Call us cynics but do we really need one day a year to express love and affection to our husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends and partners? Shouldn’t we be doing that everyday? Damn you Hallmark and Russell Stover!

Unfortunately, these charlatans aren’t the only ones who waste our money. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day (and to justify the high fees paid by its clients), a large wealth management firm (which shall remain nameless so we don’t get sued!) recently released a survey describing the differing views of men and women regarding money, investing and financial planning.

According to the survey, men feel they are in charge. Men were more than four times as likely as women to say they made all financial decisions. Specifically, 53% of men and 13% of women said they make all financial decisions.

Less than half of the men but more than three quarters of the women described a joint decision-making process.

Men were more likely to own stocks than women. Men held an average of 50% of their portfolios in stocks whereas women held 37%.

It’s probably no coincidence that men were three times as likely as women to say their total wealth declined since 2000.

The survey goes on to uncover more ‘earth shattering’ factoids but we’ll spare you those painful details. What we’d really like to know is whether we really needed another survey to uncover this information.

Do men and women tend to think differently? Go figure!

Sure, surveys such as the aforementioned serve a purpose. It’s helpful to know some general tendencies. There’s no better way to work with clients than to understand their perceptions about money.

However, each person, couple and family unit will have his or her own perception. Every situation is inherently colored by prior experiences, things our parents told us, the popular press, word of mouth, etc.

Did we really need another survey? – thanks for nothing! In the time it took us to review and analyze the survey, we could have been working with our clients to better understand and help them achieve their goals. Simultaneously, we could have earned some fat fees which would have enabled us to afford more greeting cards and chocolates. There’s no need to fret Hallmark and Russell Stover for your money is on the way!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone…