WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY'S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
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WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
Embrace change. Thrive in Chaos. Know Different. Know a different kind of partner: an entrepreneurial, independent, commercial multi-family office. For fiduciary and corporate, capital introduction, and recruitment services. Let’s start a conversation. +44 1624 692930 | hello@bostonmfo.com bostonmfo.com Boston Limited is licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority. Boston Trust Limited is licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority to provide trust and fiduciary services in terms of the Trusts and Trustees Act. These materials are intended for professional clients or market counterparties only and no other person should act upon them.
CONTENTS FOREWORD 5 RESEARCH ORIGINATORS & EDITORIAL PANEL 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 SECTION 1: Women’s Wealth is Seriously Underestimated; Still Stronger Growth Yet to Come 10 SECTION 2: Global Trends in Female Wealth and Entrepreneurship 12 SECTION 3: Gender Generally Overlooked in Segmentation, Despite Huge Significance 17 SECTION 4: Female Clients’ Wants and Needs Not Well Catered To, With Financial Planning Particularly Neglected 20 SECTION 5: Formulating a Female-Focused Offering 22 SECTION 6: Better Representation of Women Urgently Needed in the Wealth Industry 27 SECTION 7: Wealth Firms Stand to be Very Well Rewarded for Focusing on Women 29 CONCLUSION 31 METHODOLOGY 33 REFERENCES 34
Published by: WEALTHBRIEFING Heathman’s House 19 Heathman’s Road London, SW6 4TJ United Kingdom In association with: BOSTON MULTI FAMILY OFFICE St Mary’s Court 20 Hill Street Douglas IM1 1EU Isle of Man, British Isles Regent House 52 Fifth Floor Bisazza Street, Sliema SLM 1640 Malta N416 Emirates Financial Towers DIFC, Dubai UAE P.O. Box 23325 In association with: CLEARVIEW FAMILY WEALTH Heathman’s House 19 Heathman’s Road London, SW6 4TJ United Kingdom In association with: WEALTHMONITOR 10 Queen Street Place London, EC4R 1BE All artwork supplied by Boston Multi Family Office. Author: Wendy Spires, Head of Research, WealthBriefing Research: Harry Keir Hughes, Lead Data Analyst and Researcher, WealthBriefing Graphic Designer: Jackie Bosman, WealthBriefing © 2017 ClearView Financial Media Ltd, publisher of WealthBriefing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopy, information retrieval system, or otherwise, without written permission from the publishers.
FOREWORD 5
FOREWORD
Global wealth demographics have been going through seismic shifts At a time when competitive pressures continue to ratchet up, no institu-
in recent decades. Emerging markets have enjoyed explosive growth tion can afford to ignore a segment that comprises half the population
in their high and ultra-high net worth populations, while a new gen- and that some predict will control 75% of discretionary spending in just
eration of younger clients has come to the fore. But it is the “women’s over a decade. Nor can they continue to be largely “gender-blind” as
wealth” story that is arguably most compelling. they develop their product and service offerings, and take them to an
increasingly discerning client base.
Although true gender equality still lies some way off, female financial
empowerment has been accelerating at a remarkable rate off the back As its title indicates, this report aims to explore the sectors and regions
of better access to education, improved labour market participation where women are “winning” in the wealth stakes today, and then to
and growing entrepreneurialism. Women are currently estimated to outline key ways firms might look to attract and retain their business.
control around a third of the world’s total private wealth, with their Some might find that serious work will be required to make their ser-
financial strength growing at every level. vices, products and marketing better fit the female segment. Yet the
inadequacies currently prevalent of course represent a very great op-
In developed nations such as the US it is thought that as many as 40% portunity for service providers to differentiate themselves and even
of households now have a woman as the primary earner. Meanwhile, at “own” this space.
the upper echelons of wealth, the growth in the female UHNW popu-
lation has been outstripping that for males in several instances, with I am personally delighted to have been able to examine women’s
Asia-Pacific leading the way on wealth creation among women. Today, wealth management provision and engage with so many esteemed ad-
over half the region’s female billionaires are first-generation entrepre- visors, consultants and wealth creators in the production of this report
neurs and – as this report will explore – similar dynamism is being seen – and the WealthBriefing Group as a whole looks forward to continuing
right around the world. the “winning women” dialogue too in the years to come.
