Where advisors can fill the gaps for women clients

By Staff | March 5, 2018 | Last updated on March 5, 2018
2 min read

Many of your clients likely struggle with finances, but women, in particular, might be having a hard time.

A survey commissioned by Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) finds that 86% of Canadian women struggle with at least one issue when it comes to finances, including:

  • knowing “very little” about finance and investment (38%); and
  • depending on a partner or someone else to make ends meet financially (28%).

Read: 25% of Canadian retirees live with debt: survey

(An Angus Reid Institute poll of both men and women indicated that women’s relative lack of confidence when it comes to financial terms might be “a product of overconfidence on the part of men—a tendency that has been shown in some academic research.”)

The FPSC survey also finds that more than half of women polled (56%) don’t have written financial plans. That figure jumps to 60% of those aged 45-54. And 42% of women polled don’t know their credit scores.

Here are other survey highlights:

  • Single women are significantly more likely than their married counterparts to admit they know very little about issues related to finance and investment (47% versus 35% of married women).
  • Nearly four in 10 women (38%) feel uncomfortable negotiating a better interest rate.
  • 34% have more debt (outside of real estate) than savings.
  • 19% don’t keep track of spending.

For more details, see the full survey.

About the survey: A Leger poll, conducted between Feb. 12 and Feb. 15, 2018, asked 1,000 Canadian women about the struggles they face when it comes to feeling financially empowered. The margin of error is +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Also read:

4 in 10 Canadians have made withdrawals from RRSPs: survey

Poll reveals how advisors can help anxious investors

What you may (or may not) know about your female clients

Advisor.ca staff

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.