Adviser gender can affect client recommendations - research

Male advisers recommend higher risk to men

Sophie King
clock • 1 min read

Male and female financial advisers make judgements about clients based on their own gender, which has a notable effect on the advice they give, according to a study carried out by King's College London Business school.

The research, led by Dr Ylva Baeckstrom, found female advisers gave the lowest knowledge and control ratings to female clients. They also recommended lower risk portfolios to female clients than to their male equivalents.  Male advisers, on the other hand, were more likely to be recommend higher risk profiles to male clients.  The findings were based on Baeckstrom's work with 129 advisers who specialise in millionaire clients. The chosen advisers were each provided information about ten fictitious clients whose genders were switched. They then had to recommend the most appropriate ...

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