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As a Gen X’er, I admit my bias and passion for highlighting the financial services industry’s knack for overlooking us in favor of baby boomers (our parents), millennials, some of whom are our siblings, and more recently Gen Z.
Admittedly, I’ve never held a marketing role at an asset manager or wirehouse-type firm so I really don’t know why these companies seemingly wantonly gloss over Gen X and don’t provide much, if any help, to advisors looking to work with those of born between 1965 and 1980. That’s a discussion for another day, but what’s relevant here and now is that the industry not catering to Gen X amounts to a gaffe of epic proportions for multiple reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it’s hurting Gen X women.
For advisors, there’s obvious value in focus on Gen X women. Those reasons include the point that is group of women were the first to attend college in large numbers and as such, they rose the corporate ladder and made more money, broadly speaking, than their boomer counterparts.
In many cases, Gen X women were the first to have the option of being stay-at-home moms or balancing work and motherhood. Likewise, and unfortunately at that, divorce rates are higher among this generation than baby boomers, confirming that Gen X women face a variety of circumstances that make relationships with financial advisors vital. Problem is, many of those women either don’t have those relationships or are not fulfilled by them.
Pay Attention to Gen X Women Now, Not Later
The time is now for advisors to improve relationships with female clients that are in Gen X and establish new connections to that effect.
“Meanwhile, they’re in the midst of their peak earning years and are resilient in their ambition to move ahead financially,” notes Brie Williams, head of practice management at State Street Global Advisors. “Fifty-nine percent of Gen X women say they fully take the lead in financial decisions. Yet they also report being especially underserved, with less than half saying they work with a financial advisor.”
It’s not hyperbole to say that Gen X women would benefit right now from the right advisor guiding them. A survey conducted by SSGA confirms. It addresses seven important issues, including women’s confidence in advisors, confidence in their ability to financially help a loved one should he or she become ill, confidence in retirement savings and percentages of those women currently working with advisors.
Across all seven categories, the percentages of Gen X women answering in the affirmative are well behind the percentages seen for baby boomer and millennial females. Advisors should do something about this and there are good reasons to.
“The 55% of Gen X women who do not currently work with an advisor present a clear and compelling growth opportunity,” adds Williams. “Research suggests wealth management firms that can attract, grow, and retain high-growth clients segments — including Gen X and millennial women — could see up to four times faster revenue growth.”
Building Confidence Among Gen X Women
It’s hard to build confidence with any client when they feel as though they’ve been ignored. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the state of affairs for many Gen X’ers – men and women.
Compounding the problem is that the industry at large isn’t compelling advisors to embrace Gen X, but advisors need to see the forest through the trees. After all, SSGA data confirm women working advisors are more confident about their financial outlooks than their self-directed counterparts.
“The bottom line is this: underadvised Gen X women investors present advisors with opportunity — the potential to grow their business while playing a vital role in helping to close the gender wealth gap. If you ask me, that sounds like a win-win for advisors and Gen X women investors alike,” concludes SSGA’s Williams.