Women investors gain ground across generations, but still gaps to close for advisors

A pair of research reports from RBC and Wells Fargo reveal that women are occupying more space on the balance sheet – and getting seats at the planning table – yet their investing behavior and financial realities still diverge in ways that matter for advisors.

A new RBC Wealth Management survey of 2,010 high-net-worth investors in the US suggests that Millennial women with at least $1 million in investable assets are outpacing men on both total and investable wealth, helped by executive roles, business ownership, real estate and more diversified portfolios.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Boomer women are assuming control of a large share of the $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer, including an estimated $40 trillion moving through interspousal transfers alone.

“We are seeing a transformative era where women are focused on growing their wealth but also redefining its purpose, integrating personal values with financial success,” Angie O’Leary, head of wealth strategies at RBC Wealth Management, said in a statement revealing the results.

That framing lines up with broader data from Wells Fargo Investment Institute’s “Women and Investing” report, which looks across the full wealth spectrum. Wells Fargo notes that women already control more than $10 trillion of personal wealth in the US – a figure projected to reach $34 trillion by 2030 – and that 41% of women are their family’s main or co-breadwinner. Yet women still tend to earn less, save less for retirement, and describe themselves as more conservative investors than men.

Read more: More women embracing family CFO role – but still feel financially insecure

Part of that comes down to the gender pay gap: Wells Fargo points to federal data showing women earn $0.83 for every dollar men make, and that single men out-earn single women by about $12,000 a year on average. Over a career, that difference compounds into smaller contribution rates and balances. In a modeled scenario using median starting salaries and equal contribution behavior, a woman’s retirement account balance was projected to be about one-fifth lower than a man’s purely due to pay. When a two-year career break was layered in – a pattern more common for mothers – her ending balance fell roughly one-third below the male counterpart.

Despite that, Wells Fargo’s analysis of more than 50,000 Wells Fargo Advisors accounts from 2018 through 2024 found women investors have made the most of the shots they take. Female-led joint accounts posted the highest risk-adjusted returns in the sample, and women overall took on 13% less volatility than men to achieve similar results. The firm chalks at least part of that up to a behavioral edge: women were more likely to follow a plan, stay invested, and work with an advisor.

RBC’s high-net-worth segment research echoes that appetite for advice. Among women with an advisor, 90% report having a written financial plan and say the relationship helps them feel confident about keeping up their lifestyle in retirement. A majority describe their advisor as a primary source of financial truth, and more than 90% say their advisor tailors solutions to their goals.

For advisors, the generational split may be just as important as the gender split. RBC finds Millennial women more open to higher-risk investments than stereotypes suggest, with no meaningful gap versus men across generations. They are also more likely than older cohorts to cite business ownership and executive roles as key wealth drivers and to plan lifetime transfers to children: 61% of Millennial women intend to pass on wealth while they are still alive. By contrast, half of Boomer women expect to transfer most assets upon their death.

Legacy and philanthropy are central themes. Across age groups, 35% of women in the RBC survey name philanthropy as an important financial goal, and nearly one-quarter list charity as a key beneficiary of their wealth. O’Leary sees “a significant concentration of wealth among Boomer women who continue their longstanding commitment to philanthropy,” and younger women are accelerating that pattern through “giving while living.”

At the same time, Wells Fargo’s broader investor research underscores persistent confidence and knowledge gaps, particularly outside the high-net-worth space. While roughly seven in ten women in one survey said they feel secure about budgeting and short-term saving, only about one-third felt confident investing in stocks and bonds, and 72% described themselves as beginners or having no investing knowledge. Many also self-identify as conservative investors, a mindset that can lead to excess cash holdings unless balanced by thoughtful asset allocation.

That conservative mindset is also coming across in the up-and-coming world of events contracts and sports betting. Reporting by the Wall Street Journal points to the growing but still-minority status of women users on Kalshi's events platform – 26% of its user base are women, compared to 13% 10 months ago – as well as a philosophical disagreement with the fundamental premise of prediction markets.

"I don’t think you’re investing in a real asset, you’re investing in an outcome," said one college student and self-professed woman investor interviewed by the Journal. "It doesn’t really speak to my risk profile."