June 10, 2025 • 32 mins
What happens when financial advisors ignore half their potential clients?
They miss out on a trillion-dollar opportunity.
This compelling conversation with Cary Carbonaro, CFP® and author of Women and Wealth, explores how the financial services industry has consistently overlooked women—and what needs to change. As Cary puts it, “Financial services is the least sympathetic to women, but the one that has the most to gain if they get it right.”
We explore why 70–80% of women leave their financial advisors after the death of a spouse (hint: it’s not because they want to), and how common industry missteps—like unconscious bias, excessive jargon, and dismissing women’s priorities—push female clients away. Cary also unpacks key emotional and financial concerns, including the “bag lady fear” that affects over 50% of women regardless of net worth, and why values-based financial planning matters more than ever.
By 2030, women are expected to control two-thirds of the nation’s wealth—an estimated $30 trillion—driven by increased longevity, entrepreneurship, “gray divorce,” and rising numbers of female breadwinners. This shift presents a massive opportunity for advisors who are willing to evolve.
Whether you're a woman taking charge of your finances, someone who wants to support the women in your life, or a financial professional aiming to create a more inclusive practice, this conversation offers powerful insights into why empathy, education, and intentionality lead to stronger financial outcomes for all.
Key Themes:
- How the industry has failed women—and how it can do better
- The emotional drivers behind women’s financial decisions
- Why women often switch advisors after major life events
- The trillion-dollar wealth transfer and what it means for the future
- Creating financial plans that prioritize purpose, not just performance
Connect with Cary Carbonaro
Website: https://carycarbonaro.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carycarbonarocfp/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccarbonaro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carycarbonaro/ https://x.com/CaryCarbonaro
The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https:...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Women's Money Wisdom Podcast.
I'm Melissa Joy, a certifiedfinancial planner and the
founder of Pearl Planning.
My goal is to help youstreamline and organize your
finances, navigate big moneydecisions with confidence and be
strategic in order to grow yourwealth.
As a woman, you work hard foryour money and I'm here to help
(00:21):
you make the most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
And I'm here to help you makethe most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
Just a quick note before wedive in.
The information that we share ismeant to educate and inspire,
not serve as personalizedfinancial advice.
Everyone's situation is unique,so be sure to consult with your
own financial professional forguidance that fits your life.
And just so you know, theopinions shared in this podcast
(00:44):
are my own and those of myguests, and they don't
necessarily represent those ofany organizations that I'm
affiliated with.
For more important disclosures,please go to our webpage at
pearlplancom.
Now let's get started.
Hi everybody, we're in for atreat today.
I am joined by recentlypublished author although it's
(01:06):
not her first book and alsofellow financial advisor, keri
Carbonaro.
She's going to be talking abouther book, which is all about
women and wealth, as well as thelessons we've learned.
We're going to share with youthe lessons we've learned about
how our profession of financialadvice does and doesn't get
women, and what we need to do tochange it.
Carrie is an award-winningcertified financial planner with
(01:29):
over 25 years of experience.
She's the managing wealthadvisor and women in wealth
ambassador at Ashton Thomas,where she leads a multimillion
dollar financial planningpractice focusing on empowering
women.
Carrie is the bestsellingauthor of the Money Queen's
Guide and the newly releasedbook Women and Wealth a playbook
to empower clients and unlocktheir fortune, which offers
(01:51):
actionable strategies for betterserving women in financial
services.
Carrie was just holding up thebook.
Congratulations on the thenarratives.
Congratulations that it's outin the world in print.
And we need so much more ofthis because I don't know what
the like name of the you knowwhen you have a panel of all men
(02:13):
and it's like a mantle I don'tknow that's exactly it.
it's a mantle.
Yeah, the mantles for books arelike every time you read, like
the best books for financialadvisors or the best books on
money.
It's like 20 books by men andthen we'll throw in one by a
girl and or women.
I should say so we need to bewriting more, we need to be out
(02:34):
there more and we need to betalking about what we see, and
you've done just that, carrie.
Thanks for joining us andcongratulations oh, you're so
welcome.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Thank you, this.
This was a passion project, forsure it was.
It took a very, very long timewhen, when you read it, it's a
very thick, heavy book at 400pages and unfortunately it took.
It took three years of my life,so it was a very, very
laborious process.
And then going through thepublishing cycle and three
(03:03):
rounds of edits, and then goingthrough the publishing cycle and
three rounds of edits, whichtook another year, so it's been
four years in the making tobring this to fruition.
So it's very exciting.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
It's actually, like I say, it's harder than having a
child because it's three timesthe amount or four times the
amount of time, Because when youget to nine months, you're not
just like well, this ishappening, whether I like it or
not.
You still got to keep pushingRight, Right, Exactly.
Well, why did you feel soinspired and you know like?
Why did you feel like you hadto get this book done?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
So such a great question and it's interesting
because so my first book, whichwas written over a decade ago,
so really really really longtime between my first book and
my second book, like an enormousamount of time between it, like
a lot of business and lifepacked in between right, a lot,
a lot of reasons why 10 yearsbetween the two, but so the
first book.
when I wrote the first book, Ifelt compelled to write the
(03:59):
first book because I had justgone through a terrible divorce
and just gotten out of anabusive marriage, and so coming
out of that was so incrediblyoverwhelming that I had to write
it down and say how can I helpwomen not go through the same
situation that I just wentthrough and how can I help them
(04:20):
prevent that from happening?
So that was my impetus for thefirst book.
And then it's so interestingbecause I didn't even realize
this till recently what happenedwith the second book and so the
second book.
I went through another terribleperiod of my lifetime where my
company was sold to GoldmanSachs and I was at a very, very
(04:40):
dark period of my life where Ihad almost given up on my career
.
I almost walked away.
I had to have the mostincredible resilience to get
through what I went through.
And when I got out on the otherside, I said I have to write a
book.
I have to share what happenedto me.
I have to share my experienceof working in wealth management
(05:01):
and what happened to me as awoman.
And then, by the way.
I want to also change theprofession and make it more
female friendly for people whoare in the industry.
Women bring more women into theindustry and keep women in the
industry and then also just makeit friendly for the clients.
So what's so interesting iswhen you look at the research in
(05:24):
the book, which you know it's.
It's packed with research andthere was a Harvard Business
Review study from 2009 that saysfinancial services is the least
sympathetic to women, but theone that has the most to gain if
they get it right.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, there's a huge business business case for
treating women well, in ourbusiness.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
It's incredible.
It's a trillion dollaropportunity.
Like I always say, like thishas nothing to do with DE&I.
This is like I never say thatword, I never talk about that.
This is a business case, it's abusiness opportunity.
What other industry would yousay?
