I believe that the future of the financial services industry has never looked better or brighter, and I, for one, am excited. We are about to come into the largest transfer of worldwide wealth in the history of humankind. All of this money has the opportunity to come into our companies and especially into your practices or your successors’ practices. There will be trillions of dollars passing between generations, and women are poised to become an even bigger force within the wealth management market with all of the money in motion that will be passing between generations and spouses.

Therefore, the opportunity to work within this powerful demographic is huge for all advisors, and the more we know about the nuances of this target market, the better equipped I believe everyone will be to work with women in the wealth market.

However, before I go any further, I want to take a moment and address something that I think many of you here today may already be thinking to yourself: Jane, will you please adjust your red glasses, give your head a shake and look around the room. Have you not noticed that there are other women here? Don’t you think we already know what women want when it comes to creating wealth? Well, I must admit I used to have those same thoughts, but that was before I started digging deeper into what is important to this demographic. I quickly came to the realization that just because I/we might be a woman, it does not mean we have all of the answers, because one size does not fit all. No two people are the same, and it is the same for women as it is for men.

In our time together, a few things are likely to happen. One thing that might happen is that you will confirm you are already working well within the women’s market, and you are on the right track. The other thing may be that you will gain some additional information to add to what you are already doing, and it will make you even more valuable and sought after by women when it comes to their financial planning. One other thing that might happen, as many of my coaching clients have shared with me, is, “Funny, if I stop doing it that way, maybe the pain of hitting my head against the wall will stop!”

However, before I go further, I would like to take you on a little journey to help you understand why I am so passionate about helping advisors work to the best of their ability within the women’s market. I will share with you some firsthand insights into what women want when they are working with you, and I have a little secret for you: It is not all about the money!

I joined the insurance industry as a financial advisor in my hometown to try it out for one year, and I left 27 years later never figuring out which year it was supposed to be. By the way, I started when I was 12. That is my story, and I am sticking to it. Shortly after I joined, I met and fell in love with a dashing officer in the Canadian Air Force, and 16 months and one day after we met, we were married. So what happens when you marry a man in the Air Force? You move!

During my time as an advisor, I set up four separate client bases across Canada, so I am well aware of what it takes to build a successful practice in the financial services industry. Two of them were in markets where I knew no one but my husband, and in the other two towns we moved to, I knew less than six people in each location. However, they say love is blind, so away I went. During my time as an advisor, I always believed in the work I was doing, but along the way something happened that changed everything for me.

In our fourth posting, we were only supposed to be there for 10 months, and then we were going to move again. Therefore, I made the decision to leave the life insurance business and become a full-time mother to my daughter who was about 3 years old at the time. However, in its infinite wisdom, the military made it a permanent posting, and a very persistent man in the insurance industry talked me into coming back into the profession again. Life was wonderful, and over the years, we built up a great circle of friends, became active in the community and my daughter’s school, and life was good.

One sunny weekend in July, we all trooped off to the big-box store to get some paint because I wanted to paint the fence by the side of our house. After dinner, we joined one of my husband’s colleagues, who lived two doors over from us, and had a lovely evening swimming, laughing and having fun. We cut the evening short, as the next morning was to be an early one. My daughter was heading off for her annual summer vacation with my parents, and her dad had a commitment as well.

Dad and daughter spent an hour in her room the next morning reading, talking, laughing and having a good time before saying their goodbyes. I remember hearing her dad say to her, “OK, I love you, sweetie, and will miss you a lot. Have a great time, mind your manners and be good for your grandparents. Talk to you tonight.” She promised him she would, and he came into our room to kiss me goodbye and told me he was looking forward to our date later that day. On the way down the stairs he yelled, “I love you girls! See you soon.”

I took her to the airport, and on the way home stopped for breakfast at my favorite coffee shop. While I was sitting outside, I remember looking at the sky, as clear and blue as it could be, and thinking how lucky I was to have such a wonderful life. Once home, I resumed my fence painting, had the radio playing and was really looking forward to my husband coming home so we could start our date. A little while later, our neighbor, whom we had shared the great evening with, dropped by to chat. We lived in a court of about 10 houses, and, while we were talking, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a police car drive in and park in front of his house. We thought nothing of it because there had been a number of items stolen from his garage two weeks before. He said his goodbyes and went home to speak with the police officer while I turned the radio up, sat back down, kept singing way too loud and proceeded to get back to my painting.

