Mothers are frequently caring for more than one person, even multiple generations
Mother’s Day focuses our attention on all the wonderful things our moms do and increasingly that includes managing wealth for the family and for clients.
Wealth Professional asked Louise Fry, an investment advisor with TD Wealth in Vancouver, for her perspective on working with clients who are moms and also how a career in wealth management works for her as a mother.
“Women – especially mothers – often carry the weight of many financial responsibilities, from managing household budgets to planning for both their families and their own financial futures,” she says, referencing a recent TD Wealth survey which revealed that 72% of Canadian mothers say that having children or taking care of adult family members has impacted their ability to achieve their long-term financial goals.
Fry says this is why it’s important for advisors to provide advice that reflects not just financial goals, but real-life challenges, especially as women’s financial planning needs are often nuanced, reflecting different life stages and goals.
“As women progress in their careers and personal lives, their financial priorities often shift toward long-term objectives, such as starting to save for retirement and managing family expenses,” explains Fry. “This may involve balancing multiple financial responsibilities, including the cost of raising children, planning for their education, while also managing daily expenses like mortgage payments and household expenses.”
The TD survey found that among the goals most impacted by the responsibilities of caregiving, Canadian mothers identified their ability to pay off debt (38%), invest in their family’s future (30%), and fulfill their retirement goals (28%). Others indicated that they felt the most impact when it came to furthering education or returning to school (20%), buying property (19%), and starting a business (11%).
“At the end of the day, having sound advice isn’t just about money. For many women, it’s about having the freedom to make choices that benefit their families, their careers, and their wellbeing,” Fry adds.
The investment advisor has first-hand experience of the challenges faced by women, often as the result of dual-caring roles, which is becoming more common among those of the ‘sandwich generation’ who are caring for children and their aging parents.
“I personally have an aging parent who often needs care and financial support, and two kids who are about to start post-secondary education,” she says. “It’s an incredibly rewarding position to be in, but is also extremely demanding, and my experience helps to inform the advice that I give to female clients every day.”
Fry says that working with clients in a way that provides investment advice but also resonates with the reality of moms’ lives is key.
“That could be advice around creating a flexible plan to accommodate the costs of both childcare and elder care, building an emergency fund for the unexpected, or making sure retirement savings aren’t put on hold while caring for others,” she says. “The emotional weight of those decisions is real too, and having an advisor who understands that, because they’re living it too, can make a big difference.”