Here's a trillion dollaropportunity on a silver platter
(06:07):
and then nobody wants it.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Nobody's taking it, it's true, and I mean it makes
it, dare I say, a little biteasier for someone like you or
me who is growth oriented,really focused on marketing,
really focused on communicatingwith people, getting the good
message out, whether we workwith people or not.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Because so many people feel excluded and
unwelcome in the doors thatthey're actually being invited
into.
The people on the other sidejust don't realize that they are
are acting in a manner thatdoesn't feel invited to women
and different people.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Right.
So that's actually the mainreason I wrote the book.
I wrote the book so that thatdoesn't happen.
What I would love to, I meanand of course this is a big,
hairy, audacious goal but Iwould love for this book to
literally change it, change theexperience for women, like all
throughout the industry.
You know, starting from youknow the guys who were, you know
(07:05):
, in their sixties that don'tknow what they don't know.
Or you know the guys startingout in their twenties that also
don't know what they don't know.
I want, you know, I want tochange it for everybody.
I want all the women to walk inthe door and feel welcomed and
supported and spoken to andheard and seen and, you know,
have a great experience.
(07:26):
And there's another articlethat came out that's actually
research.
That's not in the book becauseit came out after the book was
published.
Actually, it came out Februaryof this year and the book was
finished August of last year.
So it's not in the book, but itwas a Cerulli study.
It's not in the book, but itwas a Cerulli study and it said
that firms that get it rightwith women are going to be
(07:48):
positioned for decades to come.
It's true Silver platter, silverplatter.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Here you go, I think, also just anecdotally, from
experience, and I'll let you getback to the facts because I
know our listeners are drivingtheir kids in the car pool or,
you know, heading for a longweekend or on the treadmill.
They are those clients that ourprofession is missing out on or
misrepresent.
You know, like notcommunicating appropriately but,
(08:19):
anecdotally, you know, I have a.
Currently all of our full-timeemployees are females.
Anecdotally, you know, I have a.
Currently all of our full-timeemployees are females, although
we're we'll be, I'm sure, happyto welcome some men to the
employee roster over the years.
But people in our professionassume, oh, you're building a
company just for women andactually there's many men who
enjoy working with us.
(08:40):
There's many people who are ina heterosexual relationship who
say my wife doesn't feel welcomeworking with our advisor.
I typically make, you know,like, schedule the financial
appointments, but I want to workwith someone who would be
welcoming to both of us and itdoesn't self-select out from
advice for men as well.
(09:00):
But what are some of the, asyou researched, what are some of
the ways that, just as ageneric profession or industry,
we turn people off, especiallywomen, from feeling welcome?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
So such a good question and there's so many, so
many answers to that, so I'lljust, I'll just scratch the
surface for that.
So what happens?
One thing is unconscious orimplicit bias is ingrained in us
from you know socializationfrom the time you're little to
(09:35):
you know, growing up to what youare right now.
So that is where you literallydon't know what you don't know,
and it's already it's it'shappening.
Where you literally don't knowwhat you don't know and it's
already it's it's happening.
So there is an implicit biasquiz that harvard um puts out,
which you can go in and take itand see are you automatically
making assumptions?
And um, and and it'sinteresting because there's all
(09:58):
different ways you could bemaking it about um, race, gender
, socioeconomic status, likethere's it's not just one thing,
it's a million different thingsthat you just you know, maybe
you were raised this way and youknow, you don't know that this
way exists and so it's simplethings like that.
(10:20):
But it's very powerful becauseit is a big turnoff to a lot of
women who, you know, are sittingat a couple you know two
couples sitting with a financialplanner and I'm just going to
take a liberty with thisdiscussion and say that a male
financial advisor is not makingeye contact with the woman and
(10:43):
just making eye contact with theman and the man is nodding and
she is zoning out and noddinginterested, and he is talking in
jargon and he is speaking adifferent language.
And you know, our industry isvery male language because it
was created by men for men andthat's okay, because that's the
way it was.
You know, that's who the clientwas.
(11:03):
But that's my point is thefuture client is changing.
It's already changing and itwill continue to change.
So guess what?
You have a new client.
You have new language.
What?
You have a new client?
You have new language.
You have new processes.
You have new everything.
Everything should be differentto accommodate this new, this
new female client.
So the female client doesn'tresonate with beating the S&P
(11:24):
500.
She doesn't care, she wants.
I've never in my entire careerhad a woman say to me I need to
beat the S&P 500.
Never once in my entire, youknow, 25 year career I've had
them say to me I'm worried aboutrunning out of money, I'm
worried about being a bag ladyand homeless.
You know the bag lady fear isreal.
(11:45):
More than 50% of women have it.
It's a real thing, even if it'sirrational depending on how
much money you have.
I happen to have it, I know.
So I can talk about this fear.
You know addressing that fear.
You know things that keep womenup at night are related to life
events and life struggles, andyou know they have no time and
(12:06):
they're raising children andthey have.
You know they have jobs plusraising children and taking care
of the house and everythingelse that falls on a woman.
So you know, and then you haveall the strikes against women in
general pay, wage gap, thewealth gap which, by the way, is
a million dollars over awoman's lifetime for out of the
(12:28):
workforce, caregiving forchildren, having children and
caregiving for parents Milliondollars right there.
Then you know women spend over250,000 more in retirement on
healthcare.
Then we've got retire with twothirds less low social security
(12:49):
we have.
Women have and I hate this one,but it's true, unfortunately we
have a confidence, um, and Ihate this one, but it's true,
unfortunately we have aconfidence gap.
Women have the confidence gap,uh, which is, you know, that
whole women will apply for a jobif they have 10 out of 10 or 12
out of 10 vacations.
Right, exactly, they have tohave more than what's listed.
Um, and a man will apply withtwo or three out of the 10.
(13:11):
So I mean, that's a real thing.
That's been around a long time,you know.
And then women, you know,invest less.
They feel more comfortable withcash.
We have to get them over thathump and, you know, because they
feel the loss more because theyhave so much, you know, their
nest egg is so precious to thembecause it took them so much to
get it, that it's harder forthem to, you know, lose money.
(13:35):
And again, we know that thelosing money is only a
short-term thing.
If you zone out to 10 years,you know there's never going to
be a period in time where, in abalanced portfolio, a woman's
going to lose money Like itdoesn't.
It's not going to happen, noton my watch, unless they're in,
and not on your watch unlessthey're in a single stock that
goes bankrupt or a Ponzi scheme,none of which is happening with
(13:56):
a, with a CFP professional nothappening.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
You know not happening.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
So it's just it's there's so many like so much
emotion also around the moneyfor women, you know, and for me
when I get hired from.
When a client hires me, it'susually during a terrible time
in her life a divorce, a death,a disability, a job loss.
It's always something terriblynegative and I always say I wish
(14:23):
a woman would come to me whenthe sun is shining rather than
when it's raining.
