Q&A WITH GAIL WINSLOW
84-year-old financial adviser
Gail Winslow, senior vice president and financial adviser at RBC Wealth Management in Washington, D.C., got into the business in 1956. She was partly motivated by her parents, who suffered through the Depression. Today, she is 84 years old and not about to start slowing down. She talked to USA TODAY retirement columnist Rodney Brooks about what it was like for women in the field when she started out, the special needs of women as retirees and retirement planning in general. The conversation is below, edited for clarity and length.
Q. How did you get into a career in retirement? Is that what you planned to do?
A. First of all, it was amazing to me when I first entered the field how few people thought about retirement. At that point, there were not that many Americans who owned stock. They were totally dependent on pensions funds. At the time I entered the field, very few people had as much as $10,000 in savings.
In 1956, when I got into it, people were not thinking about retirement. I was interested in this and estate planning. I had a friend who took me with her to meetings on estate planning. I learned then that wills, taxes and trusts were important. I didn’t intend to become attorney. I learned a great deal about the area, and I got interested in accumulation for retirement.
I used to give talks and lectures, first at groups like the Rotary Club and the Lions Club, then at local libraries. First talk was always on “do you know what your will is; have you met with attorneys.” Then I talked about that fact that most people didn’t have as much as $10,000 in savings. So- cial Security would not carry them. It was only a fail safe.
In Washington D.C., there were two women financial advisers. One was with my firm. She later became the first woman member of the American Stock Exchange: Peggy Montgomery.
The head of our firm saw the and the other being what you will do for the rest of your life. And a big part of that latter plan is to make sure you stay connected.
Emily Sanders, financial planner and managing director of United Capital in Atlanta, says many people get social interaction at work. That’s why it’s such an issue when they retire.
“When they retire, unless they replace that with something else, they may feel a loss,” she says. “Studies have shown that being in touch with other people helps them stay intellectually active, improves longevity and helps ward off dementia.”
When you technically retire from whatever it is you’ve been doing, it doesn’t mean you retire from life, says George Fraser, 70, corporate networking guru and author of Click: Ten Truths for Building Extraordinary Relationships. “You wouldn’t retire and go to a rocking chair and sit and stare at television for 12 hours. need for women in the field. In Washington, there were many women who were employed and employed well. They were not housewives; that was unique. In 1956, the majority of women did not work outside the home.
A. At first. To expose myself and get clients, I talked at the alumni groups of women colleges. That’s how I originally built my clientele.
I also found more women were divorced. It was becoming more frequent. These women had a more difficult road to hoe, particularly the ones who had children.
At first, I specialized in dealing with women and their investment need. Later, I started speaking at women’s groups and speaking at colleges. I eventually built my clientele up, with both men and women.
Also, women, in addition to being housewives, most managed the family money. They were the ones who we talked to about to do savings. In 1956, in many parts of the country, they did not have control in their own names of their funds. There were states where women had to have a brother or husband or brother or father ont heir accounts.
My advice for women is not a great deal different. I talk to them about having emergency reserves. Too many times people run into problems and try yo take money out of their 401(k)s and IRAs. If you don’t have reserves you can be in deep trouble.
Second, I say what do you think you will need in retirement. I point out that it’s more than they think, particularly for health care costs. I point out that probability that they will live longer than their parents.
Then we start to plan for how much they should put aside. I talk about how important common stocks are, or at least owner- ship in some fashion. Historically, investments with American corporations, even though market goes up and down, and we have recessions, American corporations are still the best investment overall. That does not alleviate the necessity of having a certain amount of money in fixed income, bonds or municipal bonds.
For young people, there is no question that the vast majority of their investments should be in common stock. Bonds really can’t grow, all they can is provide income and safety. Explain their will be ups and downs. They must stick to their guns and not sell when they the market is down. Then it will be tough to get back in. More often, there have been big upturns in market over the short term. If you are not in market, you will miss them. Many people sell out on the bottom and then get back in at the top.
I try to be a guide for my client for their financial life. I also point out that they should check their mortgages and should have a certain amount of life insurance. How much depends on what their company is providing and what they will need. Some like to think a young person, before they build up investments, should have two years of income for insurance.
Q. So, who are your clients today?
Sixty percent of my clients are women. Forty percent are men. I have some young. But the vast majority are over 50. The reason for that is I don’t manage accounts of very small investors. I will give advice, but for most part, first investment should be in a balanced mutual fund or growth fund. After they get a little base.
I have the children and grandchildren on many of my clients.
Vast majority of my clients have accumulated their wealth on their own. Many of them have over period of time inherited some, but most have accumulated. The real American dream is to accumulate wealth on their own.