This study investigates whether the presence of same-gender bias exists when investors select a financial advisor. Through an online survey, approximately half of the sample was asked to consider two advisors, a financial planner who was male and an investment advisor who was female. The other half of the sample were asked to consider the same advisor profiles, only the financial planner was female and the investment advisor was male. The results showed no evidence of same-gender bias, however, females displayed a strong preference for a financial planner, regardless of the advisor’s gender. To try and understand why females preferred financial planners, we found evidence that males and females associate different attributes with financial planners and investment advisors. Specifically, females associate collaborative and easy to talk to/good listener with a financial planner. We also found evidence that investors who value these “soft skills” are more likely to hire a financial planner than an investment advisor.
Author(s): Matthew Sommer, HanNa Lim, Maurice MacDonald
