Nuances Related to Women Investors
on Jul 01, 2011
Last Thursday, I attended the Private Asset Management breakfast here in New York. The events are always a treasure-trove of insights and topics related to the challenges facing family offices and trust managers.
The breakfast conveyed a panel to discuss women investors. The eloquent panelists rattled off numerous data points, statistics, and anecdotes. Of all that, two points still stick with me a week later.
- In their experiences, women are more apt to learn in groups. The panelists all relayed stories about how women preferred meeting in person and when possible, meeting in groups of women with similar issues and needs. There was a desire to understand the relevant topics and terms. Group settings were somewhere between sufficient and preferred.
- Women wanted their heirs to be more knowledgeable than they were in their own youth. The panelists relayed the difficulties of preparing presentations and discussions for the heirs, often in their 20s – uninterested in long-term planning, and hoping for the best (i.e., no parental deaths in the near-future, optimistic views on dividing the estate, etc.).
Neither point is Earth shattering, but valuable considerations when developing value-added programs, pitch books, and Sales strategies.