Against this background, it is little wonder that the wealth manage- Wendy Spires
ment and advisory sector has begun putting such great efforts into bet- Global Head of Research
ter understanding the wants and needs of wealthy women. Not only WealthBriefing
do female clients constitute a large segment, but, as will be discussed,
they are a highly attractive one inclined towards greater loyalty and
advocacy of their trusted advisors.6 WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
RESEARCH ORIGINATORS
WENDY SPIRES KATHERINE ELLIS
Report Author; Global Head of Group Business Development Director
Research - WealthBriefing Boston Multi Family Office
Wendy has been a wealth management journalist, researcher Katherine is a family office and luxury assets specialist. She
and consultant for a decade, covering a huge range of interna- was appointed to Boston’s Group Board in 2012 and was
tional markets and sub-sectors over that time. applauded for “breaking the glass ceiling” at a very young age,
an achievement recognised in 2014 through her listing by
Known as a technology and communications specialist, she ePrivateClient as a “Top 35 Under 35”.
has written an array of in-depth reports on issues affecting
private banks and wealth managers, ranging from compliance She is a regular nominee in major industry awards, and was
and innovation trends through to client experience, branding most recently recognised for the “Women in Wealth
and marketing strategies. Management” category at the WealthBriefing European
Awards 2017.
As well as speaking at conferences in both the UK and abroad,
Wendy also regularly consults for wealth and asset managers, Katherine has also presided over the most significant growth
including carrying out research projects among end H/UHNW of new business and diversification in the Group’s history,
clients for both internal and external purposes. having in recent years successfully established hub offices in
both Malta and the Dubai International Financial Centre.
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS:
JACQUELINE LOCKIE
FLORIAN PIXNER Head of Financial Planning
Managing Director, EMEA Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
Wealthmonitor (an Acuris company)
Florian joined Wealthmonitor in 2007 after gaining extensive LAVINIA OSBOURNE
industry experience working for the financial services practice CEO and Founder
at CEB, now Gartner, as well as working as a competitive Butterfly Wealth Creation
intelligence analyst at Siemens prior to this. He studied
International Business Management in Germany and Australia.
MELISSA SO
Florian oversees Wealthmonitor’s EMEA operations, managing
Managing Director
both the research and sales teams, with particular emphasis
GMP Securities
on formulating and implementing commercial strategies.
Following the rebranding of Wealthmonitor’s parent company
in July 2017 (previously Mergermarket Group), Florian now
works closely with the other products within Acuris’
compliance division, including C6 Intelligence.EDITORIAL PANEL 7
EDITORIAL PANEL
ROSALYN BREEDY NOREEN CESAREO
Partner Founder and Principal
Wedlake Bell LLP Market Accents
Rosalyn is a corporate and financial services lawyer with over Noreen set up Market Accents in 2007. She is an experienced
two decades of experience working in a private practice, both international brand, marketing and communications
within investment banks and at a multi-family office. specialist and has worked with global brands and businesses
in the financial, travel and professional services sectors. She
Her core clients are currently family businesses, family offices, specialises in sustainable growth through smart strategies and
trustees, private capital investors, private wealth managers effective, integrated communications.
and entrepreneurs. In addition to providing strategic and
regulatory advice, Rosalyn helps establish private funds and Noreen is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta, a
acts on a range of private equity, real estate and joint venture trustee for the Commonwealth Girls Education Fund and a
deals. director for The Malta Business Network. She also lends time
to lead the team at Marketing and Exports, the first UK
Rosalyn has a particular interest in the development of new economic blueprint for SMEs and women-owned businesses.
products and business models focused on technology. She
has a keen interest in financial regulation and policy work, Noreen is fluent in many European languages and is
and writes and speaks regularly on these matters. passionate about collaboration and communities.
