Los Altos, CA and New York, NY, June 25, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One-fifth of all financial advisors are women. There are over 9 million single women with investable assets over $100,000 and their affinity for using financial advisors is increasing. "When you look at where the women financial advisors are located within the broker dealers, wirehouses, and RIAs across 50 states it's clear that the industry is not mirroring its clients. Now that we have hard numbers this data should compel the industry to not only take action, but specifically where it is most needed," noted Cecile Munoz, President of U.S. Executive Search.
"There's been so much written about the lack of women in the advisory profession we decided to work with IAP to quantify the situation. Our information on RIAs and active registered representatives provided the industry view. IAP's retail investor analytics uncovered the gaps within a specific clientele, wealthy single women," said AIQ's Craig Katz, SVP Institutional Sales.
"The findings demonstrate the value using marketing analytics to develop an integrated view across the industry and its clients. Here, we are assessing only one aspect of the total market. Whenever you assess specific market segments, or firms' markets and clientele a different picture develops," added Raisa Suhir, IAP's Managing Director of Analytics. "Some firms "mirror" their clients and prospects more closely than others." Focusing on wealthier single women allowed IAP to structure its analysis so that the findings would be simple and unambiguous.
Wealthy single women overall have a high affinity to use financial advisors: IAP's Empirics metrics project a 60% increase on a national basis through 2015. "The data driving the report's state rankings make it imperative that marketers use relevant, localized market intelligence to their advantage. Florida and Texas are projected to experience advisor-favorable increases over 80%; Nevada over 170%, New York only 43%," added Suhir. IAP's metrics assess retail financial behaviors and attributes on a highly localized basis so that clients can quantify marketing risk and opportunity at the advisor practice level.
"If one removed the "women" from the title and presented these findings to a wealth management executive resources would flow immediately to address this opportunity. "Women" are not a segment or a trend. They are the AUM imperative. Firms must work toward a comprehensive, sustainable strategy to win, retain, and grow mass affluent and HNW clients: This includes recruiting, outreach, marketing, and evolving their cultures," said Munoz.
A summary of the findings is available at http://www.iapartners.com/uploads/1/3/3/8/13381670/single_women_their_wealth_and_women_in_wealth_managment_-_an_iap_-_aiq_analysis.pdf. Here are some highlights from the state rankings:
- Ten states represent 55% of the nation's wealthy single women and about 60% of women financial advisors
- Among the large retail markets Florida is the only large state where advisors most closely "mirror" their wealthy single women clientele
- California is the largest retail market but RIAs with women advisors rank near the bottom
- New York is the second largest retail market, but it ranks in the lower half for presence of women advisors
- Despite their growth potential both Georgia and Ohio rank low in presence of women advisors
More detailed information from this analysis for all the states can be obtained by contacting Meridian-IQ or IAP.
About Information Asset Partners
Founded in 2003, IAP specializes in the development and application of precision targeting and decision support products, such as Empirics, that focus on marketing performance and customer value for clients in wealth management, insurance, and banking. The founders have extensive experience in the development, application, and marketing of information products that enhance client revenue and profitability.
Information Asset Partners has offices in Los Altos, CA and Metuchen, NJ. Please visit our Web site at www.iapartners.com. Contact IAP at 732 662 1859 or info@iapartners.com.
About Meridian-IQ
Meridian-IQ is the maker of Meridian-IQ, a suite of cloud-based Financial Advisor directories, licensed by over 340 major fund companies, broker-dealers and insurance companies for industry research and marketing purposes. AIQ, Inc. also provides the popular AdviceIQ.com online directory of trusted financial advisors.
For more information on Meridian-IQ or AdviceIQ, please visit http://www.meridian-iq.com / www.adviceiq.com or contact us at info@meridian-iq.com / 646 867 6460.