As I was sitting there, I happened to look up through the lattice on the side of the railing I was painting to see my neighbor and a baby-faced police officer walking across the lawn of the house between our two toward my house. I stood up. The officer addressed me by name and asked me if we could go into the house. I said, “No, where is my husband?” Again, he asked me if we could go into the house; again I said no and asked him where my husband was. I had this insane notion that if I did not let this man come into my house, then he would not deliver bad news to me. At this point, the officer, who had tears in his eyes, took a deep breath, looked at me and said, “I regret to inform you that your husband was killed in an accident this morning.” My husband was only 39 years old! In less than 60 seconds, the life I had given thanks for a few hours before turned into a nightmare, and I was suddenly a widow with a 12 1/2-year-old daughter and a financial tsunami coming my way.

I had to make three important calls that day: The first one was to my parents who had to break the news to their beloved granddaughter that her daddy, her hero, was dead. That goes above and beyond grandparenting duties in my book. The second call was to the youngest of my husband’s brothers to ask him to tell his parents and my other brother-in-law because I did not have the strength to tell them myself. The third call I made that day was to the only person who could answer a very important question for me, a question that needed to be answered by someone I had a solid, trusting relationship with. I called my life insurance advisor. I knew everything that went on in our house financially. Our wills had been reviewed the year before, and we had even purchased more life insurance, but I had never been so terrified in my life, and all I wanted was for him to answer one question for me: Will we be all right?

He was at my house within two hours, and later that evening, I walked into my sunroom where my advisor and husband’s best friend were talking. I told them I needed a lawyer, and I needed one fast. Yes, I needed one to settle the estate, but even through my shock, I was coherent enough to know that I was also going to need one because I was in big trouble. You see, my husband was piloting a small plane that crashed, killing him and the three other passengers who were with him. In less than 60 seconds, four people each lost their spouse, and five children each lost a parent that day. Within six months of his death, I was served with the first of two lawsuits and then with the third one within the two-year filing window because the three families sued everyone who stood still that day.

It took 10 years for those three lawsuits to be settled.

Unfortunately, during that time, I was afraid to spend the life insurance money that my husband had lovingly put in place as a safety net in the event that something happened. I was beyond terrified that if the three families won the lawsuits, and I had to pay a huge settlement, where in the world was I going to get the money from to pay them? For those 10 long years, I shook every time I saw anything from the lawyer who was defending my husband’s estate because I never knew if he was informing me that I was going to be penniless and living on the street somewhere or if I was going to be all right. Thankfully, it was the latter, but the day I heard the verdict and knew what the judgment was, I cried so hard from relief that for the next two days, I felt like I had been run over by an 18-wheeler truck.

So why am I telling you this story? Why do you think I have shared such a personal story with you and have ripped my heart out again to lay it on my arm to bleed? Have I shared it with you because I want you to feel sorry for me? Am I the only person in the world who has ever lost someone? No!

I have shared it with you because during my time as an advisor, I have delivered many death claim checks, but none has ever affected me as much as the one I received that had my name on it! It is one thing to deliver a check to grieving beneficiaries, offer your condolences and then go home to your normal life. It is a very different story when you are the one being handed the check, offered the condolences, and you cannot go home because you are home, and you are living the nightmare. Having been an advisor, I had foolishly thought that if anything happened to me, I would be fine. Wrong! I was blindsided by so many things and spent so many sleepless nights constantly worried about whether we were going to be all right that I started to wonder over time: If this is what I am going through with all of my education, training, expertise and a designation, then what in the world does the average person go through, especially other women, and how can I take the experiences I went through to help others? Hence, the reason why I now speak around the world and why I am here with your today.

Three key areas

• Overall scope of the female economy globally and in North America
• How women wield their purchasing power and how they feel about the financial services industry
• What women are looking for when they seek financial assistance/advice from an advisor

My intention in our time together is to share with you things that I have learned from my research, the numerous conversations I have been privileged to have with other women and my own personal experiences. I want to help you to truly appreciate the depth and breadth of the female economy that is unfolding before you, appreciate the phenomenal purchasing power of this segment of the population and give you some insights into how this target market currently regards the insurance industry. I also want to share with you some things you should be keeping top of mind when working to develop trustworthy relationships with women of all ages and life stages.

