A New Era of Women & Wealth: The Great Wealth Transfer

Child and Grandma

A Transformational Shift in Wealth

Women are set to control an unprecedented share of global wealth in the years ahead.

More than $100 trillion is expected to transfer to the next generation over the coming decades, with a significant portion moving into the hands of women1. In the U.S. alone, female-controlled wealth is projected to nearly double to approximately $34 trillion by 2030.2

Women’s growing influence over wealth is redefining the industry, requiring advisors to evolve their approaches and client engagement strategies. Women already control a substantial portion of assets—many of which remain under-advised—highlighting both a gap and a meaningful opportunity. As their role in managing wealth grows, financial decisions are becoming increasingly personal and complex across the course of their lifetime. In turn, advisors will need to adapt their approaches to better reflect women’s evolving needs, priorities and goals.

1 Cerulli, December 2024. 

2 McKinsey PriceMetrix, 2019. 

What’s Driving the Shift

Earnings Growth

Growth in income and career advancement is increasing women’s economic power.

Longevity

Longer life expectancies are positioning women as primary financial decision-makers over time.

Inheritance Trends

A historic wealth transfer is shifting greater financial control to women.

Women and Alternatives: Built for Long-Term Capital Deployment

89% prioritize long-term outcomes

80% are unlikely to require near-term withdrawals

Women and Alternatives: A Strong Focus on Risk and Diversification

87% of women describe their risk tolerance as conservative or moderate

94% view diversification as essential

Women and Alternatives: High Trust in Advisors With a Need for Understanding

88% of women trust their advisor on alternatives, but want greater transparency

74% of non-users would consider alternatives if framed around overall portfolio benefits

Women report high satisfaction with alternatives

84% of women who own alts are satisfied with the performance of their alternative investments

84% of women say alternatives are essential to a successful portfolio strategy

Women’s long-term focus on asset growth may make them especially well-suited for alternative investments

91% of women are primarily focused on the long term

90% are willing to ride out volatility to achieve their goals

Female investors are seeking greater exposure to alternatives and advisors who can help them navigate the opportunity

89% of women want their advisor to speak to them more about alternatives

89% of women want their advisor to stay ahead of the curve on new alternative investment opportunities

Resources

Explore our comprehensive resources to help deepen your conversations and grow your practice.

Mastering the Opportunity: Investing Essentials

Explore the essentials of alternative investing with our comprehensive toolkit, featuring white papers, seminars, and videos. 

We cover key topics across the asset class, including private markets, along with in-depth insights into real estate, credit, infrastructure and private equity.

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The Alts Allocator

Discover how alternatives can impact a portfolio with the Alts Allocator. 

This interactive calculator lets you model how adding alternatives may influence potential outcomes compared to a traditional portfolio.

 

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The Alts Institute

On paper, the benefits of alternative investments are many, but their role in a portfolio may vary.

The Alts Institute is a place where investors and advisors can access the foundational expertise, asset-allocation perspectives and best practices they need to unlock the full opportunity of alternatives.

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The Alts Institute Alternative Investing Survey responses reflect the views of participants at the time of the survey and may not be representative of all investors. The results presented herein are not indicative of future outcomes or investment behavior. This material is provided for informational and educational purposes only. 

Survey Methodology: Brookfield commissioned CoreData Research to conduct separate online surveys between April and June 2024 of 300 financial professionals in the U.S. and Canada with an average practice AUM of US$633 million, and 625 high-net-worth investors in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan with at least US$2.5 million in household investable assets.