Do women only want to work with female financial professionals?

Here’s a question we get asked a lot at Purse Strings. Do women only want to work with female financial professionals? 

While there are some women who only work with female professionals, for instance, female doctors, dentists, and financial professionals, many women just want to work with professionals who are smart, trustworthy, respectful, and have their best intentions at heart – no matter their gender. And, let’s face it, there are only 17% of female financial professionals in the industry today.

At Purse Strings, we interview every financial professional. We ask them why they focus on serving women. And from this one question, personal stories are revealed. It’s common to hear men talk about their experiences after their father died. Many had to help their mom with family finances and even contribute to paying household bills and helping raise siblings. They were often surprised at how much their mothers didn’t know or surprised that the finances were a mess, or disappointed that there wasn’t enough money. From these harrowing experiences, they knew they wanted to help women so that they were never caught in these difficult situations.

Here are just four of our financial professionals who come to their profession with compassion, smarts, and a true desire to help women prepare for a healthy financial future.

William Pitney, MBA, CFP, CeFT is the President of FocusYOU. William is passionate about working with women and families to achieve their financial and life goals and protect their lifestyles. He became a financial planner after witnessing the devastating effects that poor counsel had on his mother-in-law following the death of her husband. She lost her home, savings and sense of financial independence. He is deeply committed and works diligently to ensure others never face the same fate.

Philip Weiss, CFA, CPA is a Financial Advisor with Apprise Wealth Management. Philip’s own financial situation at home was always difficult. Like many women, Philips’ mother had little control over the family finances. She ultimately went back to school so she could make her own choices and survive on her own. But Philip watched his mom struggle, and it was very heart-wrenching for him. This experience led Philip to his mission of empowering women with financial education and resources so no woman has to go through the same experience as his mother.

Eric Blake, CFP, is Founder and Lead Financial Advisor at Blake Wealth Management. Eric chose to prioritize working with women for a very simple reason, he is the man he is today because of the women in his life. Eric was raised by a single mother; his father left when he was just a baby. Eric knows he will never truly understand the sacrifices that his mother made to make his life as normal as possible. Not only did she make sure Eric never did without, but she also became a very successful business owner.

Terrell Joyner is Partner / Financial Advisor at Charter Oak Financial. Terrell calls out the obvious and acknowledges the strength and power women have. He shares that “without women, we don’t have life; yes, men provide their genetic material, but it takes a woman to carry a child for nine months, changing her body in the process to give life. Yet society does not pay her the respect she deserves.”  Terrell is ready to make a difference by serving the female market with a dynamic approach of educating his clients and treating them with respect by not speaking at them but instead empowering them. 

It’s clear that these gentlemen want to help women live a life that is financially sound and full of choices.