In the Estate Planning Section from the comprehensive financial planning, we often recommend clients to write a “final letter of last instruction.” A final letter of last instruction details the client’s wishes regarding the disposition of specific tangible property, as well as funeral and burial wishes.  But, this letter is a communication tool between the client and his or her estate’s executor, in the event of your death.  Will that be enough to help your clients go through the three stages of Widowhood? We are so glad to have Dr. Rehl return to continue the discussion of what matters the most?

Resources of the legacy letter.

Guest:

Kathleen M. Rehl, Ph.D., CFP®, CeFT® wrote the award-winning book, Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows after the death of her late husband. More than 75,000 copies of this book are in circulation. She owned Dr. Rehl Financial Advisors for almost 18 years before retiring to a six-year encore career empowering widows and their advisors through her speaking, writing, and doing research about widows. Her work has been featured in articles published by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, CNBC, USA Today, and many others. She happily “reFired” on her 73rd birthday in 2020. Kathleen and her new husband, Charlie, concentrate on family, fun, focused-purpose, friends, and fitness. She enjoys writing legacy poetry and stories plus assisting nonprofits. Her website is at https://kathleenDr. Rehl.com.

Host:

Chia-Li Chien, Ph.D., CFP®, PMP®, CPBC, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Financial Planning Program of California Lutheran University. Before her academic role, she held several senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Diageo, ABB, CIGNA, and RSA Insurance Group. Dr. Chien is a frequent speaker about succession planning at national conferences and has published three books, including her most recent publication, “Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States.” She publishes research on succession topics in a variety of academic and practitioner research journals. Dr. Chien serves on the boards of various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) as well as Project Management Professional (PMP®). Chia-Li Chien is pronounced Jolly Jan.

We learn how to manage money in very different ways. Some of us are lucky to have excellent role models at home. For example, Dr. Chien watched, learned, and modeled after her parents at a very young age. Her mom gave her allowance to manage her breakfast and lunch throughout her school years. She was part of a savings club where she saved into a simple saving book weekly.  These simple habits shaped Dr. Chien’s financial behaviors.

But not everyone has the access to role models and mostly relies on peers or friends. Well, this will depend on who you hang out with that could totally reshape your financial behaviors.  Join Dr. Chien to interview Mr. Cousineau, and find out how he might guide us in our financial behaviors through powerful stories.

Guest:

Jake Cousineau is a high school teacher and author. After years of teaching personal finance at the high school level and being disappointed with the literature available to young adults, he decided to do something about it. In 2020, he released his book, How to Adult: Personal Finance for the Real World, which helps young adults understand and approach the financial realities of adulthood. Using straightforward explanations, relatable examples, and entertaining personal anecdotes, How to Adult teaches topics ranging from compound interest and budgeting to 401(k)s and mutual funds.

Cousineau stresses the importance of storytelling and humility in personal finance: “Sharing my own missteps in personal finance is incredibly important to me. Too often, people avoid addressing their financial woes because they don’t want to admit their own ignorance or confront their problems. I hope the stories of my own blunders help people feel a bit less insecure about any mistakes they may have made and encourage them to address their issues.”

Host:

Chia-Li Chien, Ph.D., CFP®, PMP®, CPBC, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Financial Planning Program of California Lutheran University. Before her academic role, she held several senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Diageo, ABB, CIGNA, and RSA Insurance Group. Dr. Chien is a frequent speaker about succession planning at national conferences and has published three books, including her most recent publication, “Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States.” She publishes research on succession topics in a variety of academic and practitioner research journals. Dr. Chien serves on the boards of various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) as well as Project Management Professional (PMP®). Chia-Li Chien is pronounced Jolly Jan.

Guest:

Julie Fortin, CFP®, FBS®, CeFT®, is a Partner and Wealth Manager at Northstar Financial Planning, a women-owned, holistic, financial planning firm dedicated to enriching the lives of women and couples by helping them use their money to achieve their life, family, and legacy goals. Julie holds an MS in Finance degree from Suffolk University and a graduate certificate in Financial Psychology and Behavioral Finance from Creighton University. She is a Certified Financial Planner professional®, a Certified Financial Behavior Specialist®, and a Certified Financial Transitionist®. She has been quoted in publications including the New York Times and Nerdwallet and published in the Journal of Financial Planning. Julie volunteers with the programs Junior Achievement and Invest in Girls. She serves on the board of the Financial Therapy Association.