And she always comes to me whenit's raining and it's okay
because I have we have empathy,I'm going to get her through
this.
I used to call it traumabonding, but now I call it
resilience bonding.
Oh, I love it.
Which is when you get themthrough the most difficult
(14:43):
period of their life and theycome out stronger on the other
side and you are with them andyou are the reason that they
come out on the other side.
They will be with you for therest of their lives.
You are going to be resiliencebonded, and it's totally
positive, rather than traumabonding, which is a negative
word, Even though it's prettymuch very similar.
It's just a matter of thewording, but it is similar and
(15:06):
trauma bonding is a negativemeaning, like you're trying to
like, twist their arm or dosomething like you know, in a
negative way, and that's not atall what we do.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
That's amazing.
I think that it's true.
So many times you start workingwith people because of a
transition and in so many cases,those transitions are
extraordinarily disruptive, evenwhen they're positive.
Transitions like an inheritance.
But if you're sitting in yourcar listening and having wanted
to go through the process offinancial planning and it's not
(15:37):
that rainy day there's no timelike the present, because you
can really be impactful, you canmake yourself safer for the
future, but you can alsocapitalize on opportunities that
may not be there on that rainyday.
So I always encourage people tobe, you know, incremental and
get started.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Absolutely.
There's absolutely no timelinetoday Like that's it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
We've listed off all the things, all the knocks we
have against us.
You know that we're.
When you're a sandwichgeneration, the sandwich is
often the female.
When you're a sandwichgeneration, the sandwich is
often the female.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Um, you know, we are living longer with oftentimes
less resources.
I didn't even put that in thereand you're right and I and that
is another one of the things isthe longevity, so not so we
could be actually women.
We could be retired for longerthan we worked.
And when I tell people thatthey're like what?
And I'm like, think about it,how many years did you work?
And then, if you're living to ahundred or past a hundred, you
(16:38):
could potentially be retired forlonger than you worked.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Yep, Absolutely.
And also, though, women arereally emerging as power brokers
we are.
we now have the concept of thefemale breadwinner or oftentimes
I work with double breadwinnerfamilies where both partners are
career oriented and makingpowerful decisions in the
(17:01):
workplace.
They have extraordinary humancapital and yet we were raised
with a tool set that may nothave equipped us to make more
complex financial and investmentdecisions, even though we have
all of that capability.
You know genetically and as adecision maker.
We haven't been told that thisis something that we can do.
So what are your?
What did your research showabout these types?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
of people.
Oh, it's so interesting.
I'll tell you exactly a storyjust from the other day from a
client of mine who's a I workwith almost exclusively um
breadwinning women like that's,like that's my main demographic
um because they say you mirroryour clients and that's what I
am.
So it's what I, what I attractand I had a one of my very high
(17:44):
wage earner.
Women say to me Carrie, justbecause I know how to make it
doesn't mean I know what to dowith it.
I thought that was perfect.
I'm like that's exactly right.
Nobody like, just becauseyou're great at your job and you
know how to make money doesn'tmean you know what to do with it
.
And that's where we come in,because we're going to tell you
exactly what to do with it, howto do it, how to protect
(18:06):
yourself, where to put it where,so you can sleep at night and
all everything else to make surethat all your ducks are in a
row and how they're workingtogether.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Yeah, and you can manage multiple priorities.
I think that is one of thethings that a financial planner
can bring to the table is thatyou have a lot of options when
you're successful, but knowing,should I focus on the kids'
school or my retirement first,or paying off this debt, et
cetera, et cetera.
It becomes complicated if youdon't just have one decision to
make or kind of one stream ofconsciousness to focus on Right
(18:41):
or what I was going to say allof the above to that answer.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Often it's like yes and and we show how you can
avoid blind spots by addressingmore things, but it's also can
be very overwhelming when you'retrying to figure that out on
your own, and I feel likesociety gives you know.
There's a lot of really greatDIYers out there who love
personal finance as a hobby orinvesting as a hobby, who tell
(19:07):
everybody else who don'tnecessarily consider it a hobby
that their hobby needs to be theavocation of the other people
and so paying for services isnot inappropriate when it comes
to investment in financialdecisions.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Right, and here we are.
We're, you know, 50 year oldprofession, so you know we're
relatively new.
And the reason that we are arelatively new profession is
because, you know, back in theday, everybody had pensions and
social security and that wassupposed profession is because
you know, back in the day,everybody had pensions and
social security and that wassupposed to cover everything you
know.
And then in the 70s it'sinteresting like if you look at
a chart I don't have this chartin my book, but it looks like
(19:42):
this and it's the downfall ofpensions and the rise of CFPs
and it literally goes like this.
So it's as people wereresponsible as pensions pulled
out of the marketplace andpeople were now responsible for
managing their own money withindividual retirement accounts
or 401ks or whatever.
That's when we came into playand that's when you know, we
(20:05):
became a profession.
But that's also to answer yourquestion about the research on
breadwinners, on femalebreadwinners.
What's very interesting on thatis the whole great wealth
transfer which is coming.
You know, by 2030, women willcontrol two-thirds of the
nation's wealth which as itstands today how does that
happen?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
just explain to this.
That's what that's what.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
That's where I'm going.
So that's 30 trillion dollars,which is the same as the gd, the
United States, to put that inperspective, right?
And so everyone's like, well,how is that happening?
And so it's, it's a, it's aconvergence of a bunch of
different things happening atonce.
So one is the fact that ourlongevity because we are living
(20:48):
outliving our spouses and ourparents, living outliving our
spouses and our parents um,we're getting inheritance from
and inheritance from parents andinheritance from um spouses
outliving spouses.
So that's one of the things.
Second thing is that, um, womenare starting businesses faster
(21:08):
than men right now, so theentrepreneur is happening.
Then we also have gray divorce.
So, which is older people youknow, the fastest growing
segment is over 50 years oldgetting divorced and then
getting money transferredthrough that.
And then my favorite out of allof them is that female
(21:29):
breadwinners females willfinally be a majority
breadwinner in the United Statesby 2030, for the first time
ever in history.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Wow, that's my favorite stat.
I love that.
I mean we're getting educatedand we're using those
educational resources tocapitalize.
When I look around my small town, there's so many small business
owners who are female and a lotof times that's out of
necessity because you hit careerroadblocks and you say, you
know, if it doesn't work outthere, I'll do it myself are so
(22:06):
many success stories to focus onand I hope that our profession
is able to match those successstories by a willingness to be
flexible, to be more modern,because really you're telling
the story of the modern economyand unfortunately, our
profession was built over thelast 50 years, 30 years, but it
was built and it was built on astructure that makes the
practitioners less open tochange, because it all starts
(22:29):
with well, here's all the lawsyou need to follow and they
don't make you sound veryrelatable.
