Women, self-made wealth key demographics for advisors

High-net-worth clients are increasingly women and self-made, highlighting key changes for advisors looking to better service that market

High-net-worth clients are increasingly women and self-made, highlighting key changes for advisors looking to better service that market.

“The trends in philanthropy are that wealth used to be inherited,” says Jo-Anne Ryan, vice president of philanthropic advisory services at TD Waterhouse, and the executive director of the Private Giving Foundation. “Today, two-thirds of Canadians are self-made – and that group gives more to charity than those who inherit wealth.”

That generosity divide speaks to the small and large changes advisors servicing that segment of the investor market need to be aware of to better meet their needs.

There are other key demographic realities to contend with.

A TD report conducted this year reveals that women are gaining in wealth, which can be attributed to the average woman’s lifespan being longer than a man’s but also their continued assent up the corporate ladder.

And that same research shows that 75 per cent of women change investment advisors within one year of a spouse’s death, according to Jennifer Reynolds, president and CEO at Women in Capital Markets.

“That, coupled with the fact that women control close to 40 per cent of investable assets in Canada, indicates that change is required in the industry,” Reynolds told the Globe and Mail.

“Women are taking on a much bigger – and very important – role in philanthropy,” says Ryan, adding that it is incumbent on advisors to begin building those relationships now to ensure that they maintain that trusted advisor role.

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