Host:

Chia-Li Chien, Ph.D., CFP®, PMP®, CPBC, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Financial Planning Program of California Lutheran University. Before her academic role, she held several senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Diageo, ABB, CIGNA, and RSA Insurance Group. Dr. Chien is a frequent speaker about succession planning at national conferences and has published three books, including her most recent publication, “Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States.” She publishes research on succession topics in a variety of academic and practitioner research journals. Dr. Chien serves on the boards of various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) as well as Project Management Professional (PMP®). Chia-Li Chien is pronounced Jolly Jan.

From consumers to financial planning practitioners, everyone needs to understand what financial behaviors are. However, very few know how to apply them when working with clients. In this interview, Dr. Chien will discuss Mr. Franks’ renowned podcast FinWizdom and how his wisdom can help financial planning practitioners serve clients better.

• What are obsessions with possessions?
• How to avoid temptations?
• Can niches reveal financial motivations?
• “I’ve been framed,” is that a good thing?
• Have my employers “anchored” me away from saving for retirement?

Mr. Franks suggests visiting the following resources before this interview:

• Financial DNA – Behavioral Finance Resources
• CFA Institute  Enterprising Investor – Behavioral Finance

Register now, and you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This is a webinar you won’t want to miss!!

Guest:

Joel Franks has diversified business roles and his strong financial marketing background has enabled him to combine both the science and the art of creating innovative storytelling that is relevant, engaging, and shareable. With extensive financial marketing experience in banking, investments, and insurance, along with his behavioral finance and content marketing skills, he offers a unique perspective on financial literacy.

Mr. Franks has a proven record of accomplishment in the area of marketing strategy, social media, innovation, team building, partnership development, influential communications, and the ability to cultivate an organization’s initiatives. He has extensive knowledge and familiarity with a digital presence, public relations, sales and service training, executing through multiple distribution channels, and value proposition implementation.

Host:

Chia-Li Chien, Ph.D., CFP®, PMP®, CPBC, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Financial Planning Program of California Lutheran University. Before her academic role, she held several senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Diageo, ABB, CIGNA, and RSA Insurance Group. Dr. Chien is a frequent speaker about succession planning at national conferences and has published three books, including her most recent publication, “Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States.” She publishes research on succession topics in a variety of academic and practitioner research journals. Dr. Chien serves on the boards of various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) as well as Project Management Professional (PMP®). Chia-Li Chien is pronounced Jolly Jan.

Peer-influencing has dominated how consumers seek advice. Many financial planning practitioners navigate popular social media platforms with compliance guards.  Ms. Williams will share with us how to best leverage social media platforms with leads in emotional triggers.

• The best social media platform for financial planning practitioners
• What are the do’s and don’ts in social media to be evergreen compliance?
• What are the emotional triggers that could generate leads?
• What are the best practices for marketing in social media?

Register now, and you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This is a webinar you won’t want to miss!!

Guest:

Sarah E. Williams, VP, Marketing Communications at CreativeOne. With almost 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, advertising, and public relations, Sarah leads the company’s outreach efforts, showing financial advisors and independent insurance agents exactly what they can accomplish through branding, lead generation, and social media. She has helped hundreds of producers expand their businesses, showing them how to grow revenue while positioning them as an industry of thought leaders since joining CreativeOne in 2011.

As CreativeOne’s chief ambassador, Sarah communicates how marketing and practice management can help agents and advisors expand their practices. She leads the education channel, recruiting prospective agents and advisors who want to join CreativeOne. Her knowledge of marketing, combined with her embodiment of CreativeOne’s philosophy, makes her a formidable leader in this ever-changing industry.

Host:

Chia-Li Chien, Ph.D., CFP®, PMP®, CPBC, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Financial Planning Program of California Lutheran University. Before her academic role, she held several senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Diageo, ABB, CIGNA, and RSA Insurance Group. Dr. Chien is a frequent speaker about succession planning at national conferences and has published three books, including her most recent publication, “Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States.” She publishes research on succession topics in a variety of academic and practitioner research journals. Dr. Chien serves on the boards of various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) as well as Project Management Professional (PMP®). Chia-Li Chien is pronounced Jolly Jan.

