Women's history month: Female advisors set to benefit from 'Great Wealth Transfer'

With all due respect to the Godfather of Soul James Brown, it’s not going to be a “man’s, man’s, man’s world” much longer, at least not when it comes to the financial world.

An estimated $105 trillion in wealth will be passed down to heirs through 2048, according to Cerulli Associates, with about $54 trillion of that inheritance heading to spouses. Because women, on average, live nearly 6 years longer than men, that makes them more likely to be the ones pocketing all that wealth.

And many of those women will prefer to work with a female wealth manager who may have a better understanding of the unique challenges they face. For those women advisors, it represents a meaningful way to align portfolios with client priorities in a rapidly shifting wealth landscape.

Leah Schwarz, wealth manager & managing director at Perspective Wealth of Steward Partners, for example, believes women are more inclined to desire impactful investing, and they appreciate women-led businesses. 

“They aren’t solely focused on investment managers or companies being led by women, but if you can incorporate them into a portfolio and share the reasons why it’s a good investment – it’s well received,” Schwarz said. 

Schwarz says her female clients tend to focus on family priorities including saving for college, wedding or saving for a new home. They also tend to trade less frequently since they are more long-term focused and are intentional about capital preservation.

“My focus shifts from sales to providing solutions – what is the need or goal they have and what is the best way to explain how the specific investment can satisfy the need or goal,” Schwarz said. 

Along similar lines, Paulina Mejia, national fiduciary counsel at Fiduciary Trust International, says the firm increasingly finds clients being more explicit about wanting their assets to support women-led businesses, strategies that focus on products and services that benefit women, as well as companies with strong records on pay equity, caregiving support, and inclusive leadership pipelines.

“Compared with ‘traditional’ wealth dialogues that can over‑emphasize benchmarks and product features, our work with women tends to focus more on goals‑based planning, financial empowerment, and ensuring the strategy is resilient through pivotal life transitions such as career changes, liquidity events, surviving a spouse, divorce and overall longevity,” Mejia said.

She adds that she also tends to prioritize education around how gender-inclusive investment strategies function within diversified portfolios, reinforcing that impact-oriented allocations can be pursued without compromising long-term financial independence or disciplined risk management.

Finally, according to Kate Huntington, head of advisory solutions group at Fiduciary Trust International, women experience and view their wealth more holistically, and therefore their values often inform their philanthropic decisions as well as their investment decisions. 

“Our advisory approach reflects this deeper engagement around goals, education, investments and long‑term planning. Purpose-driven conversations around supporting women and other core values across social and environmental areas are integrated into broader discussions of portfolio construction and investment outcomes, rather than treated as a separate or siloed allocation decision,” Huntington said.