And you know, then it's like andI've always done it this way,
and I found all my clients onthe golf course and their wives
may or may not be invited to themeeting because we meet over
drinks after our our round ofgolf.
So there's so manyopportunities for a more modern,
(22:51):
fresh approach.
Um, just like I know both of usare doing in our practices.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Exactly, and it's interesting because another
thing I so there's another statthat I have a whole chapter on
in the book, which is why womenleave their advisors.
And so I so this one's reallyinteresting.
So the stat is that 70 to 90%so we can average it out at 80%
(23:16):
of of women when their spousedies.
Who were met, who are men,leave that advisor.
Who were men, leave thatadvisor.
Wow.
So, and that that number hasnot changed for decades.
So as long as they've beenmeasuring it, it has not changed
.
So it's funny because when Italk to men about that stat,
they say, well, I'm not doinganything wrong.
(23:38):
And I'm like, well, somebody is, because it keeps happening and
guess what, me and you are theones who they're going to.
So I'm happy with that stat,like, if it stays the same,
we're just going to get moreclients for us.
So, cause they're coming to usand they're leaving men who are
ignoring them or not servingthem or not speaking to them or
not communicating with them ornot speaking their language or
(23:59):
not bringing them into theconversation or talking over
their heads, or you know all the, all the different things that
they don't even maybe realizethat they're doing, that they're
doing.
So I also have a quiz in thebook which is um, how female
friendly is your practice?
And it's actually not my quiz.
I borrowed it from a friend andI gave her all the credit in
(24:19):
the book, um and so, but it's a20 question quiz and you can see
, okay, there's things I'm doingthat I had no idea that I
wasn't doing, like having aseparate meeting with, with the
with at it from a woman'sperspective, like with a gender
(24:47):
lens, or if you don't understandwhere she's coming from, ask a
woman, maybe she can tell youwhere she's coming from.
So I mean, there's there's justso many things related to that
whole topic that if men start topractice what's in the book,
they're going to get it right.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
I want that for everyone, because we don't have
the capacity to serve everyone.
Neither of us do, although weare, I know, both rooting for
the success of women in ourprofession.
But we really need that.
It's, it's a blue ocean whereif we can service more and serve
, and service more people in away that they need to be served,
(25:24):
then that is better outcomesfor American households, that is
better outcomes for businesspractitioners.
You know it's win, win, win andthat's why I say that all the
time I literally say win, win,win all the time.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
And then another thing that's fantastic for women
, which is another amazing thingabout women and for women and
related to our profession, isthat women are more
philanthropic than men which isanother, creating win-win-wins,
where if you, if you know,you're talking to the woman
about putting um charitable giftannuities or charitable
(25:58):
remainder trusts and like allthese amazing things, where
you're making the world a betterplace and you're and you're
giving them tax savings and andthey're getting, you know, all
this great benefit from it, it'sand it's just, it's amazing and
women love that stuff and alsowomen love values-based
investing too.
So that's another, that'sanother whole subject where you
(26:18):
know, if have you ever askedyour women clients Cause I hear
a lot, oh, nobody ever asked meabout that and I said do you ask
your women clients?
Would they like to tie theirvalues to their portfolio and
see what they say?
I don't think there was onewoman on the planet that would
say tell me more or who wouldsay no right off the bat, like I
(26:39):
think everybody would be likewhat does that mean?
Sure, explain it to me, youknow.
And then we talk about.
You know what we exclude, whatwe include.
You know anything that's goingto be impactful to them that
they can feel like they're partof this, this is part of you.
This money is an extension ofyou.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
It's so true.
I think that, yeah, thatphilanthropy really makes a
difference.
Being with an advisor that asksabout philanthropy, being with
an advisor that asks what'smeaningful or important to you,
whether it's building orpurchasing your second home, or
teaching the golden rule to yourgrandchildren, which was one of
my favorite goals that one ofmy clients had once.
(27:20):
You know, financial planning is,if done right, is about
possibilities.
It's not about wealth.
We're all.
We're both accountable fordollars and cents and
performance on a statement.
It is about so much more thanthat, and if we can teach more
people to have that perspective,then it again, the world will
(27:41):
be a better place.
The impact will be measurable.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Exactly Well, and I believe that, with this great
shift that's coming and thisupcoming wealth transfer, I do
believe the world is going tochange.
If women are controlling thenation's wealth, I mean, it's
going to be a super excitingtime to be alive.
And it's interesting because,with my bad experience that I
(28:04):
had, where I almost gave up, Isaid I can't give up.
I have to be here for thisgreat wealth transfer.
I've been talking about thisfor over a decade.
I have got to be here toexperience it.
So I am waiting with open armsas it happens and it unfolds
around us over the next fiveyears.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Well, congratulations on the book.
Five years Well,congratulations on the book.
I hope for our listeners andaudience they hear that, even
though this book was writtenwith the intent of educating a
broader financial advisorpopulation to know how to
position their business and getthose great results for the
clients, because of it thatthere is so much information
(28:43):
packed in there for people whowant to be more knowledgeable
about money and themselvesespecially our audience who are
mainly women that it is worth adownload or a borrow at the
library.
Carrie, can you tell us wherepeople can find the book and
then also where they can followyou?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Sure, absolutely.
So.
You can get the book at AmazonBarnes Noble Porchlight anywhere
, like a lot of independentbookstores too.
I don't want to stop theindependence, but Amazon world,
so I'm really easy to find.
So my website iskaricarbonarocom.
(29:29):
Facebook I'm Kari Carbonaro.
Linkedin I'm Kari Carbonaro.
Instagram I'm Kari Carbonaroand I think that that's it.
But those are the main placesyou can find me.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
I love it.
Well, I would be remiss sincewe were talking about
philanthropy right at the end ifI didn't mention that we both
volunteer for an organizationnear and dear to both of our
hearts that is working toimprove access to financial
advice, but also careers andfinancial advice for women.
It's called the Women'sLeadership Alliance, and Carrie
put it in her book and also is anew board member and I'm a
(30:02):
committee member for theorganization, also is a new
board member and I'm a committeemember for the organization,
but we're we're working hard,and so are our friends, to make
this profession better for allof us.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Well, and also speaking of that, so we didn't
even talk about that stat eitherbut so it's pretty much an 80,
20 rule.
So it's 80% men, 20% women, andwe really want to increase that
to be 50-50, because that'swhere we are with the population
and we should nearer thepopulation.
So I mean, I would love and weunfortunately have not really
(30:35):
moved that much in the past twodecades, I think.
We went from 20 to 22 or 20 to23.
So we have moved a tiny, tiny,tiny bit, but not enough.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Not enough at all.