Professor William (Bill) Klepper started his career in teaching by “picking up the phone.” His employer, Bill Mason, asked him one day if he would be interested in teaching. Having thought about the idea of it previously, Klepper enthusiastically replied with a yes. When interviewing for the job, one of the questions they asked was if he had his CFP ®, which he did, however unknowingly to the employer he only had it for a mere two weeks! “I was in the classroom within three weeks. I absolutely loved it and I never looked back,” Klepper said.  

Klepper’s passion in financial planning is money management and his specialty is retirement planning. “I like getting people set up properly so they don’t have those devastating down periods. I want to see people protect their assets,” he said.

Teaching At California Lutheran University

At California Lutheran University, Klepper currently teaches the undergraduate wealth management class, a class where many of the students become financial planners, “there’s a great need for financial planners and there’s not many going into it. It’s a great career,” he said. Klepper also teaches the financial literacy class, a recent course worth one credit that teaches the topics of insurance, investment, car loans, and credit reports to undergraduates to a variety of majors. “You’re telling them topics that nobody ever teaches that they’re dying to know,” he said. 

During his classes, Klepper enjoys bringing real-life examples to help communicate the material.

“I teach ‘war stories’. My students love the war stories of hearing what is happening in real life. The biggest thing with teaching is people remember stories. If you tell a story they will remember but not a data dump,” he explained. His aim in the classroom is to create a relaxed, no fear, no-pressure environment so students feel comfortable to ask any questions.  “Cal Lutheran is a great school and the students are great! Since I teach both graduate and undergraduate I thought there would be a big difference, but there is no difference,” he said.

Making the Classroom a Fun Environment 

Teaching isn’t just a job to Professor Klepper, but an enjoyment. “The interaction with students is a lot of fun. It’s not working. I enjoy the students and I want to make sure that they learn,” he said. His priorities in the classroom are to make sure the student has an understanding of the material while creating a good learning environment.

“I think the best professors are the ones that interact with the students and they’re not just speaking on the topic. It’s the ones that actually make sure the students learn, that is a good teacher,” he said. On the other hand, Klepper believes that a good student is one with a sense of humor and intrigue to ask questions, “that makes the class fun,” he said. 

The Long-Term Connections as a Professor

One of the most rewarding parts of teaching for Klepper is hearing from his students after class has finished. He enjoys hearing the “thank you’s” and receiving messages, but “I’m shocked how many students become friends. I always tell them just because the class ends you can still ask me anything,” Klepper said. Further, Klepper’s favorite part of teaching is watching the “lightbulb go off” after explaining the various concepts to the students. 

Good Times and Cooking!

In his free time, he enjoys hosting dinners for his friends from ten various barbecues he owns in his backyard. “I’m a smoker! I smoke meat and I have ten barbecues!” he said. Every Sunday night for the last 25 years, Klepper has had between 6 and 16 people over for dinner. Community and friends are very important to him, as well as cooking and entertaining.  

About William Klepper: 

William F. Klepper has served over 30 years in the financial industry. He is currently employed by RNC Genter Capital Management as Senior Vice-President Regional Director. He has worked for Union Bank of California, Wilshire Associates, Imperial Trust Company and Wm. Mason & Company, Inc.. He has worked in all aspects of the financial field (Marketing, Management, Administration and Trading). William is President of the Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise 2020-21, Past President of the Simi Valley Police Foundation and current board member, and is on the Ventura County Fire Protection Board.

About the Author:

Rosie Baker graduated Magna Cum Laude from California Lutheran University in May 2021 with honors and departmental distinction. Her bachelor’s degree is in Communication emphasizing in PR and Advertising, minoring in Creative Writing. In July 2020, she published her first book, Mirrors & Windows: Unlocking a New Framework to Envision Your Success, with New Degree Press.

The California Lutheran University Financial Planning Program prepares its students for their CFP ® certification while earning an MBA, it is the only business school on the list of the top 10. Its USDLA award-winning program consists of eight courses and a capstone project taking on average 18 months to complete.