AMY CLARKE HENRIETTA GRIMSTON
Co-Founder and Partner Relationship Manager
Tribe Impact Capital Seven Investment Management
Amy is Co-Founder and Partner at Tribe Impact Capital, an Henrietta has been at Seven Investment Management since
“impact” wealth management firm dedicated to advising and 2014, working closely with financial planners and their clients
managing private and institutional wealth for financial growth to design and implement suitable investment strategies.
and positive social and environmental impact.
Henrietta spent a number of years working for Sandaire, a
Amy has over 23 years of experience in sustainable business, multi-family office based in London, advising families on a
social capital management, and impact advisory and investing wide range of matters relating to their wealth.
in consultancy, charity and industry.
She has also held positions at Thesis Asset Management and
She has held several senior positions, heading up Hurley Partners, and is a chartered fellow of the Chartered
sustainability and corporate responsibility teams at Bank of Institute for Securities & Investment.
America Merrill Lynch and Microsoft, as well as working on the
private client team at CAF. Additionally, Amy is a trustee of The
Blue Cross and sits on the advisory board of Big Issue Invest.8 WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
EDITORIAL PANEL
DENNIS HARHALAKIS VANDANA JAITLY
Consultant Co-Founder/Company Secretary
Gulland Padfield Cleghorn Wilton & Associates
Dennis is a Consultant at Gulland Padfield, working to Vandana is an Indian-born Australian citizen, currently living in
implement client-focused business practices within wealth Dubai. She runs several businesses specialising in the marine
management and financial services firms. industry. This year she orchestrated a joint venture, along with
her husband and one other partner, to commence provision of
With 30 years’ experience as a wealth management an end-to-end marine ship repair service.
professional within financial markets, Dennis has performed
a number of global and regional management roles, working She began her career in the telecommunications industry
with clients across Greater China, South East Asia, the UK, before partnering with her husband in the 1990s to run a
Europe and the Americas. technical marine and surveying consultancy company.
She started out by running the finance department before
Dennis lived in Singapore for 13 years and during this time expanding the client base through intimate knowledge of the
developed significant pan-Asian experience, working for business.
American Express Bank, Standard Chartered and ANZ. Before
returning to the UK he was part of a management team that
set up a new private bank in Singapore for CTBC, the largest
non-public bank in Taiwan.
CAROLINE PUGH JESSICA ROBINSON
Chief of Staff Founder & Managing Director
CareJourney Moxie Future
Caroline is Chief of Staff at CareJourney, a healthcare data Jessica is the Founder and Managing Director of Moxie Future,
analytics company based in Washington D.C. a community platform that works to empower women as
responsible investors. She also works as a strategic advisor
Previously the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at to institutional investors, think tanks and governments on all
VirtualU, a tech start-up that develops 3D human scanning things relating to green finance, sustainability and responsible
technology, Caroline has also held positions as Global Director investment.
of Partnerships and Washington D.C. President of the Kairos
Society, one of the world’s largest student-run non-profit Jessica has an extensive background in professional services
organisations for entrepreneurship. and business consulting, focusing on financial services,
environmental finance and sustainability industries. She
Recently named one of the “15 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch frequently contributes articles, authors reports and speaks
in 2015” by Entrepreneur magazine, she contributes to at conferences on issues including green financing, financial
The Huffington Post on entrepreneurship and has been cited in market developments, climate finance policy and broader
Forbes, The Washington Post, Fox News, NBC, TechCrunch and sustainable finance issues.
The Wall Street Journal.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
WOMEN’S WEALTH IS BEING SERIOUSLY UNDERESTIMATED; STILL Overall, approaching two-thirds think this should be taken into account,
STRONGER GROWTH YET TO COME while 34% see it as being of the utmost importance to an intelligent
segmentation strategy.
Our respondents showed high awareness of the fact that global wealth
distribution between the genders remains unequal, with just under Strikingly however, seven in ten wealth-holders believe very strongly
three-quarters (74%) accurately assuming that women hold less than that gender should be a primary segmentation factor, against only 17%
half of total personal wealth. of advisors, signalling a significant disconnect between the industry
and those it serves.
