement. "The reality is that your married clients could become single clients.
"Involving both spouses in planning gives both partners the skills to manage financially through a transition and can help protect your client relationships."
The study found that one of the largest disconnects between genders was their approach to financial planning. Among those who work with financial advisors, women were nearly twice as likely as men to be interested in holistic financial guidance and planning to meet a specific lifestyle or goal.
Men, on the other hand, were focused on investment return, and were nearly twice as likely to say they were interested in achieving the greatest return on investment.
Of course, this does not mean that women are not interested in returns, only that they balance investment performance with broader considerations, Kelleher pointed out in a telephone interview with AdvisorOne.
The study also found that women were more conservative in their investment approach than men, with certificates of deposit/money market accounts/cash equivalents, individual domestic bonds and domestic bond mutual funds among their top five investments added in the last year.
