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How Values-Aligned Strategies Authentically Position You for the Great Wealth Transfer
By Holly Lichtenfeld
Over the next 20 years, the United States will experience the largest movement of wealth both within and between generations. Trillions of dollars will be changing hands, which means plenty of opportunities for advisors. Ensuring you’re prepared to serve this new client base is essential to the future of your business.
The Wealth Transfer Favors Women and the Younger Generation
The expectation is that women will inherit approximately 70% of the anticipated $124 trillion.1 Due to women’s longevity, this will be a horizontal transfer from spouses as well as a vertical transfer between generations, from parents to daughters and granddaughters.
The funds being transferred are in addition to the wealth women already hold. In 2019, McKinsey & Company reported that American women controlled $10.9 trillion in assets, representing one-third of total U.S. financial assets.2
The Great Wealth Transfer marks a meaningful shift. Historically, women have had fewer financial resources and opportunities, shaped by factors such as the gender pay gap and limited access to investing and financial education. But the tides are shifting meaningfully for some women.
What Are These New Investors Looking For?
Women actually care about where their money is going. They take extra effort to ensure their money aligns with their values. According to a UBS Investment Survey,3 “more women (71%) consider sustainability when making investment decisions when compared to men (58%).” This perspective was also reinforced by a client survey conducted by RBC Capital Management,4 which also found that 74% of women customers “were interested in increasing their share of ESG investments in their current portfolios,” compared to 53% of men.
And we’re seeing the dollars flowing in this direction with the combined assets of mutual funds5 and ETFs that invest using ESG criteria increasing by $11.6 billion, to $629.04 billion in January of this year.
I often hear from women of all ages and younger men who have recently received an inheritance that they want to invest sustainably. The challenge is they don’t feel their advisor listens to their input or what’s important to them. They often explain they are working with an advisor referred to them by their family, parents, husband, uncle, etc., and it’s not a fit for them. But there’s still time to change that.
4 Easy Steps to Align With Female Clients’ Needs
1. Lean into your own gender lens approach
There is research-based guidance that gives clear insights into how women approach working with a financial advisor and thus how advisors can support female clients. The CFP Board’s latest research report, Building Wealth: Insights on Women’s Aspirations & Growing Financial Power,6 underscores that women place great importance on financial planners who offer solutions, have a track record of success, communicate clearly, hold certifications, and demonstrate empathy.
Digging deeper into empathy reveals that female survey respondents are looking for qualities including making the client feel comfortable (97%), listening without judgment (95%), understanding personal situation and life goals (93%), and accepting the client regardless of their financial situation (90%).
My anecdotal experience reinforces the data. One of the things I hear most often from female investors looking for a new advisor is that they feel sidelined. They report advisors frequently defer to their husbands or male partners. Shifting to put the woman at the center of the discussion and listening to how she wants to grow and use her wealth is a formula for success.
2. Layer in gender lens investments
At the firm I work at, Nia Impact Capital, our approach to creating gender lens public equity products goes beyond investing in firms with a female CEO. Our founder introduced and expanded the definition of what this type of investing means to the sector.
Our due diligence goes further than identifying companies with female board members or C-suite executives. While those are an important aspect of what we look for, Nia portfolio holdings are actively developing innovative products and services that are important to a sustainable world. From addressing women’s healthcare to healthy foods and providing better energy solutions for clean air and water, these portfolio companies are helping to create a better world for women and girls. This results in a portfolio in which women are represented in meaningful decision-making roles, and the company's products and services improve outcomes for women and girls. Additionally, the organization’s pay equity policies, parental leave, and hiring and promotion practices reflect its stated values. These are indicators of long-term business resilience, and they also resonate with female investors.
3. Choose products offered by experts
You don’t have to be an expert in sustainability to offer public equity investment options that will appeal to these clients. Connect with a provider who has credibility and authenticity.
- Look for one who provides impact reports and creates thought leadership you can share with your clients.
- Women and young investors are becoming more educated and are on the lookout for greenwashing. Does the firm behind the investment product conduct shareholder engagement and have a written proxy voting policy? Do they stick to issues and engage over the long term? Real impact comes from active ownership, and successful engagement often doesn’t happen quickly; it’s not one and done.
When you and your client look at the top 10 holdings, do the companies align with the fund's sustainability claims? Or are you finding oil and gas companies, financial institutions/banks that heavily fund oil and gas, or other unexpected holdings? Does the fund disclose emissions versus its benchmark? Transparency here is a strong signal that the fund takes climate impact seriously.
4. Provide them with easy-to-read information they care about
A multi-page impact report is great to provide to the client who wants that level of detail and will read it. But there are those clients who want quick information or to learn more once they find what interests them most.
At an advisor's request, I created a succinct, bulleted list of impact efforts they can easily forward to prospective clients interested in the strategies. Clients have different communication preferences, and it’s important to find a partner who can provide you with materials you can use.
Work with the firms behind the investment strategies to ensure they provide information in formats that are clear and useful for both you and your clients.
The Great Wealth Transfer is underway, and women of all ages who are interested in working with financial advisors are looking for something different. By leaning into the right experts and meeting your prospective clients where they are, you can continue with your mission to help these individuals steward their wealth.
Sources:
1 Dickler, J. (2025, March 12). Women will get most of the $124 trillion “great wealth transfer,” studies show. Here’s why. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/12/most-of-the-124-trillion-great-wealth-transfer-will-go-to-women.html
2 Baghai, P., Howard, O., Prakash, L., & Zucker, J. (2020, July 29). Women as the next wave of growth in US wealth management. McKinsey. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/women-as-the-next-wave-of-growth-in-us-wealth-management
3 Cheng, M. (2024, August 19). Women and investing: Statistics show progress, not parity. U.S. News & World Report. https://money.usnews.com/financial-advisors/articles/women-and-investing-statistics-show-progress-not-parity
4 Women are leading the charge for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing in the U.S. amid growing demand for Responsible Investing Solutions. RBC Wealth Management. (2021, April 6). https://www.rbcwealthmanagement.com/en-us/newsroom/2021-04-05/women-are-leading-the-charge-for-environmental-social-and-governance-esg-investing-in-the-us-amid-growing-demand-for-responsible-investing-solutions
5 Release: ESG Investing, January 2026. Investment Company Institute. (2026, February 27). https://www.ici.org/research/stats/esg_investing
6 New research shows women lead financial decision-making in most households. CFP Board. (n.d.). https://www.cfp.net/industry-insights/reports-and-statistics/diversity-and-womens-research/building-wealth-insights-on-growing-financial-power
Holly Lichtenfeld is the Chief Marketing Officer & Sustainability Advisor at Nia Impact Capital. Nia provides separately managed accounts (SMAs) and a mutual fund that are invested with a gender lens across its six sustainable solution themes. Learn more at Nia Impact Capital.
Image credit: Adobe Stock Images