The department is thrilled to announce such fantastic news and would like to recognize the faculty, as well as the students’ hard work, who are working professionals located across the United States and world. This fantastic achievement would not have been possible without the faculty’s dedication, expertise, and skills to the students.

If you are interested in earning an MBA or MS in Financial Planning please visit our website to learn more.

In June 2021 the California Lutheran University Financial Planning scholarship was awarded to Laura Lee. This scholarship was jointly established with the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning. Scholarships aim to help increase the number of CFP® professionals from populations currently underrepresented in the financial planning profession regarding gender, race, and ethnicity.

Meet the Awardee, Laura Lee

Lee started her career at the Specialty Coffee Association in 2007 and for 13 years she traveled to over 25 countries. She served on the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) board of directors, a registered non-profit, building community among female coffee producers around the world. She served as a Membership Committee chairperson responsible for organizing communication between current chapters and recruiting new countries to come on board. This grew her passion for supporting female professionals to achieve their financial goals. Now looking to transition into financial planning, Lee looks forward to using her education to support professional women and diverse communities. 

Why Lee Choose California Lutheran University 

“Going to grad school has been a dream of mine,” Lee said. She worked while her husband went to grad school and raised a family. “We saved and planned, the scholarship is part of making that plan come to fruition so that I could go back to grad school. It’s a joy and I can’t wait to tell my kids why I did it and they should do the same one day to pursue education,” she said. 

When searching for an MBA program with a focus on financial planning, Lee found California Lutheran University (CLU) to be “unique with the curriculum they had for their MBA in Financial Planning and that it was specifically tailored to that profession,” Lee said. Intending to finish both her MBA and pass the CFP ® exam in the next two years, Lee said CLU has everything you need to know in preparation for the CFP ® exam. “It was really the only institution that I could find like that,” she said. Other parts of the program that influenced her choice were the convenience of the classes being online and manageable as a working mom with four small children.  

Lee’s Plans for After California Lutheran University 

After Lee has finished her MBA and earned her CFP ® certification, she wants to follow in the footsteps of her father. Living in the Inland Empire area of Southern California, her father is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) with a focus on succession planning, however, his demographic is primarily retired. “The future will be acquiring some of these firms, like my dad, being a planner. Then beyond a business plan, I want to focus on diverse communities specifically in the Inland Empire i.e. the town Loma Linda and the University of California, Riverside. I’ll be working with future plans, current plans, and specifically women business owners,” Lee said. 

What Lee is Most Excited About the Program

After stepping away from education for fifteen years to pursue her career following her undergraduate studies, Lee is excited to be in an academic setting again. “I’m coming into CLU with a very specific focus and determined goals. I want to retain the information in each class because it’s going to be so applied,” she said. 

Lee is also excited to be on a leadership team with “really strong females with great credentials and strong leadership skills from what I’ve seen from my brief experience so far,” she said. Along with having other interactions with fellow students and colleagues from across the U.S. 

From her job in the coffee industry, Lee has built a wide network of contacts and colleagues from around the world. “One question for me that I want to discover in this program is that financial planning, from my experience of it, has been a domestic service. I don’t know, but I’m sure small-to-mid-sized firms manage internationally or for those with dual-citizenship. That’s an area for me that would bridge my last career with this one and a topic that I’m really interested in exploring,” Lee said. 

The Importance of Building Relationships  

“I’ve always thought of financial planning as a more holistic relationship and not purely transactional. I’ve really adopted that from my career in coffee,” Lee said. Over the years, Lee built relationships with the people she worked with learning about their families and goals to build marketing plans. The holistic aspect of relationships and the transfer of wealth from one generation to another is something that Lee looks forward to learning more about in the topic of financial planning. 

About the Interviewee:

Laura Lee started her career at the Specialty Coffee Association in 2007 and for 13 years she traveled to over 25 countries. She served on the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) board of directors. It is a registered non-profit, building community among female coffee producers around the world. She served as a Membership Committee chairperson responsible for organizing communication between current chapters and recruiting new countries to come on board. This grew her passion for supporting female professionals to achieve their financial goals. Now looking to transition into financial planning, Lee looks forward to using her education to support professional women and diverse communities. She plans to use the scholarship funds towards the MBA in Financial Planning from California Lutheran University and to sit the CFP® exam in  March 2023.

