“More than half of respondents said that male clients were more financially knowledgeable than women; just 9 percent said the reverse was true. Asked which age group had the best money sense, 6 percent said it was those 30 to 40, while 76 percent said it was those 40 and older.”
^ found out last night while watching Pawn Stars (the Phillies were getting shelled) that barbers used to be barbers/dentists/doctors. Perhaps the next time I’m at Great Clips I should ask the one semi-attractive stylist for hernia test as well.
I worked for a summer between high school and college selling balance transfers for a credit card company. I was blown away by the number of men who said that their wives handled their finances. I think it’s much more common than you would think. For all the women buying overpriced handbags, there are also men indulging in random hobbies they care about (e.g. M&A’in on the buyside).
I also think that men are more likely to overestimate their financial ability than women are. Women are more willing to just throw up their hands and invest in index funds.
Agree that there might be some bias in the survey, given that the participating FAs were predominantly old men. A couple of things to note though:
Financial literacy does not always translate to consumer decisions. You can but a lot of handbags but be knowledgeable about finance. Or you might be knowledgeable about finance but make irrational purchasing decisions due to psychological reasons, like a shopping addiction. Many finance workers obviously know a lot about money, but blow their paycheck on strippers and table service.
I do agree that in general, men care more or are more interested in money. More men aspire to have careers in finance, for instance. This is anecdotal, of course, and maybe does not translate into actual knowledge.
There might be some family division thing going on, especially since FA clients tend to be older couples. Older people are more likely to have a sole (usually male) breadwinner. Not sure what are the implications to personal finance. Maybe the wife handles family finances since the husband goes out 9 to 5. Or maybe the husband, being the breadwinner, handles all the money, and the wife does house things. I suspect that the family division of duties breaks down for younger couples compared to older couples.
The thing I don’t disagree with is that more people need education about personal finances, especially when they are young. Apparently, this is one of the most common “regrets” that people cite: “I should have learned more about personal finances”.