Financial institutions broke Boomer women’s hearts. Can they win her back?

As we explained in a recent press release, while the recession is testing this generation of Boomer women’s beliefs, they are more than up to the challenge with nearly 8 out of 10 reporting that “the older I get, the more resilient I become.”

Last week I wrote about how this woman is gaining spiritual strength while resisting organized religion and the prophets of prosperity whose premise (“You can have whatever you want badly enough”) seems increasingly disconnected from reality.

But these trends are not just spiritual. Boomer women are traveling a similar path on a financial level. They are gaining confidence in their own ability to manage their lives while losing confidence in the same institutions that need their financial business.

What does she think of her financial future?

Women are not optimistic about the financial future. Over 62% of our survey respondents said they are “increasingly worried” that they will not receive the same level of social security and Medicare benefits that their parents did.

What does she think of her financial advice?

Even more remarkably, Vibrant Women are even less willing to trust the financial institutions that could help them prepare a more secure financial future.

A remarkable 67% of respondents said they do not trust their financial advisors. One-third reported that they trust their financial advisors and institutions less than before the Recession; another one-third report never having trusted them to begin with.

What does this mean for financial advisors and institutions?

Among industries that need the business of Boomer women to grow, I can’t think of any (other than pharmaceuticals) that has shown more attention than the financial industry. How have they failed so badly?

Banks may blame the Recession for this outcome. I think Boomer women would laugh at this reaction, since the banks themselves led the country into this Recession, and did so with an approach to lending that women experienced at balancing their own checkbooks are especially likely to disrespect.

That said, neither financial advisors/institutions and Boomer women can ignore each other. There is too much money at stake for both. How can banks and advisors earn respect from the Vibrant Women they need?

They should begin by making internal decisions and delivering messages that let this woman know they understand her.

• How about hiring a woman CEO who can talk to the customers her bank will need if it wants to grow? How come no major U.S. financial institution has tried this yet?
• How about hiring someone from Procter & Gamble Olay brand, which has succeeded in giving women access to skincare information in a way that is empowering and not insulting?
• How about starting a program of free, multimedia financial/investing education courses, for women and by women?
• How about training a new generation of female financial advisors to serve their peers? This could combine two important premises (Vibrant Women seek professional opportunities that provide meaning and money, and Vibrant Women trust no one as much as other women like them) for a very successful result.

These are just a few ideas in an industry that needs a lot of them. But it won’t come up with them without some women at the table, without making women part of the solution, and without winning some real, satisfied women as clients.