So let’s begin by looking at the overall scope of the female economy from both a global perspective and here in North America. Women now drive the world economy and represent the largest market opportunity. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Women’s Report (2016/2017), the global female economy represents a bigger opportunity than China and India combined. Internationally, women control $40 trillion — or approximately 30 percent of the world’s wealth. In 2016, an estimated 163 million women were starting or running new businesses in 74 worldwide economies, and an estimated 111 million were running established businesses. Not only does this show the impact of women entrepreneurs across the globe, but it also highlights their contributions to the growth and well-being of their societies.

Women entrepreneurs and their businesses provide incomes for their families, employment for their communities, and products and services that bring new value to the world around them.

Here in North America, a Women and Wealth report (IPC Private Wealth and Strategic Insight) predicts that over the decade 2016 to 2026, women in Canada will inherit financial assets of approximately $900 billion in personal wealth.

In the U.S., women currently control 51 percent, or $14 trillion, of personal U.S. wealth, and this amount is projected to reach 66 percent, or roughly $22 trillion, by 2020. They call this transfer of wealth directly to women “money in motion.”

However, before I share with you some of the factors that the Women and Wealth report states are affecting this transfer of wealth to women, think about what may be some of the contributing factors to this significant transfer of money. What do you think are some of the reasons all of this money will be changing hands?

Factors affecting transfer of wealth

• Greater participation in the workforce
• Far higher levels of professional responsibilities
• Increase in women entrepreneurs
• Beneficiaries of a disproportionate share of wealth transfer
• Mothers to daughters/grandmothers to granddaughters

The report found that today women represent a greater overall participation in the workforce, and they are rising to far higher levels of professional responsibilities within organizations, although in many people’s minds, this is still at a pace that is not fast enough. There has been a significant increase in women starting their own companies. And I am proud to share that I came across an interesting report, which stated that in December 2017, Canadian women were the most active women entrepreneurs in the world (GEM Canada 2018).

Women are also the beneficiaries of a disproportionate share of the wealth transfer that is underway. However, before the intergenerational transfer of wealth takes place, assets are frequently passed between members of the same generation, often from husband to wife or from partner to partner. A substantial portion of this wealth will be transferred from mothers to their daughters or grandmothers to their granddaughters.

Let me share a little story with you. My first husband’s parents passed away within months of each other toward the end of 2017. The eldest of their three sons was my husband, and since he died before his parents, when his mother died, she left a substantial third of her estate to his daughter, her granddaughter. Her husband passed away two months later and also left my daughter a small lump sum. Now, if my daughter is smart, and she is, she will never worry for money because the second person she called after telling me how much she inherited from her grandmother was my financial advisor, who is also her advisor.

All of these factors have an impact on the estimate of what is being coined, as I mentioned before, “money in motion,” where women are the beneficiaries.

Now that we have an idea of where this wealth is being generated from, let’s look into how women actually wield their purchasing power, and let’s focus on what they really feel about the financial services industry in particular.

Women wield their purchasing power

According to a “Harvard Business Review” article, women are the chief purchasing officers for:

• 94 percent of home furnishings
• 92 percent of vacations
• 91 percent of homes
• 60 percent of automobiles
• 51 percent of consumer electronics

Today, the majority of women act as the chief purchasing officer in their own household, and they are influencing or managing 85 percent of all consumer purchases. And for your information, that’s not just diapers and detergent. Women buy more cars, insurance and consumer electronics than men as well. Women make most of the decisions in regard to the purchases of home furnishings, vacations, homes, automobiles and consumer electronics.

Is anyone surprised by these figures?

At a recent conference I spoke at, I heard a speaker tell a great story about target marketing.

Has everyone here heard of Universal Studios theme parks? On a side note, I did not know until recently that there is one in Japan as well. However, think for a minute about the ideal client profile they are trying to attract to their parks. Do you think it might involve kids? Of course it does. But I have personally not found too many kids who can drive yet, and, on top of it, most of them do not have the money to pay for such a trip. So who else do you think is part of that ideal client profile they are trying to attract? Do you think it might be a parent? Well it is, and it happens to be a parent between the ages of about 25 and 45 who makes 92 percent of the vacation decisions. Since Universal changed its marketing strategy and aimed it at the chief purchasing officer, revenues have gone through the roof. So what is the moral of this story? Know your target market!

