Advisor explains an educational approach that can help women in acute moments of challenge
Almost every question that clients ask advisors boils down to a deeper core question: ‘am I going to be okay?’ While that core question cuts across so many different clients, so many different moments, and so many different sets of circumstances, the phrasing, the sources of worry, and the paths to delivering an answer are unique to every client. Candice Jay sees a unique set of questions and concerns around that core issue from a client cohort that she insists cannot be ignored, because they represent half the population.
Jay is a Wealth Advisor and Associate Advising Representative at Connor Clark & Lunn Private Capital. She outlined some of the questions she’s hearing from women now as well as how the nature and frequency of those questions are changing as a large cohort of women go through key life events like divorce or widowhood. Jay emphasized education as the core of her approach, placing a high degree of focus on the kind of education that makes people know and feel that they’ll be alright.
“The ‘am I going to be okay?’ never goes away, and it shouldn’t go away because that is the power of having the answers, of getting a plan done, understanding your situation since most people’s life situations are constantly changing,” Jay says. “Once they get clarification in their situation and finances, we see a huge relief. I can see the relaxation happen when their financial position is presented clearly to them and they understand they will be okay. They can enjoy their life and really just focus on things that are important to them.”
Jay notes that a lot of the conversations she’s having with women in her network now revolve around life transitions. She notes that issues like divorce, widowhood, or a period of poor health can all serve to prompt some deep and existential questions from women. Those questions can come at more routine times, too, like during tax season.
Jay notes the example of a recently widowed client who had never filed taxes before, suddenly overwhelmed by the process. The complexity involved can be a challenge, one that Jay seeks to simplify. She sees these clients’ appetite for education and willingness to learn, but notes that a sudden change in circumstance can make those mundane financial tasks deeply concerning.
The educational approach Jay takes is tailored to each of her clients, and she notes that the topics covered are typically the same between women and men. She observes, though, that many women express less confidence in their knowledge. That lack of confidence only adds impetus to her educational work. Jay sees how knowledge can empower her clients and how the right amount of knowledge can make many of the women she serves into quick and effective decision-makers.
That knowledge can then be applied to the many challenges these women face in their lives. Jay emphasizes the day to day challenge of budgeting, of understanding spending, and of feeling the pressure to contribute more to savings. She notes that many of her clients constantly feel like they don’t have enough, whether that’s enough for their daily needs, enough for their retirement, or enough for the future generations of their families.
Many of these clients are also inheriting large sums that they might not have known about. Parents are leaving them with significant assets, and often those older generations didn’t talk as clearly about money. The amount could be unexpected, the intention behind it may be unclear. There may be unexpected instructions, like charitable donation, or there may simply be the existential worries that can come with the sudden arrival of a large chunk of assets.
Education continues to be Jay’s watchword in these scenarios, but she notes that education can’t just mean a single lesson in tax efficient charitable donation. Education has to speak to that core question of ‘am I going to be okay?’ and it has to be repeated and re-tested to make sure that the client understands the answer on a fundamental level. Modelling tools like the Monte Carlo simulation can be helpful, especially when they’re paired with a fundamental understanding that money is emotional for everybody. But making someone feel they’ll be okay once doesn’t mean an advisor can hang up their skates. Regular, repeated reassurance is a core part of the educational process.
That education can help women become more resilient, especially in the acute moments where finances feel the most challenging. Those could be early stages, like managing debt from education or a home purchase, or when someone starts a family. It could be when they buy a home, lose a loved one, face the prospect of a divorce, or receive an inheritance. In all those moments Jay will approach the women she serves with empathy, addressing specific concerns with the right kind of information at the right time.
The wider financial services industry, Jay says, has improved in the way it serves women, but there’s always room to keep improving. She notes that many women want to be served by other women, but few public centralized resources exist that can point them to the people they might resonate with. Jay is mindful to invite the women in the family relationships to attend and participate in the financial review meetings, make it interesting and engaging for every member that attends and they will continue to attend the meetings.
Firms can also help support advisors in the steady, methodical educational work required to serve clients of all genders, supporting them with the right kind of information that could help advisors better connect with specific client cohorts. Jay emphasizes her own firm’s work in supporting service for women clients, through backend resources and work completed by a group called ‘the achievers,’ which recently conducted a research project on women in the industry, how they succeed, and the benefits they’ve brought to the industry’s overall offering. Improving service to women, Jay says, stems from the culture at a firm and the right culture demands improved and customized service for each type of client.
“It does start with the culture inside a firm. And so I would say our culture definitely is extremely supportive of women clients, men clients, any type of client, but it’s clients first,” Jay says. “That’s the centralized way of how we think. Clients first, long-term relationships. That means you’re not rushing to get the next client in the door, you have a long-term mindset to genuinely help every client. We’re in it for the long haul. We want to be there for their generational family. It’s not just about one client. It’s about their kids and their grandkids and the legacy they want to leave behind.”
