Fewer than a third of women describe themselves as highly confident managing their own money, but that confidence roughly triples when they take the lead on financial decisions, according to new survey data.
Only 31% of women surveyed said they feel highly confident managing their finances, while those who actively lead their own financial decisions reported confidence levels nearly three times higher. Women who work with a financial advisor saw roughly a 60% jump in confidence, and close to 40% said they want more time and space to focus on their finances.
The findings come from HerWorth, a research initiative from Beacon Pointe Advisors, one of the largest female-founded RIA firms in the country. The survey gathered responses from more than 10,000 women investors between late 2025 and early 2026, combining a nationally fielded panel with an organically recruited group spanning different regions, income brackets, and stages of life.
"When women become more involved in financial decisions, they ask different questions, make more informed choices, and become more confident over time,” said Shannon Eusey, the firm's co-founder and chairman. “That is where real transformation happens. As more wealth shifts into women's hands over the coming decades, helping women build that confidence may be one of the greatest opportunities facing our industry. We hope these findings inspire more conversations, greater engagement, and stronger partnerships that empower women to lead with confidence."
The research lands as an enormous transfer of wealth moves through American households, with women increasingly positioned to control a growing share of it. Beacon Pointe argues the real opportunity for the industry isn't just preparing women to inherit assets but building the confidence for them to actively direct financial decisions once they hold them.
The white paper points to coordination as a decisive factor in whether advisor relationships succeed. Demonstrated results and a clear understanding of client goals were the two leading reasons women said they would recommend an advisor, cited by 34% and 21% of respondents respectively. But limited coordination across a client's full financial picture was the single biggest reason cited for advisor relationships falling short, named by 25% of women surveyed.
Women who work with an advisor reported meaningfully higher confidence than those managing money alone, at 38% versus 24%. That confidence climbed further, to 42%, among women who work with multiple advisors offering specialized support.
Nearly three in ten women surveyed said they were holding substantial cash uninvested, which Beacon Pointe estimates adds up to more than half a billion dollars in idle cash across HerWorth participants.
Among women with portfolios exceeding $500,000, 63% had more than $100,000 sitting uninvested, often for longer than a year.
The study frames this less as a simple cash-versus-investing question and more as one of forgone growth potential, while noting that appropriate cash levels vary by individual circumstances, risk tolerance and time horizon.
Some financial decisions are going unaddressed altogether. Almost half of women surveyed, 47%, said they had not yet made plans for aging parents, and 32% had not yet put an estate plan in place.
Investment management, retirement planning and estate planning topped the list of areas where women said they wanted more help, cited by 38%, 41% and 35% of respondents respectively. Healthcare planning, insurance and support with aging parents trailed, each named by 18% to 19% of women.
Trust in artificial intelligence for financial decisions remains limited across the sample. Some 86% of women surveyed said they do not trust, are skeptical of, or only somewhat trust AI for financial planning.
That skepticism grows more pronounced with age: 19% of women aged 24 to 34 said they mostly or fully trust AI for financial advice, a figure that falls steadily to 16% among 35 to 44 year-olds, 14% among 45 to 54 year-olds, 11% among 55 to 64 year-olds, and just 7% among women 65 and older.
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