Who is the financial advice industry really talking to?

We no longer live in a ‘man’s world’. Women are social and economic forces in our society, building successful careers, leading businesses, serving as breadwinners, and guiding household financial decisions. Why, then, are South African women underrepresented as investors?

Notably, women head as many as 42.6% of South African households, according to Statistics SA’s General Household Survey. Research also shows that women play a significant to primary role in household financial decision-making. Yet they remain less likely than men to invest – a disconnect that suggests that financial advice and engagement strategies are not successfully reaching the very people the industry needs to serve.

One concern is that many South Africans may not fully understand what a financial adviser does or where to find one. Many still believe that financial advice is only for the wealthy and that it is not relevant to them. In addressing these perceptions and barriers to engagement, the industry cannot assume that traditional communication methods are still equally effective today.

This does not mean that women lack interest in financial planning. On the contrary, more and more women are actively seeking greater financial literacy. The issue is whether the industry has kept pace. Do we truly understand today’s client, how they think about money, what motivates them, what holds them back, and whether our language resonates with different audiences?

Designing advice around real client behaviour

The industry must urgently examine the gap between knowledge, advice, and action. Many clients need more than financial education. They need advice that is easier to understand and access, and that is better suited to how they make financial decisions in the real world.

Advisers can help close this advice gap by taking five practical steps:

Understand the client before trying to educate

Regularly research how different groups make financial decisions, where they get information, what prevents them from investing, and what they expect from an adviser. Advisers should then use the insights gained to improve client profiling, product communication, and client engagement initiatives.

Importantly, ‘women’ should not be treated as a single consumer segment. Income levels, family responsibilities, financial experience, employment status, and life stage can all materially change an individual’s needs and behaviour.

Measure whether communication changes behaviour

Financial literacy campaigns should be evaluated against a few clear and meaningful outcomes:

Did people understand the information?

Did more people seek professional financial advice and, specifically, was there an increase in enquiries from women?

Did first-time female investors proceed beyond the enquiry stage?

Did clients remain invested over time?

Which messages or channels were most effective for different groups?

Translate investment language into decisions people actually need to make

Instead of relying on specific terminology because it is technically accurate, communication should be adapted to ensure that the client understands what they are being asked to decide.

Advisers and providers should regularly audit client communications for unnecessary jargon and explain concepts such as investment risk, inflation, compound growth, fees, and time horizons in terms of their practical, real-life implications. These communications should further be tested with actual clients rather than assuming internally that they are understandable.

Make the first step into financial advice easier

For many people, engaging a financial adviser can seem intimidating. The industry should do more to dispel some of this anxiety by clearly explaining what financial advice is and is not, what the first meeting will involve, how advisers are compensated, and how someone can find a qualified adviser suited to their goals and circumstances.

Help savers become investors

Many women already understand the importance of saving and are putting money aside. However, while women slightly outpace men in the ‘saver’ category, significantly more men identify as investors.

In response, advisers should focus more on helping female clients better understand the difference between saving and investing. This includes explaining why saving alone may not be sufficient to achieve long-term financial goals, how inflation affects cash savings and erodes purchasing power over time, what investment risk looks like over different time horizons, and how to start investing without substantial wealth.

Ultimately, the role of a financial adviser is not to meet the minimum regulatory requirements, implement investment decisions, and otherwise ignore clients’ needs. We have a responsibility to educate clients and the public, and to help people build confidence in their financial futures, understand the investment opportunities available to them, and make informed choices that support long-term financial stability.

The industry should therefore ask itself whether we are designing advice around assumptions about women formed decades ago, or around women’s needs today. Are we communicating properly with the clients we claim to serve? Until we answer that honestly, we risk speaking past some of the very people we are trying to assist.