Where they are investing and how they can maximize returns
Female investors are upping their game, gaining confidence and taking more risks. However, they still lag behind their male counterparts when it comes to the amount of money they make work in the market.
But women are expected to see an influx of wealth as part of what’s being called the “Great Wealth Transfer.”
Cerulli Partners It predicts that by 2048, $105 trillion in wealth will pass to heirs, and approximately $54 trillion of this inheritance will go to spouses. According to research, women live an average of 6 years longer than men Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This increases the likelihood that they will be the real recipients of this wealth.
“We’re about to see this massive shift in who controls the wealth,” said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at asset management firm Hightower Advisors.
Watch Stephanie Link live here: CNBC Pro Live — Wealth for Women – You are invited to join us for a while private, live, personal event May 28 on the NASDAQ MarketSite, designed specifically for serious investors who demand more than superficial market commentary. More details below.
Women dominated $18 trillion in investable assets in the United States in 2023; this represents 34% of assets under management. McKinsey & Company. This figure is expected to almost double to $34 trillion by 2030, or about 38% of total US assets, the consulting firm found.
We have seen an improvement in terms of those becoming more sophisticated, but we still have a long way to go.
Stephanie Connection
Hightower Consultants
While wealth transfer is one way to narrow the gender investment gap, women still earn less than men in the workplace. Full-time working women in the United States are typically paid 81 cents for every dollar paid to men. National Women’s Law Center.
This has led to a gap in retirement savings, said Veronica Willis, global investment strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Willis co-authored the firm’s 2025 report “Women and Investment” report.
“We have seen some signs that the gap is starting to close, but there is still some work to be done,” he said.
How do women invest?
According to Wells Fargo research, women are more likely to describe their investment approach as conservative.
Link said he sees this with his female clients who aren’t focused on beating the competition. S&P 500 and instead they want to preserve the wealth they have.
“We have seen an improvement in terms of those becoming more sophisticated, but we still have a long way to go,” Link added.
Willis said women actually tend to be a little less conservative these days and are actually taking a little more risk. He also stated that their confidence in their ability to invest has increased.
Nearly 71 percent of women said they were invested in the stock market in 2024, according to a survey by Wells Fargo; This rate was 60 percent compared to the previous year. Generation Z and Generation Y led the way.
In fact, the firm’s analysis found that the performance of single-woman and female-led accounts over a seven-year period was similar to the performance of single-male and male-led accounts. But accounts managed by women have the highest risk-adjusted returns, Willis said.
“Women are less likely to check these accounts every day, which means they are less likely to make transactions,” she explained. “The willingness to commit to an investment plan… works in women’s favor.”
Maximize returns
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Willis said investors need to evaluate their goals to understand how they should invest. He then noted that they need to make sure they have the right allocations in their portfolio so that their investments grow over time.
“[Make] “I’m confident you have a good mix of stocks and some assets that will diversify some equity exposure,” he said.[Resist] The temptation to fly to safety is to be in cash or all fixed income assets when it comes to retirement.”
Shannon Saccocia, chief investment officer of NB Private Wealth, likes to break it down by age groups.
She said women should start investing early, while those in their 20s and 30s should focus on discipline to build strong financial habits.
He noted that by the time they reach their late 30s and 40s, they must have started accumulating some wealth.
“But they should also consider incorporating broader financial advice, such as not just how to allocate their 401(k) and optimize their savings, but also understanding that working capital from working is a meaningful input into their financial equation,” Saccocia said.
This includes workplace compensation and the best ways to diversify equity ownership, he noted.
Women need to be honest about what they want later in life, both during and after their lives.
“Who will carry on their legacy? How do they think about balancing lifestyle, philanthropy and intergenerational wealth transfer? These should be clearly articulated as part of discussions with their advisors,” Saccocia said. he said.
Education is very important to Hightower’s Link. Start reading, find a mentor to help you achieve your goals, and talk to other women, whether over a game of Mahjong or in an investment group, she said.
The best advice he received for anyone looking to start investing came from his father, right after he graduated from college in 1992.
“You start investing very early, and when you’re young you can take more risk… you want to have more equity exposure versus fixed income exposure,” he said. “You want to start dollar cost averaging.”
Dollar cost averaging allows investors to build positions over time and at changing prices. He said investors can take a certain amount — even $10, $50, $100 — directly from their bank account and put it into an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P.
Those with a 401(k) can have money withdrawn directly from their paychecks.
“You’ll never miss it, and over time you’ll be so grateful you did it, because you won’t be able to time the market,” Link said.
A Special Invitation: CNBC Pro Live — Wealth for Women: You are invited to join us for a while private, live, personal event May 28 on the NASDAQ MarketSite, designed specifically for serious investors who demand more than superficial market commentary. CNBC Contributors will present a series of “strategy lounges” designed to deliver personalized, empathetic and actionable financial growth strategies. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers about how to navigate the changing investment environment.