And if you have kids that areloving their econ classes or
personal finance projects, ifyou're considering career
transitions, if you just lovethis stuff, we could use you in
this profession.
There's both.
You know a lot of advisors areat, or past, retirement age, and
then also there is this gap interms of participants as female
(31:12):
professionals.
So we're trying to close thatgap.
But if you're curious, pleasereach out to a female CFP or the
Women's Leadership Alliance.
Yes, or either of us, yes,absolutely Well, keri, thank you
so much.
It's so good to meet you.
I've wanted to meet you for awhile and I really appreciate it
.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
It was so nice to have be on with you.
Thank you so much, Melissa.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Thank you for listening to the Women's Money
Wisdom Podcast.
If you found value in thisepisode, the best way you can
support the podcast is toforward an episode to a friend
or leave a review.
Go to pearlplancom and thepodcast link to get all the
resources and links mentioned.
Welcome to the Women's Money Wisdom Podcast.
I'm Melissa Joy, a certifiedfinancial planner and the
founder of Pearl Planning.
My goal is to help youstreamline and organize your
finances, navigate big moneydecisions with confidence and be
strategic in order to grow yourwealth.
As a woman, you work hard foryour money and I'm here to help
(00:21):
you make the most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
And I'm here to help you makethe most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
Just a quick note before wedive in.
The information that we share ismeant to educate and inspire,
not serve as personalizedfinancial advice.
Everyone's situation is unique,so be sure to consult with your
own financial professional forguidance that fits your life.
And just so you know, theopinions shared in this podcast
(00:44):
are my own and those of myguests, and they don't
necessarily represent those ofany organizations that I'm
affiliated with.
For more important disclosures,please go to our webpage at
pearlplancom.
Now let's get started.
Hi everybody, we're in for atreat today.
I am joined by recentlypublished author although it's
(01:06):
not her first book and alsofellow financial advisor, keri
Carbonaro.
She's going to be talking abouther book, which is all about
women and wealth, as well as thelessons we've learned.
We're going to share with youthe lessons we've learned about
how our profession of financialadvice does and doesn't get
women, and what we need to do tochange it.
Carrie is an award-winningcertified financial planner with
(01:29):
over 25 years of experience.
She's the managing wealthadvisor and women in wealth
ambassador at Ashton Thomas,where she leads a multimillion
dollar financial planningpractice focusing on empowering
women.
Carrie is the bestsellingauthor of the Money Queen's
Guide and the newly releasedbook Women and Wealth a playbook
to empower clients and unlocktheir fortune, which offers
(01:51):
actionable strategies for betterserving women in financial
services.
Carrie was just holding up thebook.
Congratulations on the thenarratives.
Congratulations that it's outin the world in print.
And we need so much more ofthis because I don't know what
the like name of the you knowwhen you have a panel of all men
(02:13):
and it's like a mantle I don'tknow that's exactly it.
it's a mantle.
Yeah, the mantles for books arelike every time you read, like
the best books for financialadvisors or the best books on
money.
It's like 20 books by men andthen we'll throw in one by a
girl and or women.
I should say so we need to bewriting more, we need to be out
(02:34):
there more and we need to betalking about what we see, and
you've done just that, carrie.
Thanks for joining us andcongratulations oh, you're so
welcome.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Thank you, this.
This was a passion project, forsure it was.
It took a very, very long timewhen, when you read it, it's a
very thick, heavy book at 400pages and unfortunately it took.
It took three years of my life,so it was a very, very
laborious process.
And then going through thepublishing cycle and three
(03:03):
rounds of edits, and then goingthrough the publishing cycle and
three rounds of edits, whichtook another year, so it's been
four years in the making tobring this to fruition.
So it's very exciting.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
It's actually, like I say, it's harder than having a
child because it's three timesthe amount or four times the
amount of time, Because when youget to nine months, you're not
just like well, this ishappening, whether I like it or
not.
You still got to keep pushingRight, Right, Exactly.
Well, why did you feel soinspired and you know like?
Why did you feel like you hadto get this book done?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
So such a great question and it's interesting
because so my first book, whichwas written over a decade ago,
so really really really longtime between my first book and
my second book, like an enormousamount of time between it, like
a lot of business and lifepacked in between right, a lot,
a lot of reasons why 10 yearsbetween the two, but so the
first book.
when I wrote the first book, Ifelt compelled to write the
(03:59):
first book because I had justgone through a terrible divorce
and just gotten out of anabusive marriage, and so coming
out of that was so incrediblyoverwhelming that I had to write
it down and say how can I helpwomen not go through the same
situation that I just wentthrough and how can I help them
(04:20):
prevent that from happening?
So that was my impetus for thefirst book.
And then it's so interestingbecause I didn't even realize
this till recently what happenedwith the second book and so the
second book.
I went through another terribleperiod of my lifetime where my
company was sold to GoldmanSachs and I was at a very, very
(04:40):
dark period of my life where Ihad almost given up on my career
.
I almost walked away.
I had to have the mostincredible resilience to get
through what I went through.
And when I got out on the otherside, I said I have to write a
book.
I have to share what happenedto me.
I have to share my experienceof working in wealth management
(05:01):
and what happened to me as awoman.
And then, by the way.
I want to also change theprofession and make it more
female friendly for people whoare in the industry.
Women bring more women into theindustry and keep women in the
industry and then also just makeit friendly for the clients.
So what's so interesting iswhen you look at the research in
(05:24):
the book, which you know it's.
It's packed with research andthere was a Harvard Business
Review study from 2009 that saysfinancial services is the least
sympathetic to women, but theone that has the most to gain if
they get it right.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, there's a huge business business case for
treating women well, in ourbusiness.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
It's incredible.
It's a trillion dollaropportunity.
Like I always say, like thishas nothing to do with DE&I.
This is like I never say thatword, I never talk about that.
This is a business case, it's abusiness opportunity.
What other industry would yousay?
Here's a trillion dollaropportunity on a silver platter
(06:07):
and then nobody wants it.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Nobody's taking it, it's true, and I mean it makes
it, dare I say, a little biteasier for someone like you or
me who is growth oriented,really focused on marketing,
really focused on communicatingwith people, getting the good
message out, whether we workwith people or not.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Because so many people feel excluded and
unwelcome in the doors thatthey're actually being invited
into.
The people on the other sidejust don't realize that they are
are acting in a manner thatdoesn't feel invited to women
and different people.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Right.
So that's actually the mainreason I wrote the book.
I wrote the book so that thatdoesn't happen.
What I would love to, I meanand of course this is a big,
hairy, audacious goal but Iwould love for this book to
literally change it, change theexperience for women, like all
throughout the industry.
You know, starting from youknow the guys who were, you know
(07:05):
, in their sixties that don'tknow what they don't know.
