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I was recently shopping for booking on personal finance and notice there seems to be a niche targeting personal finance for women. I also noticed that a number of local financial advisors specialize in helping females. I browsed the books at the bookstore and the sites of the advisors, but I didn't really see anything that indicated how women's needs differ from men's.

What are typical ways in which women face different financial challenges from men?

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Less so today, but there was a time that women played a smaller role in the household finances, letting the husband manage the family money. Women often found themselves in a frightening situation when the husband died. Still, despite those who protest to the contrary, men and women tend to think differently, how they problem solve, how they view risk. An advisor who understands these differences and listens to the client of either sex, will better serve them.

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  • Same advice, different way of presenting it?
    – MrChrister
    May 12, 2011 at 6:05
  • Part of it is that, I agree. Part is that women's investing styles tend to be a bit different. On average, more conservative. I only have empirical data to support this, I can't cite an article just yet. "If I offer you a coin flip game, but instead of even money, you get $3x for a win, but lose just the $1x would you like to play, and if so, how much money per bet, and how much total would you bring?" The answers for men vs woman clearly cluster by sex.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    May 12, 2011 at 12:52
  • I am this close to deleting my answer, if you cite any kind of source I am out. =)
    – MrChrister
    May 12, 2011 at 13:28
  • LOL - The issue is this is out of my area of focus, most of my answers would have a citation or I'd be happy to find one. This is one whose supporting data would likely be considered anecdotal anyway. But - If I happen across such an article, I'll remember to come back here. BTW - try the 'bet' game on 5 men/5 women, see the responses.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    May 12, 2011 at 13:45
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It is just marketing and market segmentation. We could all shop at WalMart, but some people prefer wider aisles and mood music so they shop at Macys. Other people are fine shopping at Target or online.

Women face no different challenges. The challenges in investing depend on who you are, where you are in life and what your goals are. I think it is fine to target a certain demographic over another, but they are just trying to make a niche.

I prefer to not think about worst case scenarios, and I view all financial advisors with a healthy skepticism, regardless of gender.

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