Widows often poorly served by advisors
Most women regularly outlive their husbands, often by 15 years or more.
And, while recent widows are almost certainly more financially savvy than their mothers, many struggle with money issues following the death of a spouse.
“My dear husband recently passed away," a member of the Boomerater blog laments. "For 40 years he handled our finances and I’m lost without him.”
Let's hope she doesn't meet Gary Sorenson or another unnamed scam artist who has allegedly being defrauding elderly Winnipeggers for years.
Because they weren't included in discussions while their husbands were still alive, many widows soon find themselves in trouble -- although there are those who are equally quick to do something about it.
According to several studies conducted by insurance company Allianz Life, about 44 per cent of widows admit that losing a spouse has caused them to seek out financial guidance in a new way, and 70 per cent said that they seriously considered firing their advisors shortly after their husbands' deaths.
That’s because when dealing with older couples, advisors often fail to develop a relationship with the wife because they focus on the husband, who is usually the chief breadwinner, said Tracey Flaherty, head of retirement strategy at Boston-based Natixis Global Associates.
What’s worse, her firm recently completed a study showing that women were four times less likely than men to be contacted by their advisor during the recent market downturn.Tell us: Are the older women in your family being well served by their advisors?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Anne | Oct 9, 2021 10:00:26 AM
When I became a widow three years ago (at age 57) I was well-acquainted with paying bills and budgeting. What I was not prepared for was a sudden influx of money. The mortgage was paid off and my husband had life insurance. I sought investment advise from my bank, my insurers, and my financial advisor. They all wanted me to invest with them, of course, but the confusing, excessive, and contrasting information was overwhelming. In the end, I went with none of them and bought real estate instead.
Posted by: Dave Brown | Oct 9, 2021 7:27:55 PM
I'm sure there are many hard working advisors who are toiling in the best interests of the clients...however, there have never been a shortage of nefarious characters tirelessly endeavoring to separate honest victims from their cash.
Since the early years of financial product innovation of the late 17th and early 18th century with John Law creating the first asset bubble with the Mississippi Co. history underscores multiple examples.
Best defense is a healthy skepticism and "caveat emptor"...
Posted by: Nick Childs | Oct 14, 2021 3:37:34 AM
Many couples when involved in Retirement Planning discussions have quite different risk tolerances. While as a couple the wives will often allow their more aggressive and (seemingly) more risk tolerant husbands to invest in the markets, invariably their comment is that without him they would be investing in secure investments.
As widows it's invariably the case that these market based investments are made much more secure after his death.
Posted by: Marlene R | Oct 15, 2021 5:41:00 PM
Women's investment goals are different than men's to begin with -- read books like 'Prince Charming Isn't Coming' or 'Smart Women Finish Rich'. Women tend to be quite broad (no pun :)) with goals like: travel, charity work, etc - things that are HARD to attach $$ to. Men tend to be specific: boat, car, etc ----
I was widowed 7 years ago at 44 yrs old ~ 2 years ago I went looking for advisors that understood this difference. Moved all the long term investments to a 130+ year old Canadian company with a woman CEO, and a team that worked with me. I've done better in 2 years than I did the previous 5 years with a well-known banks investing vehicle that had the 'leave your money at the door and get the h3ll outta here' philosophy of planning.