All kidding aside, if you are getting advice from a male financial advisor, you may be getting unsuitable advice. And this advice may cause horrible harm to your financial future. The recent 9/20/10 article in SmartMoney titled “Why Women Get a Raw Deal on Retirement” talks about the common practice of male financial advisors not addressing the gender differences in financial planning and investing for their women clients. Some of the differences include longer life expectancy, caregiving for children and parents, intermittent careers, risk tolerance, and tapping into retirement plans. Additionally, women often complain that their male financial advisors are speaking a different language and can’t relate to them. The URL for the article is http://www.smartmoney.com/Personal-Finance/Retirement/why-women-get-a-raw-deal-on-retirement/
To overcome this unfortunate practice, here are a few suggestions to get ahead:
1. Hire a female financial advisor
2. If you’re working with a male financial advisor already, make a switch
3. Save now, as opposed to later
4. Save more than you originally planned
5. Save systematically and automatically from your bank accounts into your investment accounts
6. Assess your risk tolerance and current investment allocation at least quarterly
Additionally for your retirement planning, here’s a little known piece of info to consider when rolling over your old 401k to an IRA. If you have company stock in your old 401k, you may want to consider leaving it in the 401k. This may reduce your taxes in your retirement when you make withdrawals. The gain in the company stock is only taxed at a capital gains rate instead of an ordinary income tax rate. For example, the capital gains tax rate could be 15% as opposed to a higher ordinary income tax rate of 25%. There are many more factors to consider when rolling over your 401k to an IRA, so please be certain to get expert advice from your female financial advisor.
This article was provided by Arlene Eason, CFP, ChFC, CFS. Arlene is a senior vice president, principal, and financial advisor with North South Capital, one of Chicago’s leading women-owned investment firms. Arlene can be contacted at 312-445-5408 or aeason@northsouthcap.com. You can visit her website at www.northsouthcap.com. North South Capital is a member of FINRA and SIPC. Disclosures: Individuals should consult with their tax/legal advisors before making any tax/legal-related investment decisions as North South Capital and its Financial Advisors do not provide tax/legal advice.