Black Women Report Trouble Finding a Financial Advisor to Trust

Black women financial trust

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Three in five Black women expressed difficulty in finding financial professionals or advisors they trust, according to new research from The American College Center for Economic Empowerment and Equality (CEEE).

The research found that engagement of the Black community within the financial services industry is largely transactional—not advisory—and that Black women are less aware of the different types of relationships they can have with financial advisors and institutions.

It’s especially concerning given that Black women play a prominent earning and financial decision-making role in Black households and communities, the inaugural Black Women, Trust, and the Financial Services Industry Study reported.

The Trust Study, comprised of 3,500 middle-income Black women, also found that they experience discrimination and difficulty accessing wealth-building tools, with ‘lack of trust’ as the second most cited reason why this group is not accessing financial services.

The research sought to understand Black women’s unique financial, social, and emotional insights concerning their wealth journey, its linked impact on their families and communities, and what Black women want and need from the financial services industry to succeed financially.

The study provides “a reintroduction to Black women through their own words, in a narrative exploration with statistical significance, and explores new thinking around better serving Black women, their households, and their communities concerning their wealth wants and needs.”

Providing information about the questions to ask about savings, investing, and transferring wealth is an easy way to build trust and better relationships with Black women.

The research underscored three cultural norms critically important to Black women’s financial decision-making and relationships with the financial services industry.

Importance of trust in decision-making

Priority of community/family rather than a focus on ‘rugged individualism

Value of interpersonal community and relationships

Other key takeaways

Emergency savings, retirement funds, and credit scores are top priorities for Black women – as well as major sources of concern

“By creating greater access to applied financial knowledge and community solutions, [the college] strives to narrow the wealth gap and benefit society through generational financial literacy that empowers and educates,” the researchers said. “The financial services industry can complement these efforts with products and services specifically designed to help Black families create and sustain wealth-building practices.

Learn more about the Trust Study, the Four Steps Forward and the Center for Economic Empowerment and Equality at Equality.TheAmericanCollege.edu.

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