Collin County Living Well Magazine March/April 2016 | Page 44

5 Reasons
a Woman Needs to
Consult a Financial Advisor
By Nicole C. Milici

M

any men believe they need a Financial Advisor to outperform the market. Many women
believe their man is making the best financial
decisions for them, while not considering
consulting a Financial Advisor themselves.

A survey by American Express concluded that most men
handle the finances in a household. I’m sorry ladies, but
this is a load of … how do I say it nicely?… bull! Your finances are your personal responsibility. Don’t take a backseat in determining your financial future.
Here are five reasons a woman needs to consult
a financial advisor:

1) To Create a Financial Plan
Whether you are single, married, divorced, or widowed,
at some point in your life you will be responsible
for your finances. While the divorce rate is going down
in the U.S., so is the number of people actually getting
married (www.today.com). More women are staying single
longer. Also, nearly 700,000 women lose their husbands
each year and will be widows for an average of 14 years.
(United States Census Bureau).

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COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2016

A financial plan will help you establish your goals and priorities for your future. Will you outlive your money? Would
you like to be able to put your children through college? Do
you have charitable giving goals? Might you need to take
care of aging parents? How about a vacation home with a
walk-in closet and an Imelda Marcos shoe rack?

2) To Gain Access and Be Held Accountable
A financial advisor has access and knowledge that you
don’t, obtained through years of formal education as well
as the experience of working with many successful clients.
They can assist you with diversifying your investment portfolio and determining your tolerance for financial risk.
Women tend to be more risk averse (www.nasdaq.com),
and an advisor can keep them in their comfort zone. Also,
while we all tend to stray from our goals, advisors are
experts at holding us accountable to those goals.
A good one will keep you on track to achieve your financial
goals during times of market volatility.
Pick a financial advisor who is a fiduciary.
In Latin, “fiduciary” means “trust.” A fiduciary is a person
who has the power and obligation to act for another under circumstances which require total trust, good faith, and
honesty. Independent, registered investment advisors are