Advisors Take Note: High Net Worth Women Seek More Collaboration in Financial Matters

What do high net worth women want? Performance. From their investments, that is (what did you think we meant?)

In a survey of 500 women between the ages of 30 and 70 years-old with household investable assets of at least $1.3 million conducted by Schwab Advisor Services, 58 percent said that “continuous, good investment performance” was most important to them, followed by having a long-term financial plan (39 percent).

This is not to say that these high net worth women are not looking at the big picture. The survey found that more than eight-in10 want their advisors to consider their long-term financial needs and their whole financial situation. Seventy percent want their advisor to consider their “current life stage,” while 35 percent want them to also focus on their children’s financial needs. Forty percent want advisors to take into consideration their immediate need for return on investments.

“Women, like any serious long-term investor, want advise that is intended for their specific financial situation, long-term plans for their desired lifestyle, and accountability in terms of investment performance against goals,” observed Bernie Clark, executive vice president and head of Schwab Advisor Services, in a statement.

A Millionaire Corner study of wealthy women founds that millionaire and high net worth women consider themselves more conservative or moderate in their risk tolerance than men. For example, 21 percent of high net worth men said they were aggressive in their investment strategies compared with 15 percent of women.

Investment performance was also a priority for nearly all high net worth women surveyed, but what was most important was transparency and being kept in the loop.

In the Schwab study, nearly all (93 percent) of these high net worth women consider themselves the primary or shared decision maker for household finances, including budgeting and paying bills and 84 percent for investments. Sixty-eight percent of respondents both single and married—believe that couples should should handle financial matters equally, Likewise, respondents also want a collaborative relationship with their advisors, with 88 percent wanting to have a say in how their advisor invests their money.

High net worth women also value face-to-face communications with their advisors. Eighty-four percent consider in-person meetings important for establishing trust. Seventy-eight percent want in-person meetings for the initial interview, while 60 percent want to meet with their advisor to discuss financial planning.

The survey also finds that married high net worth women share most houshd financial decisions with their spouses or partners, including retirement planning (7 percent), heath/medical (64 percent), investments (62 percent), home maintenance (56 percent), household budgeting (56 percent), and children’s education (51 percent).

A majority (82 percent) have a joint or shared checking account, while 75 percent have their own retirement account, 59 percent their own credit cards, and 49 percent their own investment account.