Women Are at the Center of the Great Wealth Transfer. Are Their Advisors Ready?

As assets transfer across generations over the next two decades, women are expected to receive a large share of the estimated $124 trillion projected to change hands by 2048.
This shift – an underreported aspect of the Great Wealth Transfer – represents an opportunity for women to take an even greater role in shaping how wealth is managed, invested and passed on. Many are already actively engaged in their finances: in a recent HSBC study, The Financial Glow Up, 45% of affluent women surveyed said they began taking their finances seriously in their 20s or earlier. Beyond engagement, there is an opportunity to improve financial fluency.

As women receive more assets through the Great Wealth Transfer, there is an opportunity to pair their growing financial influence with advice that evolves alongside their lives, according to Racquel Oden, Head of Wealth, Premier and Private Banking, US, at HSBC.

The research also points to an opportunity for greater support. A recent survey co-commissioned by HSBC of more than 2,000 US adults with investable assets over $100,000 found that 41% of women said they feel supported by their financial advisor or institution. For men, that figure is 54%. At the same time, 70% of affluent women surveyed said financial education tailored to their current life stage would improve the quality of their financial decisions.

That gap creates an opportunity for the wealth management industry. As women control a growing share of wealth, advisors will need to provide guidance that reflects changing priorities, responsibilities and life stages.

HSBC’s research shows that financial priorities can span multiple responsibilities and shift considerably over the course of a woman’s life.

“Women’s financial lives are often complex, and their definition of retirement often looks different from men’s,” says Oden. Research shows they place greater emphasis on being able to care for older parents or spouses, knowing those responsibilities will likely fall on them. They can also have greater and more specific concerns than men do about giving money to children, communities and philanthropies, adds Oden, who notes that women comprise the majority of stewards of transferred wealth.

Instead of just planning for themselves and their immediate families, “women are planning for loved ones, and taking care of others, in so many ways,” says Oden. “That’s a major difference in the wealth planning needs between men and women.”

The HSBC study results also illustrate several areas where more proactive planning could be valuable. For example, only 29% of women surveyed feel prepared to cover their own aging costs, compared to 40% of their male peers. A similar gap appears around long-term care needs for a spouse or partner: 27% of women feel prepared, compared with 40% of men.

Longevity adds another dimension to that planning. Longer lives can mean more years of expenses, higher healthcare costs and a greater likelihood of managing finances independently later in life. “These issues are on their minds, and when women sit down with a financial professional, they want trusted guidance on these kinds of questions,” says Oden.

With 41% of women saying they feel supported by their financial advisor or institution, HSBC’s research points to meaningful room for advisors to deepen relationships through more personalized guidance. According to the same study, 49% of affluent women say they are “extremely” or “very” confident in their financial plan. This offers plenty of room for improvement.

While financial literacy means understanding the basics of money, Oden describes “financial fluency” as the ability to put that knowledge into action as circumstances change. It shifts the focus from simply having information to having relevant guidance that can be applied to real-life decisions, strengthening the ability to navigate complexity with clarity.

“Financial fluency is the next level, and it means having the ability to know what to do with your money, and when to do it, as life evolves,” says Oden. It does not mean being an expert or knowing every answer, she stresses, but rather “understanding your needs and goals, and being able to ask a trusted advisor the right questions.”

Building that fluency is a shared opportunity for clients and advisors. “HSBC provides financial education events and resources to help address these needs,” says Oden. At the same time, “advisors and financial institutions have an important role in providing guidance that helps women navigate their changing priorities with clarity and confidence,” she explains.

The coming transfer of wealth creates an opportunity for women to take an even greater role in shaping their financial futures, says Oden, “but we have to move from literacy to fluency so they feel more confident and empowered. That means providing holistic financial strategies that will evolve with them as they move through life stages.”