Transition points

• Marriage
• Divorce
• Remarriage
• Childbirth
• Job change
• Business startups

As I mentioned earlier, I am excited about where things are going in our industry, and I have more great news to share with you: There are extraordinary amounts of money up for grabs in the financial services business. The most lucrative opportunities for companies and advisors arise at transition points such as marriage, divorce, remarriage, childbirth, a job change and business startups because women are most likely to make investment decisions around such events. However, the bad news is that a survey done by the “Harvard Business Review” found that women today feel vastly underserved. Despite the remarkable strides in market power and social position that they have made in the past century, they still appear to be undervalued in the marketplace and underestimated in the workplace.

Unfortunately, there is one industry in particular that stands out where women feel they are the most underserved and undervalued in the marketplace, and that industry is ours. Financial services wins the prize as the industry least sympathetic to women — and one that can stand to gain the most if we can change our approach.

“Harvard Business Review” also included a study it conducted to find out what made women feel this way, and, unfortunately, the respondents did not hold anything back when they shared their responses.

In your discussions, you may have come up with more contributing factors than I have here, but these are the Top 6 they cited: a lack of respect, poor advice, contradictory policies, one-size-fits-all forms, and a seemingly endless tangle of red tape that leaves them exhausted and annoyed at the end of it all.

Included in this survey were two quotes in particular that really jumped out at me, and I wanted to share them with you. First: “I hate being stereotyped because of my gender and age, and I don’t appreciate being treated like an infant.” Second: “Financial service reps talk down to women as if we cannot understand more than just the basics.”

The women surveyed also felt they already have too many demands on their time and constantly juggle conflicting priorities, such as work, home and family. Many felt that few companies, especially financial institutions, have responded to their need for timesaving solutions or for products and services designed specifically for them.

So, it begs the question: How do we change this perception? How can we change the way we work with women to make them feel that they are not underserved, undervalued and underestimated? If the industry wants to grow the market share of this powerful demographic moving forward and you want to work more one-on-one with women, how do we adapt the way we are building relationships with them and offer them what they really want?

Research has shown that the financial journeys of women and men are different. I am sure that does not surprise anyone in this room. They have different preferences on how to achieve their long-term financial goals. It has also uncovered not only how those differences play out over a woman investor’s lifetime but also how all advisors can adapt their services to better serve women investors. Simply put, women are potentially better for the long-term success of an advisor’s business. However, a challenge that advisors face is finding the right path to the manner in which women prefer to interact — from the way they speak in meetings to the solutions they offer.

One of the most important points to keep in mind is that women are relationship builders first and foremost, and, therefore, building trust relationships with them takes time. One of the stats that jumped out at me from the Women’s Report I mentioned earlier was that 70 percent of women leave their partner’s advisor within six to 12 months of the partner’s death. Why do you think that is?

It is because there was no prior relationship. However, the good news is that once a new relationship has been established, women are loyal clients. Think about my story. Do you think I would ever leave my financial advisor? Never! However, I am afraid he is going to leave me first because he is older than me. If you are not already investing in building trust relationships with your female client base today, then you could be missing a huge opportunity to grow your book of business.

While it may be easy to use the same approach for women and men, advisors who do so could put their businesses at a severe disadvantage. There are, in fact, key differences between women and men investors as we all know. And often, traditional service models have not evolved to address these differences. Women want to take the time to make informed decisions, so they tend to take a little longer during the process. Therefore, advisors need to understand that a pitch or new idea will not be a quick “one and done” the way it might be with a male investor. Women look for more information sharing before they are ready to make decisions.

Female investors look for:

• Empathy and sensitivity
• Transparency
• Reliability
• Social harmony and financial education
• Goal-based, holistic planning

Women investors are a lot more comfortable with advisors who adequately address and acknowledge the human side of personal finance instead of running away from it. Women investors can provide tremendous opportunities when they are approached with empathy and sensitivity but pose a significant risk if ignored, as they may look for a different advisor who suits their needs. If your approach does not already consider this, then you might need to rethink your approach.

Women greatly value transparency, which, for them, is a natural precursor to trust building as it forms the basis of a solid client-advisor relationship for them.

They also want to know that they can rely on you to deliver on your promises. This is where they need to know that you will step up to the plate and be there for them in their hour of need. Never for a moment after my husband died did I doubt the advice my advisor was giving me because of the trust relationship we had already established.

