Women and Wealth

Better serve your female clients as a financial services professional

In Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empowering Clients and Unlocking Their Fortune, award-winning author and certified financial planner Cary Carbonaro delivers a practical and insightful guide for financial services professionals who want to better serve their female clients.

The author explains the unique needs of women clients, the unique psychology driving their financial decisions, and their reasonable demands for personalized client care. She also offers actionable strategies, research-backed approaches, and real-world examples and case studies you can use to better serve women who reach out for personal finance and wealth management advice.

Inside the book:

• Why “bro-culture” is killing the financial services industry and ignores the fastest growing demographic on every professional's client list
• Why women leave their financial advisors and what you can do to improve female client retention
• Avoiding the “widows and divorcees” stereotypes of female clients and understanding the psychology of female breadwinners

A unique and powerful roadmap for financial services professionals seeking to better understand and serve women, Women and Wealth is a must-read for financial advisors and planners, insurance agents, bank and credit union representatives, and accountants everywhere.

Dedication v

Dear Readers 1

Chapter 1 My Story 5

Chapter 2 What Is the Trillion Dollar Opportunity? 31

Chapter 3 What the Industry Is Doing Wrong 49

Chapter 4 Where Are the Women Advisors? 65

Chapter 5 History of Women and Money 75

Chapter 6 History of Female Breadwinners 101

Chapter 7 Understanding the Female Psyche 121

Chapter 8 Unconscious Bias 141

Chapter 9 Fear and Bag Lady Fear 163

Chapter 10 Bro Culture and Lawsuits 177

Chapter 11 Why Women Leave Their Advisors 187

Chapter 12 Ignored to Invested: How to Attract and Keep Women As Clients 199

Chapter 13 Widows and Divorcees Are Not the Only Female Clients 209

Chapter 14 Types of Female Clients, Part II 223

Chapter 15 Women’s Health Equals Women’s Wealth 241

Chapter 16 Women and Philanthropy 249

Chapter 17 Getting to Know Your Clients with Behavioral Finance 263

Chapter 18 Effective Communication with Female Clients 277

Chapter 19 Building Deeper Connections and Trust Through Social Media 291

Chapter 20 How I Charge Clients 303

Chapter 21 Case Studies and What Women Need in Financial Services 313

Chapter 22 Storytelling and Selling Help 339

Chapter 23 Making the Industry Female-friendly 349

Resources 359

Acknowledgements 367

Author Bio 369

Takeaways 371

Index 375

CARY CARBONARO, CFP^®, MBA, is the author of the award-winning The Money Queen’s Guide, an expert in women’s finance, a certified financial planner, and is widely recognized as one of the top voices in financial literacy. Her life’s work is to help women achieve financial freedom and make the financial services industry more female-friendly.

The “typical client” in the financial services industry is changing. A clientele once dominated by middle-aged and elderly men is now increasingly represented by women of various ages, female breadwinners who control large amounts of wealth. Despite this, many financial services professionals have failed to adapt to the changing landscape, leaving women behind or inadequately recognizing their unique perspectives and relationships with money, wealth, and investing.

In Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune, celebrated investing expert Cary Carbonaro delivers a powerful and one-of-a-kind discussion of the continuing financial empowerment of women and how financial professionals can better serve their female clients. The book includes actionable strategies, research-backed approaches, and real-world examples and case studies to shed light on the unique wants, needs, and capabilities of women who reach out for personal finance and wealth management advice.

Carbonaro explores the psychology behind women’s financial decisions and offers valuable tools for effective client engagement. She provides tailored strategies for attracting and retaining female clients, helping financial services providers adapt to the rapidly changing client demographics of the industry.

Through engaging stories and relatable examples, Women and Wealth makes complex financial concepts easily accessible to readers who work within and outside of the financial services industry.

Perfect for financial advisors, financial planners, insurance agents, bank representatives, credit union professionals, and CPAs, Women and Wealth is also a must-read for anyone in financial services who is interested in better serving women clients or learning about the unique relationships between women and money.

Praise for WOMEN and WEALTH

“The historical norms of financial firms, regarding who our client is, no longer apply. Women and Wealth will help the successful evolution of human advice in wealth management. Cary Carbonaro has been a leader who empowered positive change in the perception of women clients.”
—HAIG ARIYAN, CEO, Arax Investment Partners, Chairman, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth

“Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune is a timely guide that addresses one of the most critical opportunities in financial planning today: empowering women to take control of their financial futures. Cary Carbonaro’s thoughtful insights and practical strategies will inspire both financial advisors and clients to approach financial planning with confidence, clarity and purpose.”
—KEVIN R. KELLER, CAE, CEO, CFP Board

“Cary Carbonaro’s new book, Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune, provides a template to help women and their financial advisors forge a healthier and sustainable financial future.”
—MARY BETH FRANKLIN, National Social Security Expert and Creator of the PBS TV show, Social Security & You with Mary Beth Franklin

“Thought leader Cary Carbonaro lays it out: our industry must adapt to serve women. With historical narratives and copious supporting data, Women and Wealth not only defines the problem with wealth management but also provides comprehensive and methodical solutions. As promised, it is a detailed playbook for success. The future of wealth is female.”
—BLAIR duQUESNAY, Lead Advisor, The Preserve, Ritholtz Wealth Management