Or you know the guys startingout in their twenties that also
don't know what they don't know.
I want, you know, I want tochange it for everybody.
I want all the women to walk inthe door and feel welcomed and
supported and spoken to andheard and seen and, you know,
have a great experience.
(07:26):
And there's another articlethat came out that's actually
research.
That's not in the book becauseit came out after the book was
published.
Actually, it came out Februaryof this year and the book was
finished August of last year.
So it's not in the book, but itwas a Cerulli study.
It's not in the book, but itwas a Cerulli study and it said
that firms that get it rightwith women are going to be
(07:48):
positioned for decades to come.
It's true Silver platter, silverplatter.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Here you go, I think, also just anecdotally, from
experience, and I'll let you getback to the facts because I
know our listeners are drivingtheir kids in the car pool or,
you know, heading for a longweekend or on the treadmill.
They are those clients that ourprofession is missing out on or
misrepresent.
You know, like notcommunicating appropriately but,
(08:19):
anecdotally, you know, I have a.
Currently all of our full-timeemployees are females.
Anecdotally, you know, I have a.
Currently all of our full-timeemployees are females, although
we're we'll be, I'm sure, happyto welcome some men to the
employee roster over the years.
But people in our professionassume, oh, you're building a
company just for women andactually there's many men who
enjoy working with us.
(08:40):
There's many people who are ina heterosexual relationship who
say my wife doesn't feel welcomeworking with our advisor.
I typically make, you know,like, schedule the financial
appointments, but I want to workwith someone who would be
welcoming to both of us and itdoesn't self-select out from
advice for men as well.
(09:00):
But what are some of the, asyou researched, what are some of
the ways that, just as ageneric profession or industry,
we turn people off, especiallywomen, from feeling welcome?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
So such a good question and there's so many, so
many answers to that, so I'lljust, I'll just scratch the
surface for that.
So what happens?
One thing is unconscious orimplicit bias is ingrained in us
from you know socializationfrom the time you're little to
(09:35):
you know, growing up to what youare right now.
So that is where you literallydon't know what you don't know,
and it's already it's it'shappening.
Where you literally don't knowwhat you don't know and it's
already it's it's happening.
So there is an implicit biasquiz that harvard um puts out,
which you can go in and take itand see are you automatically
making assumptions?
And um, and and it'sinteresting because there's all
(09:58):
different ways you could bemaking it about um, race, gender
, socioeconomic status, likethere's it's not just one thing,
it's a million different thingsthat you just you know, maybe
you were raised this way and youknow, you don't know that this
way exists and so it's simplethings like that.
(10:20):
But it's very powerful becauseit is a big turnoff to a lot of
women who, you know, are sittingat a couple you know two
couples sitting with a financialplanner and I'm just going to
take a liberty with thisdiscussion and say that a male
financial advisor is not makingeye contact with the woman and
(10:43):
just making eye contact with theman and the man is nodding and
she is zoning out and noddinginterested, and he is talking in
jargon and he is speaking adifferent language.
And you know, our industry isvery male language because it
was created by men for men andthat's okay, because that's the
way it was.
You know, that's who the clientwas.
(11:03):
But that's my point is thefuture client is changing.
It's already changing and itwill continue to change.
So guess what?
You have a new client.
You have new language.
What?
You have a new client?
You have new language.
You have new processes.
You have new everything.
Everything should be differentto accommodate this new, this
new female client.
So the female client doesn'tresonate with beating the S&P
(11:24):
500.
She doesn't care, she wants.
I've never in my entire careerhad a woman say to me I need to
beat the S&P 500.
Never once in my entire, youknow, 25 year career I've had
them say to me I'm worried aboutrunning out of money, I'm
worried about being a bag ladyand homeless.
You know the bag lady fear isreal.
(11:45):
More than 50% of women have it.
It's a real thing, even if it'sirrational depending on how
much money you have.
I happen to have it, I know.
So I can talk about this fear.
You know addressing that fear.
You know things that keep womenup at night are related to life
events and life struggles, andyou know they have no time and
(12:06):
they're raising children andthey have.
You know they have jobs plusraising children and taking care
of the house and everythingelse that falls on a woman.
So you know, and then you haveall the strikes against women in
general pay, wage gap, thewealth gap which, by the way, is
a million dollars over awoman's lifetime for out of the
(12:28):
workforce, caregiving forchildren, having children and
caregiving for parents Milliondollars right there.
Then you know women spend over250,000 more in retirement on
healthcare.
Then we've got retire with twothirds less low social security
(12:49):
we have.
Women have and I hate this one,but it's true, unfortunately we
have a confidence, um, and Ihate this one, but it's true,
unfortunately we have aconfidence gap.
Women have the confidence gap,uh, which is, you know, that
whole women will apply for a jobif they have 10 out of 10 or 12
out of 10 vacations.
Right, exactly, they have tohave more than what's listed.
Um, and a man will apply withtwo or three out of the 10.
(13:11):
So I mean, that's a real thing.
That's been around a long time,you know.
And then women, you know,invest less.
They feel more comfortable withcash.
We have to get them over thathump and, you know, because they
feel the loss more because theyhave so much, you know, their
nest egg is so precious to thembecause it took them so much to
get it, that it's harder forthem to, you know, lose money.
(13:35):
And again, we know that thelosing money is only a
short-term thing.
If you zone out to 10 years,you know there's never going to
be a period in time where, in abalanced portfolio, a woman's
going to lose money Like itdoesn't.
It's not going to happen, noton my watch, unless they're in,
and not on your watch unlessthey're in a single stock that
goes bankrupt or a Ponzi scheme,none of which is happening with
(13:56):
a, with a CFP professional nothappening.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
You know not happening.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
So it's just it's there's so many like so much
emotion also around the moneyfor women, you know, and for me
when I get hired from.
When a client hires me, it'susually during a terrible time
in her life a divorce, a death,a disability, a job loss.
It's always something terriblynegative and I always say I wish
(14:23):
a woman would come to me whenthe sun is shining rather than
when it's raining.
And she always comes to me whenit's raining and it's okay
because I have we have empathy,I'm going to get her through
this.
I used to call it traumabonding, but now I call it
resilience bonding.
Oh, I love it.
Which is when you get themthrough the most difficult
(14:43):
period of their life and theycome out stronger on the other
side and you are with them andyou are the reason that they
come out on the other side.
They will be with you for therest of their lives.
You are going to be resiliencebonded, and it's totally
positive, rather than traumabonding, which is a negative
word, Even though it's prettymuch very similar.
It's just a matter of thewording, but it is similar and
(15:06):
trauma bonding is a negativemeaning, like you're trying to
like, twist their arm or dosomething like you know, in a
negative way, and that's not atall what we do.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
That's amazing.
I think that it's true.
