Sister, am I speaking your language?…
Working in the Financial Services industry, where only approximately 30% of Financial Advisors are women, I’m often reminded of the popular book “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” first published in 1992. As in any relationship, clear communication in this environment is very important. I’ve noted in other articles that your Financial Advisor should be your partner and be someone you trust, so make no mistakes – we’re talking about a relationship.
Therefore, I ask you, Ladies… Is your Financial Advisor speaking your language? Are you a partner in the process or are you sitting on the sideline? Does your Financial Advisor understand where you are coming from, your experiences? Know your family? Know what’s important to you outside of the material things? Care about you and your loved ones as a whole? Have your best interest at heart?
While everyone has the same end goal of wanting to assure enough money when it comes to retirement, there can be other factors that should be taken into consideration. A big one for women is life expectancy. According to CDC statistics women outlive men by an average of more than five years. Additionally, many women take time away from work when caring for children in their younger years, and then again later to take care of aging parents essentially reducing their contribution potential towards retirement.
Consider another potential factor. What if your partner left tomorrow? Suddenly finding yourself in the position of being widowed or divorced changes everything. Do you know what money you have? Do you know how to access it? Who’s going to help you with this? What if you are suddenly incapacitated?
Maybe you’re a career woman or you’ve made the choice to remain single. You still need to take life expectancy into consideration when planning for your retirement. You may also need to evaluate what you leave behind, and how you do that to assure it’s done according to your wishes. Do you have a Domestic Partner, a charity, or extended family you want to provide for?
No matter what the situation and the events that unfold in life, women will experience them differently than men, and it’s important that your financial partner understands your experience and can relate to you. Many women seek out female medical care providers because they feel a female physician or nurse practitioner can better understand their issues. The information they share is highly personal and they want to be comfortable with the person they are sharing it with. Your financial information is no less personal and deserves the same level of attention and confidentiality from your financial advisor. And you – You are important in your own right. You are more than somebody’s mother, somebody’s wife, somebody’s daughter. You may be all of those things, but you are also much more and should surround yourself with people who see your value (no pun intended), and people who will lift you up.
So, if you’re looking for someone to assist you in evaluating your situation and help determine a financial path that is uniquely yours, I’d love for you to give me a call.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus05.pdf#027 table 27
If you have questions or comments about this article, you may contact Melody Lowe at mlowe@vsrfin.com
Securities offered through Sigma Financial Corporation. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Sigma Planning Corporation, a Registered Investment Advisor. Financial Partners, Inc. is an independent of SFC &SPC.