{"id":478916,"date":"2025-12-30T01:18:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T01:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/478916\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T01:18:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T01:18:10","slug":"tell-me-what-to-steer-clear-of-i-live-in-a-male-dominated-religious-society-in-utah-but-i-only-want-a-female-adviser-to-help-me-with-money-how-will-this-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/478916\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Tell me what to steer clear of.\u2019 I live in a male-dominated religious society in Utah, but I only want a female adviser to help me with money. How will this work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question: <\/strong>\u201cI\u2019m particularly interested in female financial advisers. I live in Northern Utah and it\u2019s a male-dominated religious society, so women advisers may be few and far between. I need to know how I can find a recommended adviser in my area, and at the same time, I need someone to tell me what to steer clear of when looking for an adviser. Are there any tip sheets I should be consulting during this process? Is there an easy way to find a female adviser in Utah?\u201d<\/p>\n

Answer: <\/strong>In general, the financial adviser field is dominated by men \u2014 the CFP Board<\/a> reveals just 23.8% of certified financial planners are female, according to data from December 2025. But, that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t get a female adviser if you do a little extra reaching out. (You can use this free tool to get matched with advisers,<\/a> from our ad partner SmartAsset, as well as sites like CFP Board and NAPFA.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI can confirm that your observation about this being a male-dominated field is accurate,\u201d says Lori Gross, financial and investment officer at Outlook Financial Center. \u201cDespite this, there is a noticeable shift happening. More women are joining the ranks of financial advisers, steadily progressing in their careers and making significant contributions to the industry,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For her part, Steph Wagner, national director of women and wealth at Northern Trust and author of FLY!: A Woman\u2019s Guide to Financial Freedom and Building a Life You Love, says while women advisers may be less common locally due to regional demographics, you can seek referrals from friends, family, colleagues or other professionals you work with. \u201cReach out to women\u2019s professional groups or networks and if you opt to use online resources, be aware that some platforms may receive referral fees from advisers which can introduce inherent bias,\u201d says Wagner.<\/p>\n

What to look for in a financial adviser<\/p>\n

The first step you should take is to come up with a list of things you want in your adviser-client relationship. \u201cTake some time to reflect on what you expect from this partnership, such as communication style, investment philosophy or specific areas of expertise. Then start by doing a little research into advisory firms in your area to locate firms you may have an interest in working with,\u201d says Gross.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll likely want to look for someone who holds a rigorous professional designation, such as a CFP. These pros must meet rigorous educational, experience and ethical standards. It\u2019s also important to look for a CFP who is fee-only so they are only paid by you, the client. \u201cThis ensures their advice is free of conflicts of interest and they do not receive commissions from third parties for the sale of financial or insurance products,\u201d says certified financial planner Alonso Rodriguez Segarra at Advise Financial.<\/p>\n

Using one of the industry websites like the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors or the FeeOnlyNetwork will allow you to search specifically for a female adviser in your area. \u201cI can\u2019t promise how many will be in your ZIP code, so you may need to expand your radius. Luckily, many advisers are willing to travel or work remotely,\u201d says certified financial planner Joe Favorito at Landmark Wealth Management.<\/p>\n

Another thing to consider is searching NAPFA for an adviser who may not be female but who specializes in working with women. \u201cYou can also ask Gemini or ChatGPT for assistance and you should find several options in Utah that meet these criteria,\u201d says Segarra. You can also use this free tool to get matched with an adviser,<\/a> from our ad partner SmartAsset.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the CFP Board\u2019s Find a CFP Professional tool filters candidates by location, gender and specialties. \u201cMany advisers work with clients nationwide, so if you\u2019re comfortable with Zoom or phone calls, you aren\u2019t limited to Northern Utah,\u201d says certified financial planner Ryan Haiss at Flynn Zito Capital Management.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whatever you do, don\u2019t rush the process. \u201cSpeak with at least three advisers to get a sense of who they are. Remember, this is your money and your relationship with your adviser will be deeply personal. They\u2019ll know a lot about your financial life, so never let anyone pressure you into making a decision before you\u2019re ready,\u201d says Wagner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once you have clarified your needs and preferences, Gross recommends digging into local firms to see if they might be a good fit. \u201cBrowse company websites to review their offered services and investment philosophy. The \u2018about us\u2019 tab should give you information regarding the firm but also a glimpse of the individual advisers that work for them,\u201d says Gross.<\/p>\n

When evaluating any adviser, Haiss says you should look for transparency on costs and services, flexibility in communication and a clear fiduciary commitment, meaning they are legally required to act in your best interest. \u201cAvoid anyone who is vague about fees, pushes products without a plan or doesn\u2019t take the time to understand your goals,\u201d says Haiss. To weed out any pros who have strikes against them, review prospective advisers\u2019 credentials, experience and regulatory history using resources like the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost fee-only advisers work off of a percentage of assets they manage, called assets under management. Some will work on a flat annual or hourly fee,\u201d says Favorito. For reference, AUM advisers typically charge 1% of AUM while hourly advisers charge between $200 and $500 per hour. Project-based advisers can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $7,500.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bHave an issue with your financial planner or looking for a new one? Email questions or concerns to picks@marketwatch.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Questions edited for brevity and clarity. By emailing your questions to The Advicer, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch; they may appear anonymously in other media and platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: \u201cI\u2019m particularly interested in female financial advisers. I live in Northern Utah and it\u2019s a male-dominated religious…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":478917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[529,64,19451,190830,216964,60,190843,4313,216965,216963,255,47587,216969,216966,216967,216970,216968,5660,1061,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-478916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-analysis","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-corporate","11":"tag-corporate-industrial-news","12":"tag-financial-investment-services","13":"tag-financial-services","14":"tag-industrial-news","15":"tag-investing","16":"tag-investing-securities","17":"tag-mpsmartasset","18":"tag-personal-finance","19":"tag-securities","20":"tag-selection-of-top-stories","21":"tag-selection-of-top-stories-trends-analysis","22":"tag-suggested-reading-industry-news","23":"tag-suggested-reading-investing","24":"tag-suggested-reading-investing-securities","25":"tag-synd","26":"tag-trends","27":"tag-united-states","28":"tag-unitedstates","29":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}