Financial advisers would be wise to target female clients, David Bach of the Bach Group, and author of "Smart Women Finish Rich," told attendees this week at Schwab Institutional's annual conference for independent advisors in Denver.

Demographics show that the market of women investors is massive and growing: There are 34 million women in the U.S. over age 50, there are 9.2 million woman-owned businesses, and 42 percent of families with $600,000 or more are headed by women, Bach told listeners in session Tuesday titled, "Targeting Affluent Women as Clients."

Women also live an average of 7 years longer than men, work 11.5 fewer years, earn 25 percent less, receive half the Social Security benefits, and only 20 percent of women have a pension, Bach said. The average age of widowhood is 56.

And, Bach noted, women make great clients: They commit (to long-term planning), they refer, they are fun, they like money, and they appreciate fee-based services, he said.

-- By Melissa Klein

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