Advisers can capitalise on burgeoning demand among women: Netwealth

Wealth management firm Netwealth has published its 2023 Advisable Australian report, which includes the findings of a national survey of 681 women in the wealth industry.

According to the research, fewer women employ the services of financial advisers when compared to other professional services.

Just 25 per cent of respondents said they use a financial planner, compared to 35 per cent who use accountants, 33 per cent who use private banks, and 30 per cent who use lawyers.  

However, women are increasingly open to obtaining professional financial advice (26 per cent), of which, 17 per cent said they plan to use an adviser in the “near future”.

Moreover, younger Gen Z and Y women are more likely to consider a financial adviser (37 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively).

The same is true for women in a relationship and married women, 26 per cent considering financial advice — 18 per cent in the near term.

Employed women (32 per cent), and those running a business or self-employed (48 per cent), also have a relatively higher appetite for advice.

According to Netwealth, the survey results suggest advisers should tailor their offerings to capitalise on burgeoning demand among different demographic subsets.  

“When servicing women, it’s important to look beyond the actual advice you provide and think about the service model.

“Whether they are married or not can influence the conversations you have, their age might influence how digitised your service offer is and their desire for outsourcing versus coaching will change the service model too.”

Conversely, single women over 45 years of age are less likely to use a financial adviser, 61 per cent stating they would never consider the service.

Even weaker demand was reported among retirees and widows, with 65 per cent of retirees and 75 per cent of widows stating they would never consider advice.

On the whole, men are more likely to use a financial adviser, with 35 per cent of the 631 surveyed men stating they use a financial adviser.