So many times you start workingwith people because of a
transition and in so many cases,those transitions are
extraordinarily disruptive, evenwhen they're positive.
Transitions like an inheritance.
But if you're sitting in yourcar listening and having wanted
to go through the process offinancial planning and it's not
(15:37):
that rainy day there's no timelike the present, because you
can really be impactful, you canmake yourself safer for the
future, but you can alsocapitalize on opportunities that
may not be there on that rainyday.
So I always encourage people tobe, you know, incremental and
get started.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Absolutely.
There's absolutely no timelinetoday Like that's it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
We've listed off all the things, all the knocks we
have against us.
You know that we're.
When you're a sandwichgeneration, the sandwich is
often the female.
When you're a sandwichgeneration, the sandwich is
often the female.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Um, you know, we are living longer with oftentimes
less resources.
I didn't even put that in thereand you're right and I and that
is another one of the things isthe longevity, so not so we
could be actually women.
We could be retired for longerthan we worked.
And when I tell people thatthey're like what?
And I'm like, think about it,how many years did you work?
And then, if you're living to ahundred or past a hundred, you
(16:38):
could potentially be retired forlonger than you worked.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Yep, Absolutely.
And also, though, women arereally emerging as power brokers
we are.
we now have the concept of thefemale breadwinner or oftentimes
I work with double breadwinnerfamilies where both partners are
career oriented and makingpowerful decisions in the
(17:01):
workplace.
They have extraordinary humancapital and yet we were raised
with a tool set that may nothave equipped us to make more
complex financial and investmentdecisions, even though we have
all of that capability.
You know genetically and as adecision maker.
We haven't been told that thisis something that we can do.
So what are your?
What did your research showabout these types?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
of people.
Oh, it's so interesting.
I'll tell you exactly a storyjust from the other day from a
client of mine who's a I workwith almost exclusively um
breadwinning women like that's,like that's my main demographic
um because they say you mirroryour clients and that's what I
am.
So it's what I, what I attractand I had a one of my very high
(17:44):
wage earner.
Women say to me Carrie, justbecause I know how to make it
doesn't mean I know what to dowith it.
I thought that was perfect.
I'm like that's exactly right.
Nobody like, just becauseyou're great at your job and you
know how to make money doesn'tmean you know what to do with it
.
And that's where we come in,because we're going to tell you
exactly what to do with it, howto do it, how to protect
(18:06):
yourself, where to put it where,so you can sleep at night and
all everything else to make surethat all your ducks are in a
row and how they're workingtogether.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Yeah, and you can manage multiple priorities.
I think that is one of thethings that a financial planner
can bring to the table is thatyou have a lot of options when
you're successful, but knowing,should I focus on the kids'
school or my retirement first,or paying off this debt, et
cetera, et cetera.
It becomes complicated if youdon't just have one decision to
make or kind of one stream ofconsciousness to focus on Right
(18:41):
or what I was going to say allof the above to that answer.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Often it's like yes and and we show how you can
avoid blind spots by addressingmore things, but it's also can
be very overwhelming when you'retrying to figure that out on
your own, and I feel likesociety gives you know.
There's a lot of really greatDIYers out there who love
personal finance as a hobby orinvesting as a hobby, who tell
(19:07):
everybody else who don'tnecessarily consider it a hobby
that their hobby needs to be theavocation of the other people
and so paying for services isnot inappropriate when it comes
to investment in financialdecisions.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Right, and here we are.
We're, you know, 50 year oldprofession, so you know we're
relatively new.
And the reason that we are arelatively new profession is
because, you know, back in theday, everybody had pensions and
social security and that wassupposed profession is because
you know, back in the day,everybody had pensions and
social security and that wassupposed to cover everything you
know.
And then in the 70s it'sinteresting like if you look at
a chart I don't have this chartin my book, but it looks like
(19:42):
this and it's the downfall ofpensions and the rise of CFPs
and it literally goes like this.
So it's as people wereresponsible as pensions pulled
out of the marketplace andpeople were now responsible for
managing their own money withindividual retirement accounts
or 401ks or whatever.
That's when we came into playand that's when you know, we
(20:05):
became a profession.
But that's also to answer yourquestion about the research on
breadwinners, on femalebreadwinners.
What's very interesting on thatis the whole great wealth
transfer which is coming.
You know, by 2030, women willcontrol two-thirds of the
nation's wealth which as itstands today how does that
happen?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
just explain to this.
That's what that's what.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
That's where I'm going.
So that's 30 trillion dollars,which is the same as the gd, the
United States, to put that inperspective, right?
And so everyone's like, well,how is that happening?
And so it's, it's a, it's aconvergence of a bunch of
different things happening atonce.
So one is the fact that ourlongevity because we are living
(20:48):
outliving our spouses and ourparents, living outliving our
spouses and our parents um,we're getting inheritance from
and inheritance from parents andinheritance from um spouses
outliving spouses.
So that's one of the things.
Second thing is that, um, womenare starting businesses faster
(21:08):
than men right now, so theentrepreneur is happening.
Then we also have gray divorce.
So, which is older people youknow, the fastest growing
segment is over 50 years oldgetting divorced and then
getting money transferredthrough that.
And then my favorite out of allof them is that female
(21:29):
breadwinners females willfinally be a majority
breadwinner in the United Statesby 2030, for the first time
ever in history.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Wow, that's my favorite stat.
I love that.
I mean we're getting educatedand we're using those
educational resources tocapitalize.
When I look around my small town, there's so many small business
owners who are female and a lotof times that's out of
necessity because you hit careerroadblocks and you say, you
know, if it doesn't work outthere, I'll do it myself are so
(22:06):
many success stories to focus onand I hope that our profession
is able to match those successstories by a willingness to be
flexible, to be more modern,because really you're telling
the story of the modern economyand unfortunately, our
profession was built over thelast 50 years, 30 years, but it
was built and it was built on astructure that makes the
practitioners less open tochange, because it all starts
(22:29):
with well, here's all the lawsyou need to follow and they
don't make you sound veryrelatable.
And you know, then it's like andI've always done it this way,
and I found all my clients onthe golf course and their wives
may or may not be invited to themeeting because we meet over
drinks after our our round ofgolf.
So there's so manyopportunities for a more modern,
(22:51):
fresh approach.
Um, just like I know both of usare doing in our practices.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Exactly, and it's interesting because another
thing I so there's another statthat I have a whole chapter on
in the book, which is why womenleave their advisors.
And so I so this one's reallyinteresting.
So the stat is that 70 to 90%so we can average it out at 80%
(23:16):
of of women when their spousedies.
Who were met, who are men,leave that advisor.
Who were men, leave thatadvisor.
Wow.
So, and that that number hasnot changed for decades.
So as long as they've beenmeasuring it, it has not changed
.