About the Author:

Rosie Baker graduated Magna Cum Laude from California Lutheran University in May 2021 with honors and departmental distinction. Her bachelor’s degree is in Communication emphasizing in PR and Advertising, minoring in Creative Writing. In July 2020, she published her first book, Mirrors & Windows: Unlocking a New Framework to Envision Your Success, with New Degree Press.

Dr. Hossein Salehi gains his global perspective in finance from his experience living in Iran, Italy, and the U.S. Dr. Salehi is passionate about teaching and working with students at California Lutheran University, “I like helping people as a whole, that’s why I actually chose financial planning because I really wanted to help people make better financial decisions and teach the younger generations. I really like helping the students pick the right career for the rest of their lives that isn’t just financial but fits their personality,” he said.

Finding His Path to Financial Planning 

Dr. Salehi teaches financial planning courses both to undergraduate and graduate students. His biggest inspiration to find his passion for financial planning came from his father when he lived in Iran with his family.  

As an undergraduate, he followed the footsteps of his father and earned a degree in computer engineering in Iran. After university, he worked as a program developer for different computer applications in finance and accounting much like a software developer for games, he explained. However, after seven years in the industry, he decided it was time to change his career to finance which is more interested in.  He earned his master’s in finance in Iran before deciding to move across the world to dive deeper into his education. As he is most interested in financial markets and investing, Dr. Salehi decided to move to the United States. “My father helped me a lot with the concept of studying abroad at an American university,” he said.

While waiting for his American university admission, Salehi attended university in Italy to study. His decision to move to Europe was fueled by wanting to learn more about financial markets. In Iran, the financial diversity and market are limited, he explained, “I knew that I needed to go somewhere else like Europe.” He spent around nine months in Italy to learn more about theories and financial models. It was also during this time he began teaching and found a passion for it.

In 2011, Salehi moved to the U.S. to study a Ph.D. in Economics as “economics is the base and the foundation of finance,” he said. After finding interest in microeconomics and finances in households, Salehi realized that he enjoyed financial planning the most. Nearly finished with his Ph.D. in Economics, Salehi said it was a hard decision whether he should pursue another Ph.D. in his area of interest in financial planning. After deliberation, he decided to turn his economic Ph.D. into a master’s of economics and pursue a financial planning Ph.D. instead at Texas Tech University, which is one of the top financial planning programs in the country. “I had to start from the beginning and start learning from scratch as the laws are totally different from other countries. It was worth it because I’m a certified financial planner now,” he said.

The Role of Being a Professor

Over the years, Dr. Salehi has had multiple teachers and mentors to help guide him where he is today. Now he spends his time teaching and researching at California Lutheran University. His most liked areas of interest in financial planning are investment and retirement planning. Dr. Salehi doesn’t only teach those inside the classroom, but he thinks it is important to help others. “I like to help people understand what’s happening around them and it doesn’t only apply to my students. It could be a friend or a family member that needs help to understand the concept. I like teaching and I like educating people with my knowledge and experience of what I learned over these years from three different education systems, Iran, Italy, and the US,” he said. 

In January 2020, Dr. Salehi took financial planning undergraduate minor student Zach Bullard to attend the National LINC 2020, January 29-31, 2020 at Hytall Regency Orlando, FL. At the conference, students had some training and teaching sessions to learn about the industry. It was an opportunity for financial planning students to meet thousands of advisors and talk to them about internships and jobs. A conference like this gave student Bullard a number of opportunities and he said he was extremely grateful for Dr. Salehi for providing it and going with him. 

Another undergraduate financial planning minor student, Jared Martin, said his favorite part of California Lutheran University is the professors and experience offered. In particular, Dr. Salehi is one of his greatest influences within the financial planning department. 

Qualities of a Good Professor

“Being able to teach in the most understandable and digestible way is the best. If you know a topic or a concept well enough you should be able to teach it in very simple words,” he said. Personally, he enjoys this method for learning and tries to follow the same structure for his students to learn from. Other qualities that he believes are important are being able to balance connecting and understanding with the students but also being firm at the same time. 