Women also tend to value social harmony more than asking questions. Therefore, if you are simply feeding information to them sitting across the table as opposed to checking in, asking questions and listening to their answers, then your female clients may be taking in that information, but they might not feel comfortable with the potential outcomes. Women investors are on the lookout for advisors who will offer them jargon-free advice and will patiently educate them on the nuances of investing and provide solutions thereafter instead of bulldozing ahead and pushing whatever product they have on their checklist that day. They want to ask questions, be heard and, above all, be treated with respect. Think back to the quote I shared with you earlier: “Financial service reps talk down to women as if we cannot understand more than just the basics.”

Women are goals-based investors who tend to be risk-aware rather than risk-averse. They may focus on achieving financial security, and they do not solely focus on the financial outcomes of a particular investment. Very few women I have come across invest to simply multiply money aimlessly. For most of them, money is a means to something more. If there is no specific goal, financial independence itself becomes a goal. They value holistic planning and incorporate potential environmental, social and governance impact into that planning. Therefore, as advisors, you must consider this to make sure you are preparing a rounded investment approach when working with women.

Building on this understanding, let’s look at some of the different life stages I have been referring to, and let’s see how these factor into the work you do with your female clients.

Different life stages

• Step out of career to care for family and aging parents
• Widowhood
• Divorce
• Retirement planning needs
• Legacy of love

Many women experience different life stages than men. For example, women often leave their jobs for a number of years in order to raise a family. In Canada, the average length is a 12-year absence. Across the board, more women leave their jobs than men to care for aging parents, and, unfortunately, these numbers will only continue to grow as the baby boomers age.

Widowhood is another life stage that, however uncomfortable, must be planned for as not only do women live longer than men — with an average lifespan of 83 years versus 79 for men — but they are typically younger than their spouses, potentially adding more years to widowhood.

The average age of a widow in North America is 56. However, death does not discriminate when it comes to age. I was 44 when I became a widow, but I have talked to widows from ages 22 to 92.

Women who suffer a loss or a divorce face many similar challenges in regard to the emotions they have to deal with as both have a grief period associated with it. One stat that jumped out at me from the Women’s Report I referenced earlier was that it is predicted that 90 percent of women will become the sole financial decision maker in their own homes at some point in their life. The fear of having to live off less is prevalent in these two groups.

Frequently asked questions we hear from divorced women include “Am I going to be OK?” (which is usually the No. 1 question asked by a widow as well and, if you remember, was my first question for my advisor). Other questions they ask are: “Is this going to be enough?” “Do I need to work more?”

Therefore, helping older women avoid a decline in their living standards is both a responsibility and an opportunity for you as advisors.

As I mentioned earlier, more women than men will leave their jobs for a number of years to raise their families or to look after elderly parents. This may need to be factored in when you are talking to them about how much they need to save for their retirement. Their retirement savings needs may be significantly different from their spouses. Are you asking this question when you are doing your discovery process or reviews?

Whether single through death or divorce, many women are, and will be, faced with the need to rethink their financial priorities and to develop plans and strategies that will provide financial security for both themselves and their dependents. Women care a lot about their families, and leaving a legacy of love for their children is very important to them.

For many women, becoming a financial burden to their loved ones is something that keeps them up at night. Their loss of both financial and personal independence is a huge blow to their pride. One of the things that many women fear is what we call the “bag lady syndrome.” If you are not familiar with this term, it refers to running out of money, being penniless and living on the street. As I mentioned earlier, I struggled with this myself after my husband died, and a good friend of mine who lost her husband two years ago still lies awake at night wondering how she is ever going to make ends meet even though she will be all right.

Simply being a mere distributor of financial products is unlikely to impress women investors too much. Instead, you need to hone your skills and become 360-degree financial planners who have the ability to identify and plan for life goals, manage and mitigate personal risks and help your clients plan for the whole of their lives.

When you strengthen your understanding of the needs, expectations and financial goals of women, you can provide essential support to women in challenging circumstances while, at the same time, building your practice.

What advisors can do

• Mine your own block of business.
• Recommend investments that suit your female clients.
• Adapt your marketing approach to women investors.

So let’s talk about three things you can do to set yourself up for success with your existing female client base before looking for new clients.

