Costs and trust deterring females from financial advice

Fidelity research has found cost is the main barrier deterring women from seeking financial advice, while 43 per cent are worried about finding someone they can trust.

The Next Generation research from Fidelity found just 16 per cent of women said they have seen a financial adviser, compared to 22 per cent of men, and more than 50 per cent of women said they don’t seek advice because they are concerned about the cost. 

The researchers surveyed more than 1,000 Australian consumers aged 18 to 59 years old to understand their evolving financial needs and behaviours.

Additionally, women are more concerned about the fees and charges on investments (61 per cent) compared to men (55 per cent).

“The impact of this discrepancy is real, particularly in the current economic environment,” said Lauren Jackson, head of wholesale sales, Australia, Fidelity International.

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“Cost-of-living pressures are being felt very keenly by women, with three-quarters of women saying they have reduced spending on non-essentials compared to 60 per cent of men. This could create another barrier to their willingness to invest.”

The research revealed that although women may not seek financial advice as readily as men, they are increasingly aware of the importance of managing their financial wellbeing and taking steps to take control of their finances. 

However, it also found they have less confidence in their financial knowledge and greater concerns about their financial future than men.

It found that women are notably less likely to believe they will achieve their long-term financial goals, with 13 per cent of women feeling confident about this compared to 22 per cent of men. 

It also found that just 18 per cent of women are very confident in their ability to manage their day-to-day finances as well as their big picture finances, compared to 28 per cent of men.

Additionally, it noted there is a significant gap in the confidence men have in their ability to evaluate investment opportunities compared to women (72 per cent of men are confident or very confident, compared to 48 per cent of women).

“Women recognise how important it is to be financially aware and to manage their financial situation. We are seeing people becoming more vocal about addressing issues such as longevity, and how women can contribute more to their superannuation. This is positive progress,” Jackson said.

“However, what we should tackle next is the gap in the confidence and faith that women have about their own ability to manage their financial situation when compared to men, as this will have a knock-on effect on the decisions that women make about investments and managing money.”

Furthermore, the research found that when it comes to strategies to help them achieve their financial goals, almost one-in-four women (24 per cent) said they have never invested at all, compared to 10 per cent of men.

They are also less likely to invest in shares or bonds (22 per cent compared to 31 per cent of men) or to consolidate debt (15 per cent compared to 24 per cent), and are also less likely to consider diversification in their investments, with 18 per cent saying they don’t consider adequate diversification at all, compared to 4 per cent of men.

Women are also worried about finding someone they can trust (43 per cent compared to 34 per cent of men), or who can speak to their level of understanding (women: 25 per cent; men: 19 per cent).

Interestingly, women are less likely to turn to social media “finfluencers” for advice, with just over one-quarter of women (28 per cent) saying they use finfluencers as a source of information about finances compared to over one-third (36 per cent) of men.

Instead, women are more likely to turn to financial news websites and publications (34 per cent), and friends and family (33 per cent). Men also rank financial news websites highly (40 per cent), but their second choice is investment apps (36 per cent).

“Our report highlighted the increasing interest among younger generations in seeking financial advice, with one in two Gen Z respondents finding financial advice appealing or very appealing. This is a positive sign for the future as we hope to see this trend help drive more females towards advice, thus increasing their confidence in making investment decisions,” Jackson said.