Learning from a textbook versus learning from a real-life scenario are two very different concepts. Dr. Salehi believes real-life scenarios help the students understand the different concepts and technologies in class, therefore he likes to incorporate them when teaching. “I really like it because it’s very applicable and students can see what they’re learning and apply their knowledge in real-time by using these applications,” he said. Dr. Salehi believes it helps provide realistic outcomes for the student when they take the theories outside of the classroom and it is his favorite part of teaching.

Qualities of a Good Student

Dr. Salehi believes that students shouldn’t rely just on course material or class notes, but rather be looking and learning from other sources. “As a student, try to learn as much as possible from different resources,” Dr. Salehi said. “This is really important for students in finance because finances are changing every day, you have something new that can happen that can influence the market,” he said. He encourages students to use different resources and know what is reliable versus misinformation. 

Finishing his second year at California Lutheran University has been a challenge as most of his teaching has been online during the pandemic. “Teaching in Zoom is pretty challenging not just because I don’t know how to engage the students but because it has challenges of not being able to see the students and not recording the classes with the student’s faces,” he said. However, Dr. Salehi tries his best by using other types of material and engaging students with videos, and by sharing his screen to look at stocks.

Other Interests Outside of Finance

Before the pandemic, Dr. Salehi enjoyed traveling particularly around Europe and learning about the history of the different countries. He also enjoys being active by cycling and swimming as well as reading non-financial planning books. “One of the reasons I chose California is because it’s a really nice state to go outside and do activities,” he said. He is hoping to start surfing soon. 

About Dr. Hossein Salehi: 

Dr. Hossein Salehi is an assistant professor in Financial Planning at California Lutheran University. He has a doctorate in personal financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). He also has an M.Sc. in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University, an M.A. in Economics from Texas Tech University, and an M.Sc. in Financial Management from Tehran University.

About the Author:

Rosie Baker is an undergraduate student at California Lutheran University, graduating in May 2021. She is studying Communication with an emphasis in PR and Advertising and has a minor in Creative Writing. In July 2020, she published her first book, Mirrors & Windows: Unlocking a New Framework to Envision Your Success, with New Degree Press. 

How to Attract Women Clients?  

Dr. Shine Lei is one of few individuals to have a CFP ® certification in both the U.S. and China. In the webinar, “How to Attract Women Clients?” Dr. Lei shares her research and insight on working with women clients.   

Her career began as a trained typical corporate finance professional during the financial crisis of 2008. After the crisis, she reconsidered her career path to be a financial planner. In China, the CFP ® Board was recruiting financial planners, interested in the idea, Dr. Lei joined them and had her eyes opened to a different world. “It’s part of the finance world, but from a different angle. It’s working with the individual investors directly rather than the corporates,” she said when reflecting on her time working on the board. She said she worked with many professionals on the board and wanted to know if financial planners can add value to the client’s investor performance. To find her answer, Dr. Lei moved to join the University of Missouri in the U.S. 

Why Are Women Important in Financial Planning?

Based on her research, the increasing wealth of women are making the role of women in financial planning more important and relevant every day. “Women are more and more independent in their investment decision-making, which means they are not relying on their own judgment but also become the dominant role in household financial decisions,” Dr. Lei said. 

What Are Some of the Characteristics of Women Clients?

Her co-authored research found that women more likely to use financial planning services are more likely to share these characteristics: wealthy, well-educated, and financially literate. As progressive society sees more women earning careers, they are also becoming more financially literate. 

Interestingly, Dr. Lei said she didn’t find women have a gender preference with their planners. However, she noted, women planners remain to be underrepresented as they only represent a small fraction of financial planners within the industry and are paid less. 

The host, Dr. Chia-Li Chien noted the majority of her clients are women or the women are the dominant partner in the relationship. She also noticed the general characteristics of a woman being nurturing, sensitive, and detail-orientated are great characteristics to have as a financial planner when working with clients as it is a sensitive topic. 

“Women clients are more likely to go to women planners especially for divorce planning,” said Dr. Lei. “I think it is because women planners can relate more to the clients because of their natural features. I think they are more likely to attract women clients and be successful in the financial planning industry,” she said. 

How Can Financial Planners Market to Women Clients?

Dr. Lei said the following tips are important for marketing for both female and male clients as financial planning professionals.