I have been in this industry for over 30 years. Today, I coach many advisors, and the one thing I am still not surprised about is the number of advisors who forget to look within their own block of business. Many advisors I have discussions with are sitting on a gold mine of potential business, but for some reason they prefer to be out there chasing down new people to talk to rather than taking care of the business that is ripe for the picking with their own client base. So my question to you is, When was the last time you mined your own client base?

Have you segmented your existing block of business and assessed whether you are currently meeting all of the needs of your female clients? If not, that should be your next step. Is there something your female clients have in common? Are they in the same age group, type of job? Do they own the same products? Do they introduce you to their female friends and family, etc.?

From there, you can develop a deeper understanding of what is important to your clients, and it will not be the same for everyone. When was the last time you surveyed your female clients to find out what is important to them so you know if you are meeting their expectations? You might be surprised what you find out when you ask.

When you have a deeper understanding of what they want, you can recommend solutions that align with their personal, professional and financial goals. Think more about socially responsible investments, managed solutions and other options that can meet a woman’s desire for social good and financial stability.

Marketing strategy

• A+ clients — 18 times a year
• A clients — 12 times a year
• B clients — 8 times a year
• C clients — 4 times a year
• D clients — at least annually

So what is your marketing strategy to this influential demographic? Do you know what kind of attention they want from you? In today’s highly competitive environment, just supplying customer service is not good enough anymore. You have to go beyond to provide “customer delight.” It is all about the value add you bring to the table. Today, making yourself indispensable to us is a vital key to your success, and it is the cornerstone of building an advisor-for-life relationship with us. Successful advisors do not just communicate with us for special sales or when they are in a campaign.

The financial professionals of tomorrow are going to have to become our trusted advisors, coaches, relationship and behavioral managers with a thorough holistic understanding of our situations.

Now, before you all have a heart attack and say, “Jane, that it impossible; I cannot connect with my clients that many times a year,” let’s brainstorm some of the things you can do to deliver customer delight to your clients, and it goes above and beyond sending them a calendar once a year. The good news is that there are no right or wrong answers here, but I think you all might pick up an idea or two from each other during this exercise.

And when all else fails, why don’t you simply ask your clients how they would like you to stay in touch with them on an annual basis to deliver customer delight. You will be surprised what you find out if you simply ask.

Ultimately, women could potentially hold the key to the long-term success of your business. As I mentioned earlier, they are seeking the empathic, holistic, informed and education-focused advice that only you can provide. There is no other professional out there who will ask them the deep, thought-provoking questions that you will.

To this point, we have talked about the scope of the female market — how women wield their purchasing power, what they currently think of the financial services industry and what women really want when choosing and working with a financial advisor.

I would like to leave you with this parting thought today: When you have had a bad day and you get up the next morning, look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, Does anyone really care about what I do, and do I really want to keep doing this? Please think of us. Think of the stories that I have shared with you, and please know that you make such a difference in the lives of your clients and their families that you serve.

Think about the people who have not met you yet and who do not know how much they need you. Think about how much money you have put into communities because of the wonderful work you do. Think about this for a moment: Through the work that you do, you have the ability to put more money into a community than some individuals will ever earn in the course of their working lifetime. With the stroke of a pen, you can make sure that if Mom or Dad does not come home tonight, families can stay in their homes and communities, close to family and friends, and not be uprooted or torn away from the only life they may have ever known. With the stroke of a pen, you can make sure that if someone becomes disabled, he or she can do so with dignity. With the stroke of a pen, you can help people live out their golden years the way they want to. With the stroke of a pen, you can make sure that if the largest employer becomes disabled or dies tonight, 250 employees will not be out on the street tomorrow morning with the doors to the company they work for chained shut because there was no disability buyout agreement in place or no funded buy-sell agreement.

You make such a difference in the lives of the people you serve, and we, your clients, do not tell you that enough. I truly believe this is the noblest profession in the world for the right person, and that means all of you. When you are having a bad day, please think of us. And on behalf of myself, my daughter and my husband, and all of the people who have been touched by the work that you do, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for caring for all of us as much as you do!

Jane Blaufus, CLU, is the bestselling author of “With the Stroke of a Pen: Claim Your Life.” Her book and companion planning binder have become recognized as two of the most comprehensive financial planning resources available today. She has more than 25 years of expertise as a financial advisor, sales manager and executive. Her reputation and expertise make her an influential business coach to many financial services professionals across North America.