The changing face of wealth - women!

It was wonderful to be back on BNN last week with Larry Berman on Berman's call.  I was in Toronto speaking at CIBC's Wealth Management, National Business Conference about the Top 10 Practical Tips for Engaging & Attracting More Female Clients.

Here's a link to the segment: 

http://vimeo.com/user11741535/review/107052260/7c357ae789

A recent Globe and Mail article from August revealed some of the following statistics about women and investing:

• $2.6 trillion in financial wealth will be controlled by women retirees by 2022
• 90% of Canadian women will have complete control of finances at some point
• A widowed baby boomer is expected to outlive her spouse by an average of 16 years
• 70% of women change financial advisers within a year of their partner’s death

Others have been doing work in this area too: Emery University did a study using fMRI that revealed that when making financial decisions women secrete more stress hormones than men. Women and men are simply different, from their brains to their emotions to why and how they relate to investment decisions. When a woman is stressed, she releases oxytocin – the “tend and befriend” hormone. A man releases adrenaline when stressed – activating his “fight or flight” response.

Russ Allen Prince, president of R.A. Prince & Associates, Inc., is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities on the private wealth industry. A prolific writer, he’s penned more than forty books including, Profitable Brilliance and The Family Office. He is a founder and the Executive Director of Private Wealth magazine and writes the Serious Money column in Forbes. His study of affluent women found that just over 41% are “afraid” when they make financial decisions.

In my last book A Canadian’s Guide to Money-Smart Living I had some specific advice for families so that both spouses are on the “same page” when it comes to investment goals.

1. Six step conversation:
2. What are our goals
3. Needs and wants list
4. Where are we now
5. How are we going to get there
6. Any changes
7. Action plan

Download Kelley’s award (EIFLE) winning book ($3.99) on the CPA Canada website

I'm honoured to have been named as a member of the National Steering Committee on Financial Literacy and will be moderating a session for the National Conference on Financial Literacy in Vancouver early November.  I will also be speaking about avoiding financial fraud (Vancouver, Edmonton) during Larry Berman's upcoming Canada-wide educational speaking tour.

Hear Larry Berman and members of his investment committee speak live. Register for Larry’s fall speaking tour here