Advisers should work to engage women before they come to major life transitions, FT Adviser’s annual conference heard.
A panel at FT Adviser's Financial Advice Forum discussed how to empower women through life’s transitions, including career breaks or divorce.
Sarah Roughsedge, founder of Eva Wealth Management for Women, said in an ideal world women’s journeys with advisers should begin before major life transitions.
She said: “When these life transitions are happening - when a woman is stepping away from work or going through a divorce - The journey should start sooner rather than later.
"We should be empowering women to know it is not a foreign prospect to reach out to an adviser.”
She said women can generally take longer to make a decision on whether to go ahead with a financial adviser and firms should be aware of this and consider ways they can make women “feel heard”.
Fellow panellist Gosia Dawson, founder and IFA at Glade Financial, said when dealing with straight couples they should consider the possibility that woman could be the first to inherit wealth in a family after the death of a partner.
“Not involving women in conversations means if they inherit the wealth you are very close to losing that client before you even get on to intergenerational wealth,” she said.
“If the woman does not feel valued you risk losing the client.”
While Anna Sofat, chair of One Loud Voice for Women, said the industry needs to adapt to deal with women.
She said: “Much of the industry was designed for men because for decades and centuries men dealt with money.
“That has changed and the industry needs to adapt.”
Sofat added there should be a push to engage with younger women
She said: “Simplified advice and consumer duty offer a real opportunity. You want to secure your next generation, offering a simple advice service and building up from there [could achieve this].
“There are a lot of people in their 20s who pay for a gym membership so why shouldn’t they be paying for financial advice or coaching.”
The Financial Advice Forum took place on Tuesday (September 24) in central London.
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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