Misalignment in women’s needs
The financial services industry is failing to meet the needs of women as there is a misalignment between women's needs, product offerings, and the manner women wish to be served, ING Direct believes.
According to the bank's "Women & Finance" report, 93 per cent of women are the main financial decision-maker or joint decision-maker in financial matters, 35 per cent the main decision maker or sole decision maker, and only one per cent deferred financial decision making completely to their male counterpart.
Speaking at the launch of report on Friday, ING Direct's executive director of customer delivery, Lisa Claes, said women play a key role in financial finances but their approach in seeking advice and investing differs to men and the industry needs to address this.
"There is evidence in the financial services industry of an increasing focus on women and supporting their financial needs, but I don't believe that the industry has got it right yet," she said.
"We don't need to divide the genders with a compartmentalised approach; instead there must be an integrated approach to product development, marketing and distribution that addresses female nuances seeking greater access to information, simple and straightforward communication and clear advice."
The report noted that women are set to be the main beneficiaries of a $2.4 trillion wealth transfer from baby boomers and Gen X in the next three decades.
Claes said the industry could better serve women by having diverse organisations that mimic the customer base, provide simple and intuitive digital tools to support women through the decision making process, and think about the circumstances unique to women such as career breaks for children, and the rising number of single women living alone.
"We are at the threshold of a time when women will be increasingly taking on more financial decision-making while assuming custodianship of a significant inheritance, supplemented by the vast wealth they have already earned, invested and amassed," Claes said.
"Those who bury their heads in the sand and continue their business as usual basis will miss out on the biggest intergeneration transfer of wealth in history."
Claes will be speaking at Money Management and Super Review's Women's Wealth Breakfast on September 10 which seeks to address what the financial services industry can do to combat these issues women face.
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