The financial advice gender gap continues to grow with more female advisers needed if we are to begin to close it, according to national advice firm Continuum in a release the day before International Womens Day on 8 March.
One of the largest financial milestones for most Brits is retirement. But there is a looming gap between the genders when it comes to financial preparations for stepping down from the workforce.
Its research has found that women were more likely to have worries about their financial freedom in retirement, with just 40% of women confident in their retirement planning in comparison to 46% of men.
Men (34%) are twice as likely to have a personal pension than women (16%).
Whilst the gender pension gap can be partially attributed to differing working patterns, women are also less likely to take professional financial advice. Only 14% of women surveyed by Continuum had sought the services of a professional financial adviser when planning for retirement.
Research from Continuum also showed that women often look for different attributes when choosing a financial adviser.
Just 23% of women surveyed said they consider expertise and qualifications to be an important attribute for an adviser, in comparison to 30% of men. The most important attributes women were looking for from an adviser were trust and credibility (52%) and a personalised service (33%).
Sandy Pabial, chartered financial planner at Continuum, said: “Financial advisers may be skilled at helping their clients make the most of their money, but it is just as important to have the ability to help their clients open up about their dreams and fears. Without a client feeling able to truly open up about them, it is much harder to put a tailored financial plan in place.
“Psychology shows us that people are more likely to feel comfortable to open up with who they can identify with. Many women, especially at emotionally sensitive times such as divorce or bereavement, find it easier to bond with other women. Therefore, it stands to reason that if we really want to close the gender advice gap, we need to ensure more women are attracted to working in financial advice.
“Sadly we are still a long way from gender equality in financial services, here at Continuum we are very proud to say there is no gender pay gap for our people. We offer the same opportunity/support to provide all of our advisers in the business to build a future in financial services”
Continuum is proud to claim that it has no gender gap.
Martin Brown, managing partner at Continuum, added: “At Continuum we strongly believe that financial advice is for everyone, and to make this a reality it is vital for the financial advice industry to address the advice gap.
“To achieve this the advice industry not only needs to attract more talent, but this talent needs to be representative of the clients they seek to work with.”
The Continuum partnership sees a constant flow of high-quality female advisers looking to join the national IFA firm, often attracted by the flexible working, sense of business ownership, and strong growth of the brand.
