If you are a male adviser, this one thing will KILL your relationship with female clients.

Women are (slightly) better investors than men, and save more, yet are frequently having financial matters explained to them like they are utterly unaware.

It is estimated that 60% of the wealth in the UK will be held and controlled by women by the end of this year, a figure likely to be of keen interest to financial advisers who may soon see them as clients, if not already.

Yet how the still largely male-dominated world of advisers talk to women about money will be key to how successful these professional relationships go.

Guys, if this gets your back up, don’t get angry with me!  I am sharing real life experiences from women, so it’s up to you what you do with the information.

In a recent survey by Moneyfarm of 2,000 women, as many as 59% say they are frequently ’mansplained’ to about financial matters.

A further 62% have been interrupted and talked over by a male, who assumed they wouldn’t have an understanding of a personal finance issue.

Yet more women (57%) make regular savings than their male counterparts (46%).  

And in fact, separate research by Interactive Investor found female customers tend to slightly outperform. It’s a small difference, but still worth noting.  

Over the five years that ii has collated its index, female customers returned an average of 25.05%, compared to male customers who also enjoyed strong performance, returning 25.03%.

We can also see this in the pensions arena.

ii recently launched the ii SIPP Index which looks at how men and women invest their SIPPs, both in drawdown and in accumulation.  It found while male customers under 55 slightly outperformed female customers, female customers over 55 slightly outperformed men the same age.

The prevailing message is; women are great investors and more than hold their own.

Yet in the Moneyfarm research half (48%) of women say they have been belittled by a man when giving their opinion on finance and investments.

Another common issue, reported by more than half (54%) of the women asked, is being made to feel like they are only interested in spending money on non-essential, frivolous items.

A third of women (30%) say they have been lectured on ‘how investing works’, and 29% have had the opposite sex explain inflation.

The same amount (29%) said they have even had a conversation with a man giving them tips on how to save more effectively and 27 % said that a man had informed them how best to invest their earnings.

One in four (26%) women have also been told how to budget by a man, while 24% have had the workings of their pension and mortgage (20%) explained to them in detail.

How share prices work (19%), how credit scores work (18%) and retirement planning (15%), have also been ‘mansplained’ to women up and down the country.

Carina Chambers, financial expert at Moneyfarm who commissioned the research, said: “It is deeply concerning that women continue to face the ingrained assumption that they lack the same levels of competence in financial matters as men.  

“And we clearly see from our research that when this happens, it can unnecessarily undermine their confidence.

“When women are ‘mansplained’ to about money, it implies their knowledge and opinions are less valid, which is patronising and damaging.  

“These outdated notions must be challenged, and an environment fostered where women’s voices are respected, valued, and where they feel comfortable asking questions in all financial discussions.”  

Hopefully, these experiences are not the result of men deciding to actively patronise women, and it would be interesting to see what men’s experiences are by comparison.  Either way, they are real experiences and reflect how women feel. The ability to understand perspective and perception is something of a superpower and well worth exploring so no clients ever feel they can’t open up to you.

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