“It’s a cliche but it’s also important to know your clients,” Dr. Lei said. Firstly, profile the women who are more likely to use the services i.e. wealthy, well-educated, and financially literate. “It’s helpful to target the right group of people to help you grow your business,” she said.

Secondly, use the right method to communicate with the women. “It’s critical to know how to speak to the audience using the right language and words. The goal is to ensure the message correlates with them but being relevant with respect to their values and beliefs,” Dr. Lei explained. 

Lastly, test and learn the techniques of communication. Why are your clients taking action and meeting you? Was it a discount? Recommendation? Likewise, why are your clients not taking action? It’s important to take note of the techniques that work effectively and those that don’t.  

How to Work with Women Clients Efficiently?

Dr. Lei suggested having a better understanding of relevant emotional behavioral factors.  “What emotions and social influences do you notice between the clients and the planners? Notice if you can share with clients your understanding and help them back to the correct financial planning path,” she said. By carefully understanding and placing detail, the client’s journey and the client’s experience of the journey can have adjustments made to improve the experience. 

Profile + Behaviour = Tailoring Business Model 

Placing the client profile with learned behaviors through conversation with them can identify the factors that are dominant and their buyers. E.g. Are they detail-orientated? Or do they prefer not seeing all the details and rather see the bigger picture? 

Advice to Future Planners About Working With Women Clients?

To close the webinar, Dr. Lei’s parting advice to others wanting to work with women clients is to “know your clients and practice your soft skills.” 

About Shine Lei:

Shan (Shine) Lei, Ph.D., CFA, CFP® is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Perdue School of Business, Salisbury University, and a member of the University System of Maryland. Before that, Shine worked as an Assistant Professor of Finance and Financial Economics at the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, and West Texas A&M University under the Texas A&M University System. She served as the Director of International Relations at Financial Planning Standards Board China and had been an adviser at PwC before joining academia.

Whilst at academic institutions, Shine held the responsibility to teach undergraduate and graduate finance and financial planning courses both online and on campus. This instructional responsibility involved designing and developing course content and assessment tasks for students with various academic and work experience backgrounds.

Shine has been an active scholar in conducting research regarding investment decision-making, portfolio allocation, and retirement preparation. She has been published by the International Journal of Bank Marketing, Journal of Women & Aging, Journal of Personal Finance, Journal of Financial Planning, Journal of Financial Planning and Counseling, and Applied Economics Letters. She has presented her research at several national conferences. She is also a peer reviewer for several academic journals. Shine is a member of the CFP Board, CFA Institute, American Council on Consumers Interests, and Financial Planning Standards Board China. Shine holds Charted Financial Analyst and Certified Financial Planner (both in the U.S. and China) qualifications. She holds a Ph.D. in Personal Finance from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a master’s degree in International Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in Finance.

About the Host:

Dr. Chia-Li Chien is a succession program director at Value Growth Institute, a succession consulting practice dedicated to helping business owners increase their firms’ equity value. Before her private consulting practice, she held several senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies. Dr. Chien is a director of the financial planning program at the School of Management at California Lutheran University. Dr. Chien is a frequent speaker about succession and retirement planning at national conferences and has published three award-winning books, including her most recent publication, “Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States.” Dr. Chien serves on the boards of various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) as well as Project Management Professional (PMP®).

About the Author:

Rosie Baker graduated Magna Cum Laude from California Lutheran University in May 2021 with honors and departmental distinction. Her bachelor’s degree is in Communication emphasizing PR and Advertising, minoring in Creative Writing. In July 2020, she published her first book, Mirrors & Windows: Unlocking a New Framework to Envision Your Success, with New Degree Press.

Dr. Chien interviewed Dr. Shine Lei, CFA, CFP®, on “How to Attract Women Clients?” on May 18, 2021, at 1:00 pm PST.

Many financial planning practitioners like to work with women clients. As matter of fact, many planning firms are created by women and service only women. Women clients might be your target market. You might service and plan for women. In this session, we will discuss the following questions:

• Why are women important in financial planning?
• What are some characteristics of women as clients?
• What are some characteristics of women as planners?
• How do we market to women clients?
• How to work with women clients efficiently?

Reference:

Lei, S., & Kordes, M. H. (2020). Women, wealth, and demand for financial planning services. Journal of Financial Planning, 33(8), 48–55.