I’d like to share a few thoughts with you that I think are important and shape my way of thinking about my work with women . . .
The Financial Advice Industry Was Created By Men For Men
This is slowly changing for the better as women are increasingly in leadership positions in Wall Street firms and elsewhere in the financial services ecosystem. But despite the progress being made by these women, I think you’d have to agree that Wall Street, investing and money matters are still very much a man’s world.
I’m sure you’ve seen ad campaigns in the last couple of years touting how a big brokerage firm is going to dedicate some of its resources to better serve women. Yet, other than a few images of women or softer color palettes on a website or in an email newsletter, it’s the same jargon-filled communication that is has been typical of financial advisors for decades.
But why isn’t anyone asking women what they want and how we can best meet their needs around money AND the other parts of their lives.
I’m asking those questions. And more importantly, I’m listening to the answers.
This Ain’t A Dress Rehearsal
I believe we all get one shot at life and it’s our responsibility to live it on purpose and make it the best we can.
But I’m sure you can think of women, just like I can, who are living their lives and managing their finances like they have some kind of “reset” button ready and waiting for them to push so they can back up and start over fresh. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, I’ve seen women who are so fearful of the future, that they’re sacrificing their lifestyle today to make sure they’re ready for whatever life throws at them tomorrow, or next week, or next year.
I would like to offer a more practical approach.
If we can agree – and I hope we can – that life isn’t a dress rehearsal, I believe that the solution to living a great life involves striking a thoughtful balance between being prepared for an uncertain future while not sacrificing your lifestyle today. While you can’t afford to live and spend like there’s no tomorrow, I’m not suggesting you should embrace a life of frugality, either. Instead, you need to take a thorough inventory of your values, needs, wants and dreams and have a reliable process for regularly evaluating all the things that are important in your life while maintaining your unique and very personal balance between a great life today and a confident and comfortable future.
Wealthcare for Women is the process I use to support you in this effort.
Risk & Sacrifice
If you talk to most financial advisors or listen to the media, you’re consistently led to believe that you can’t save fast enough. And if you’re uncomfortable with the risk and volatility of your investments, you just need to be patient and hold on for the “long term.”
But as I began to share in the section above, life is no dress rehearsal. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice buying and doing the things that are important to you as long as you’re not mortgaging your future financial security to do so. One shot at life and all that, remember?
One of the most fulfilling parts of my work is having deep, exploratory conversations with women to find out what’s important to them. But it gets better. After we understand what’s important and we frame it in the context of what’s an “ideal” outcome as well as what’s an “acceptable” outcome, we can begin to bring a woman’s Wealthcare plan to life.
Once we have the essential ingredients including what’s important, what’s ideal, and what’s acceptable, I can then guide a woman through the different choices and decision points she has to take control of her finances. And this doesn’t require the twin terrors of traditional financial advice – risk & sacrifice.
You want to retire sooner? We can make that happen. You might have to save more, or increase your investment risk, or make other concessions in other areas, but if retiring sooner is important enough to you, we can make it happen. This isn’t a prescription for out-of-context risk and sacrifice; this is a financial master plan for achieving what’s most important to you today and tomorrow.
On the other hand, let’s say you want to save less today so you can spend more of your time and money doing the things you love with your family and friends. In order to do that, you might have to work a year or two past your ideal retirement age or increase your investment risk, or both. Or what if you’re losing sleep over the investment risk in your retirement account? Well, we’d want to look at lowering the risk even if it means you’ll have to work a year or two longer or save more money or make other modifications to other areas of your plan.
The bottom line is that the Wealthcare For Women process always gives you choices and it’s my job to help you understand your choices and the trade-offs among them. Our conversations are about your life and not just about your money.
I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a better solution than simply telling you to “be patient” and think “long term.”
These are a couple of foundational beliefs I have about my work with women. If you have any questions or would like to share any of your own beliefs, I invite you to do so in the comments section below.
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This information does not constitute a personal recommendation or take into account the particular investment objectives, financial situations or needs of individual clients. Examples and concepts used in this presentation are for illustrative, educational purposes and are not a representation or guarantee of specific results for any one specific existing client of Wealthcare Capital Management, Inc. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. To better understand the nature and scope of the advisory services and business practices of Wealthcare Capital Management, Inc. please review our SEC Form ADV Part 2A, which is available here.
