Last autumn, I, Rowan Whittington, joined Dynamic Planner as Growth Director for its white-labelled financial planning app, Tram. I took on the role because I buy into the company’s mission: to make financial advice more accessible through technology.
Before my move, I spent 10 years in insurance and, more recently, four years at Confused.com, which has revolutionised how people shop for car insurance. My mission at Dynamic Planner is to do the same for financial advice: bringing it into the digital 21st century for all. It’s something I’m passionate about for personal reasons, as well as professional.
Government data puts the gender pension gap at 35% – meaning the average man saving into a private pension today has accumulated 35% more than the average woman. The reasons behind this gap are many – the gender pay gap, the types of work women traditionally take on, childcare breaks and some women returning to work part time – but also women historically haven’t always been a natural part of financial conversations and decisions. It’s important to me that we break that cycle and work towards financial inclusion for everyone.
I’m in my early 30s, successful in my career and planning for my future. Some might say I’m financially ‘confident’. I’m not alone – at work and in my friendships, I’m surrounded by women in similar positions. Yet, within the financial advice industry it feels we can be overlooked as potential customers.
Unsurprisingly, given my background in digital product and insurance, I’m a massive fintech geek. Over the years, I’ve used saving and investing apps like Moneybox, Chip and Plum, and been squarely in their target market. But now I’m looking for advice, I’m encountering closed doors. The contrast between how easy it is to use those apps and how hard it is to find someone to give me advice is stark.
One potential adviser I spoke to told me, ‘Compared to other people your age, you’re doing fine.’ But I don’t want to do fine, I want to do great, as I’m sure many people in their 30s would like to. I want the confidence to make bold decisions, and to ensure my financial security regardless of what happens in the political and economic climates when I get to retirement… Personal finance can be lonely and isolating – I want expert advice and someone to talk to me about it.
When women have the confidence to invest, it’s shown that we make better financial decisions – for example, hedge funds managed by women have delivered returns twice as high as the average. However, Dynamic Planner’s risk profiling data shows that women are more risk averse than men, meaning we could be missing out on potential returns. Our data also shows women score lower on all self-reported measures of financial wellbeing.
That isn’t because women aren’t capable, or because we’re ‘naturally’ fearful. It’s because the structures we’ve had in place haven’t necessarily been designed to empower women to make decisions with confidence.
As more women take control of their financial futures, demand for advice is growing. Single women’s disposable incomes are rising, so more women are managing their finances independently. The average life expectancy is rising faster for women than for men, so more women are becoming responsible for their finances in later life.
With the support of a financial adviser, our data shows men and women alike improve on all measures of financial wellbeing. And advised women get a particular boost in certain areas: they see themselves as less easily disheartened, better able to cope with fluctuations in the value of their investments, and better able to cope when upset. On the continuum from ‘very concerned’ to ‘very optimistic’ about investing, we become more positive.
In other words, the confidence that comes from working with an adviser makes a huge difference to women’s financial wellbeing and empowers us to be more in control of our money.
So how do we get the transformational power of financial advice to more women? Especially when women’s lower financial confidence could manifest in a reluctance to seek advice, or in greater difficulty in building a relationship with an adviser?
A strong digital offering can make a massive difference. Virtual meetings mean advisers report they now see both members of a joint plan, so engage them equally in financial planning discussions. App technology increases access for all, enabling clients to access their plan whenever it works for them, and fit planning for their future into busy lives.
Regular, personalised in-app content means customers can get informed in their own time about topics that are interesting to them without having to ask their adviser every time, helping to build confidence and self-efficacy.
Using data to back up your recommendations can help you build up the trust and confidence that makes a huge difference to women’s financial wellbeing. And as technology frees up your capacity, you can service more clients and increasingly tailor your offering to your target markets, including supporting women and younger people in ways that suit them.
Breaking down barriers with digital innovation has the potential to be transformative for access to advice, financial understanding and outcomes in the years ahead. To make advice more inclusive, accessible and engaging benefits all. I’m excited to be on the journey with the industry, driving change that is long overdue.
