Female financial planners are more likely than men to spend additional time on client service, according to a US-based survey by the Financi...

Female financial planners are more likely than men to spend additional time on client service, according to a US-based survey by the Financial Planning Association and the asset manager OppenheimerFunds. The study also found that female advisors are more likely to have more high net worth clients than their male counterparts.

“Women are good at building and maintaining relationships - valuable qualities that help them excel as financial planners,” said Lauren Coulston, manager of advocacy programs at OppenheimerFunds.

The differences between male and female financial planners, according to the survey, are evident in the following categories: practice management, practice size, client demographics and business development.

Referrals from current clients and professional contacts are the most popular method of prospecting, and according to planners, the most effective.

Men are substantially more dependent on obtaining referrals from clients than women (77 per cent vs. 66 per cent). On the other hand, women are somewhat more dependent on obtaining referrals from professional contacts.

Women are substantially more optimistic about growing their practices from referrals. More than half (53 per cent) of women planners indicate that their practices will grow more than 50 per cent through referrals (33 per cent of men).

Interestingly, 81 per cent of planners believe they are more effective at managing their clients than managing money. Substantially more women planners believe they are more effective at managing clients than men (86 per cent vs. 75 per cent). In fact, women enjoy this aspect of the business more than men. More men believe they are most effective and enjoy the managing money aspect of the business, said the survey.

Female planners have a higher percentage of high net worth clients, and a younger client base with more so-called Generation X clients (14 per cent vs. 12 per cent for men).

Time management is one of the greatest challenges to most planners in managing their practice. While men are more challenged by complying with regulations and managing referral relationships with allied professionals, women are substantially (41 per cent vs. 28 per cent) more challenged by improving profitability.

“This does not mean that women planners are less successful, especially given that they have more high net worth clients than men,” said Ms Coulston. “But profitability is something that presents a challenge, so women spend more time focusing on it.”