Who Calls the Money Shots?  Among Married Couples, 56 Percent of Men Claim to Make the Investment Decisions; 81 Percent of Women Claim Both Spouses Have Equal Say  

  MainStay Investments Explores the “Mars vs. Venus” Dynamic   

New York, NY– April 3, 2007- Married couples may consult with their financial advisors about their investment goals; however, they are not necessarily communicating with each other about their priorities.  According to MainStay Investments’ latest executive summary based on its Across Generations research, affluent married couples have distinctly different perspectives regarding each other’s role and involvement in the financial decision-making process and how they prioritize their needs.

MainStay discovered that while the majority of married women (81 percent) say they share equal responsibility for decisions about investing and long-term financial planning with their spouse, only 44 percent of married men make this claim.  In fact, the majority of married men (56 percent) say that they make most of these decisions on their own.  

“These findings reinforce a situation we have both heard about anecdotally and have observed repeatedly for many years.  Married couples often believe they are on the same page when it comes financial goals, but when advisors begin to talk with them individually, it is apparent that they are often carrying different play books altogether.  It's the advisor’s obligation to get the husband and wife together physically in the same room and mentally on the same page,” said Mike Coffey, managing director of MainStay Investments.

As the table below demonstrates, the wide disconnect is fairly consistent among married couples of all ages:

Despite having differing views on who is making the financial decisions in the family, overall 68 percent of married men and women say they agree a great deal on their financial goals and the best way to achieve them. 

The consensus among couples increases as they age.  Moreover, the majority of married Gen-X women (68 percent) think that their spouses agree with them a great deal about their financial goals and how to achieve them, but only 47 percent of married men of this generation say this.  Contrast this with the 82 percent of Senior men and 74 percent of Senior women who believe their spouses are in agreement with them on financial matters – clearly with age comes consensus…or at least, compromise.

Mars and Venus Aligned

Married men and women also agree that the top two reasons for seeking advice from a financial advisor are to prepare for retirement - 58 percent of men and 63 percent of women ranked this as their number one reason for going to an advisor – and investment planning – 55 percent of men and 56 percent of women gave this issue top priority. 

Interestingly, women seem to be more concerned about income planning in retirement, which rounded out women’s top reasons for using an advisor with 52 percent of the vote.  Men ranked estate planning as the third most important reason for using an advisor (48 percent).  Finally, both men and women overwhelming agree (88 percent and 91 percent  respectively) that their financial advisor would play an important role in helping their spouse manage the assets when they pass away.

Bridging the Couples Communication Gap

The results of MainStay Investments’ Across Generations study show that advisors need to establish greater trust with, and between, both spouses by working collaboratively toward common goals while addressing each party’s individual needs.  In his executive summary of the study results, Coffey suggests the following: 

•          Include Both Spouses. When it comes to financial planning, both sides of today’s couples want to be involved: after all, 73 percent married men and women say that they meet with their financial advisor together.  A strong relationship with both individuals will help advisors prioritize the couple’s financial goals accordingly. In addition it will help the advisor solidify his or her position and retain assets under management.   

•          Customize Your Communication Strategy.  When selecting a financial advisor, more women (55 percent) than men (42 percent) consider communication skills an extremely important attribute, especially late boomer women (59 percent vs. 38 percent for late boomer men).   As a result, when working with married couples, advisors may need to use various communication strategies.  While men are seemingly more direct and have a tendency to act on instinct rather than consensus, women have a tendency to be much more methodical in their decision making process, often discussing their options openly with their spouse and/or peers.  By tailoring a communication strategy to complement the decision making process employed by each spouse, a financial professional can engender trust and position themselves as the primary advisor.

•          Make a Case to Consolidate Assets.  The majority of men and women agreed (82 percent) that consolidating assets with one advisor would make it simpler and easier to manage their money and allow his/her advisor to do an effective job of asset allocation. In addition, 86 percent of both men and women indicate that it would also lead to better recommendations on how to meet their needs (insurance, long-term care, etc). Having multiple advisors in the accumulation phase of retirement is fine, but as couples get closer to retirement advisors need to demonstrate why consolidating assets with one advisor (someone who is an “income specialist” and more likely to understand their individual challenges and needs) is imperative.

“The important thing for advisors to remember is that they will risk losing assets under management (AUM) if they view their client as only one spouse, and not the couple. Long-term, the advisor risks losing AUM if he doesn’t see the husband and wife as a two-part client,” said Chris Parisi, national sales manager of MainStay Investments.

About Across Generations Research

In its sixth year, the MainStay Across Generations survey continues to measure the differences in investment behaviors and attitudes among generations. The Across Generations study was conducted by an online research firm in May 2006. The study polled 1,512 individuals between the ages of 27 and 83, covering four different age groups: GenXers (born 1965-1979), Late Baby Boomers (1956-1964), Early Baby Boomers (1946-1955), and Seniors (1945-1923). Respondents had at least $250,000 in investable assets. The analysis was broken down by generational cohorts and sub-divided by gender. The research has a confidence level of 95 percent.      

About MainStay Investments

With over $20 billion in assets under management, MainStay Investments is the retail arm of New York Life Investment Management, its subsidiaries and affiliates. We offer individual investors an uncommon opportunity: inherent product diversification over 30 mutual funds, captained by boutique portfolio managers across different institutional investment engines.