So it's funny because when Italk to men about that stat,
they say, well, I'm not doinganything wrong.
(23:38):
And I'm like, well, somebody is, because it keeps happening and
guess what, me and you are theones who they're going to.
So I'm happy with that stat,like, if it stays the same,
we're just going to get moreclients for us.
So, cause they're coming to usand they're leaving men who are
ignoring them or not servingthem or not speaking to them or
not communicating with them ornot speaking their language or
(23:59):
not bringing them into theconversation or talking over
their heads, or you know all the, all the different things that
they don't even maybe realizethat they're doing, that they're
doing.
So I also have a quiz in thebook which is um, how female
friendly is your practice?
And it's actually not my quiz.
I borrowed it from a friend andI gave her all the credit in
(24:19):
the book, um and so, but it's a20 question quiz and you can see
, okay, there's things I'm doingthat I had no idea that I
wasn't doing, like having aseparate meeting with, with the
with at it from a woman'sperspective, like with a gender
(24:47):
lens, or if you don't understandwhere she's coming from, ask a
woman, maybe she can tell youwhere she's coming from.
So I mean, there's there's justso many things related to that
whole topic that if men start topractice what's in the book,
they're going to get it right.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
I want that for everyone, because we don't have
the capacity to serve everyone.
Neither of us do, although weare, I know, both rooting for
the success of women in ourprofession.
But we really need that.
It's, it's a blue ocean whereif we can service more and serve
, and service more people in away that they need to be served,
(25:24):
then that is better outcomesfor American households, that is
better outcomes for businesspractitioners.
You know it's win, win, win andthat's why I say that all the
time I literally say win, win,win all the time.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
And then another thing that's fantastic for women
, which is another amazing thingabout women and for women and
related to our profession, isthat women are more
philanthropic than men which isanother, creating win-win-wins,
where if you, if you know,you're talking to the woman
about putting um charitable giftannuities or charitable
(25:58):
remainder trusts and like allthese amazing things, where
you're making the world a betterplace and you're and you're
giving them tax savings and andthey're getting, you know, all
this great benefit from it, it'sand it's just, it's amazing and
women love that stuff and alsowomen love values-based
investing too.
So that's another, that'sanother whole subject where you
(26:18):
know, if have you ever askedyour women clients Cause I hear
a lot, oh, nobody ever asked meabout that and I said do you ask
your women clients?
Would they like to tie theirvalues to their portfolio and
see what they say?
I don't think there was onewoman on the planet that would
say tell me more or who wouldsay no right off the bat, like I
(26:39):
think everybody would be likewhat does that mean?
Sure, explain it to me, youknow.
And then we talk about.
You know what we exclude, whatwe include.
You know anything that's goingto be impactful to them that
they can feel like they're partof this, this is part of you.
This money is an extension ofyou.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
It's so true.
I think that, yeah, thatphilanthropy really makes a
difference.
Being with an advisor that asksabout philanthropy, being with
an advisor that asks what'smeaningful or important to you,
whether it's building orpurchasing your second home, or
teaching the golden rule to yourgrandchildren, which was one of
my favorite goals that one ofmy clients had once.
(27:20):
You know, financial planning is,if done right, is about
possibilities.
It's not about wealth.
We're all.
We're both accountable fordollars and cents and
performance on a statement.
It is about so much more thanthat, and if we can teach more
people to have that perspective,then it again, the world will
(27:41):
be a better place.
The impact will be measurable.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Exactly Well, and I believe that, with this great
shift that's coming and thisupcoming wealth transfer, I do
believe the world is going tochange.
If women are controlling thenation's wealth, I mean, it's
going to be a super excitingtime to be alive.
And it's interesting because,with my bad experience that I
(28:04):
had, where I almost gave up, Isaid I can't give up.
I have to be here for thisgreat wealth transfer.
I've been talking about thisfor over a decade.
I have got to be here toexperience it.
So I am waiting with open armsas it happens and it unfolds
around us over the next fiveyears.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Well, congratulations on the book.
Five years Well,congratulations on the book.
I hope for our listeners andaudience they hear that, even
though this book was writtenwith the intent of educating a
broader financial advisorpopulation to know how to
position their business and getthose great results for the
clients, because of it thatthere is so much information
(28:43):
packed in there for people whowant to be more knowledgeable
about money and themselvesespecially our audience who are
mainly women that it is worth adownload or a borrow at the
library.
Carrie, can you tell us wherepeople can find the book and
then also where they can followyou?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Sure, absolutely.
So.
You can get the book at AmazonBarnes Noble Porchlight anywhere
, like a lot of independentbookstores too.
I don't want to stop theindependence, but Amazon world,
so I'm really easy to find.
So my website iskaricarbonarocom.
(29:29):
Facebook I'm Kari Carbonaro.
Linkedin I'm Kari Carbonaro.
Instagram I'm Kari Carbonaroand I think that that's it.
But those are the main placesyou can find me.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
I love it.
Well, I would be remiss sincewe were talking about
philanthropy right at the end ifI didn't mention that we both
volunteer for an organizationnear and dear to both of our
hearts that is working toimprove access to financial
advice, but also careers andfinancial advice for women.
It's called the Women'sLeadership Alliance, and Carrie
put it in her book and also is anew board member and I'm a
(30:02):
committee member for theorganization, also is a new
board member and I'm a committeemember for the organization,
but we're we're working hard,and so are our friends, to make
this profession better for allof us.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Well, and also speaking of that, so we didn't
even talk about that stat eitherbut so it's pretty much an 80,
20 rule.
So it's 80% men, 20% women, andwe really want to increase that
to be 50-50, because that'swhere we are with the population
and we should nearer thepopulation.
So I mean, I would love and weunfortunately have not really
(30:35):
moved that much in the past twodecades, I think.
We went from 20 to 22 or 20 to23.
So we have moved a tiny, tiny,tiny bit, but not enough.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Not enough at all.
And if you have kids that areloving their econ classes or
personal finance projects, ifyou're considering career
transitions, if you just lovethis stuff, we could use you in
this profession.
There's both.
You know a lot of advisors areat, or past, retirement age, and
then also there is this gap interms of participants as female
(31:12):
professionals.
So we're trying to close thatgap.
But if you're curious, pleasereach out to a female CFP or the
Women's Leadership Alliance.
Yes, or either of us, yes,absolutely Well, keri, thank you
so much.
It's so good to meet you.
I've wanted to meet you for awhile and I really appreciate it
.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
It was so nice to have be on with you.
Thank you so much, Melissa.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Thank you for listening to the Women's Money
Wisdom Podcast.
If you found value in thisepisode, the best way you can
support the podcast is toforward an episode to a friend
or leave a review.
Go to pearlplancom and thepodcast link to get all the
resources and links mentioned.
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