One of Betty-Anne Howard’s long-time clients wanted to promise some of her legacy to charity, but her husband disagreed. “We’re leaving it all to the kids,” he said. Ms. Howard, a Kingston-based financial planner, gently revisited the issue over several meetings. Finally, the client spoke up. “You do what you want with your money. I’m doing this with my money.”

For Ms. Howard, better serving all her clients, particularly women, has meant exploring what supports them best and questioning the past. “The financial industry was built by men, for men,” she says. “Let’s start getting curious about how we might do things differently, knowing that is the norm.” She’s one of many people in the industry who want change and to find better ways to help women of all ages.

The need is real. A report by IPC Private Wealth says that, by 2026, women will control half of all accumulated wealth in Canada. However, the same report says less than 50 per cent of women feel confident in the advice they get from advisers. Proof that women are not satisfied: 80 per cent of new widows leave their male financial advisers.

Advisor mix

“We just don’t have enough female advisers,” says Kelly Ho, a certified financial planner at DLD Financial Group in Vancouver. Just 15 per cent of advisers are women, but upping that number could help the industry gain more diverse views. Many female clients prefer being advised by a woman. “Everyone should have a choice,” says Ms. Ho. Since there’s no set path to becoming an advisor, most people learn about it and get recruited through word of mouth. “It’s a barrier to entry” for women, says Ms. Ho, with firms growing via their male-dominated networks.

Thinking old school

Ms. Howard thinks a barrier to change is unconscious bias. “No matter who we’re working with, we always have to check our assumptions. Many people are not aware of the assumptions they’re making based on traditional ways of looking at gender roles.” Not every man in a couple is the sole breadwinner or makes more money. “Even if that’s the case, it doesn’t mean that the female isn’t the key decision maker,” says Ms. Ho. It’s better to ask questions to find out the truth.

Ms. Howard says the basics matter: make eye contact and direct all information and questions to everyone in a meeting. If a woman – or anyone – says they don’t understand, or defers to their partner, take the time to explain.

Women’s approach

Women may share common ways of approaching money. Ms. Gooderham says women often want a lot of information. “If I don’t know everything, I won’t do it,” she says. “Women are very thoughtful in their decision making, and we want to know how it works.” Education has to be delivered without judgement — many advisers follow a “no stupid questions” policy.

Ms. Howard says her female clients look at money for what it can do, while men have specific monetary goals. With regards to charitable giving, her female clients want a relationship with the charity, compared to their name on a plaque.

Generational approach

Financial advisers are learning to better serve their Boomer clients, by bringing them into money conversations and supporting them during retirement and legacy planning, and coping after a grey divorce or a spouse’s death. However, younger women are more likely to already consider themselves the CEO of the household, says Ms. Ho. They have pressing concerns around balancing tight finances with long-term planning. Ms. Gooderham says many turn to social media and technology for money advice, which is not always reliable. “It boils down to education and understanding that time helps compound wealth, it’s not about abrupt, aggressive decisions or being extraordinarily risky,” she says.

Bigger shifts

Making women of all ages feel included and understood, fortunately, dovetails with the industry’s shift towards big-picture planning. Ma. Ho, for instance, gives new clients a subjective discovery questionnaire, to find out their values, goals, relationships and achievements. “We want to get to know people, it’s not a cookie- cutter approach.”

This takes more time, and leads to a more collaborative decision-making approach that departs from the prescriptive approach popular in the past. “Financial services has been about telling people what to do. Men can be good at that. Women are much better at co-creating,” says Ms. Howard. “We have to provide accessible information that’s practical and relevant so that then they can come up with their own answers. But it’s their plan, and they get to decide what’s going to work for them. It’s empowerment.”

DIANE PETERS –  THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED MARCH 24, 2025