Yet many are significantly underestimating just how strongly female
wealth has marched on recently: the majority of respondents (35%) FEMALE CLIENTS’ WANTS AND NEEDS NOT WELL CATERED TO,
believe that less than a quarter of global private wealth is currently WITH FINANCIAL PLANNING PARTICULARLY NEGLECTED
in the hands of women, when in fact the real figure is estimated to be
around 30%. A very large majority of 62% of wealth management professionals be-
lieve that the industry does not cater well to the specific wants and
MOST SEE FEMALES RAPIDLY GAINING FURTHER FINANCIAL needs of female clients. Just a tenth see women as very well served
STRENGTH GLOBALLY at present.
Over half (54%) of our survey participants think women’s economic The financial planning requirements of women are seen as particularly
power and financial independence is growing rapidly around the neglected, with almost two-thirds of respondents (63%) believing that
world, with 24% believing this strongly. the advisory industry is paying insufficient attention here. Female par-
ticipants see these inadequacies as being very much more pronounced
Under a tenth of participants disagree with the idea that women’s (78% versus 42% of men).
economic power is increasing apace, with 36% remaining on the fence.
ADVISOR EDUCATION SHOULD BE A PRIORITY TO HELP WOMEN
WOMEN’S WEALTH GROWTH IN EUROPE HAS BEEN VERY ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS AND OPTIMISE THEIR EXPERIENCE
ENCOURAGING RECENTLY
Overall, a massive 82% of respondents advocate further training for
In 2015, the contribution of women’s wealth in Europe to the overall advisors to help women achieve their goals and ensure they have the
total was 14.3%, up 2.1% on the year before. optimal client experience. Among wealth-holders themselves this
proportion was higher still, at 90%.
The amount of female wealth created in Europe steadily increased
throughout the years between 2012 and 2016. In 2012 women contrib- SRI AND IMPACT INVESTING SEEN AS HAVING PARTICULAR APPEAL
uted just under £3.5bn, but this figure increased dramatically between FOR FEMALE INVESTORS
2014 and 2015 to reach a peak of £6.2bn of wealth created.
Our survey respondents overwhelmingly see Socially Responsible In-
Drilling down further, it is the Western European market that is show- vesting and impact investing as having particular appeal for female
ing the most impressive growth, with the UK and Germany the top investors, with 70% believing this to be the case.
European countries for female wealth creation.
Industry experts concur that women tend to define success in far
THE MEDIA SECTOR IS WHERE WOMEN ARE MAKING THE MOST broader terms and take a wider, longer-term view when deploying their
IMPACT capital, meaning that SRI and impact investing opportunities are a
crucial differentiator for firms targeting female clients.
The sector showing the least discrepancy between the genders is Me-
dia, with the 2016 wealth creation split being 26.6%/73.4% female to BETTER REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN URGENTLY NEEDED IN THE
male. WEALTH INDUSTRY
At the other end of the spectrum, Financial Services is a sector where A very convincing 84% of participants agree or strongly agree that
women have a lot of catching up to do, with 92.3% of wealth being wealth managers need to have greater female representation in
created by men. their workforces and leadership teams to better engage with wealthy
women. Virtually none view this as a “non-issue”.
In terms of where most money is being created by women, Industrials
& Chemicals represents the top sector, with a female wealth contribu- Our experts argue that inclusivity at all levels is vital because it strongly
tion of 25.1%, followed by the Consumer industry with 13.8% of the signals that women’s particular goals and aspirations are understood,
total. There is also a high proportion of female wealth being created in and that every effort will be made to ensure a firm’s products and
the Technology sector, where women have achieved 12.3% of the total. services meet their needs.
GENDER SEEN AS A SEGMENTATION “MUST” BY BOTH CLIENTS
AND ADVISORS
Both wealth-holders and advisors believe a consciousness of
gender is vital to understanding the wants and needs of clients.10 WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
SECTION 1
WOMEN’S WEALTH IS SERIOUSLY
UNDERESTIMATED; STILL
STRONGER GROWTH YET TO COME
MANY SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERESTIMATE FIGURE 1
THE MAGNITUDE OF WOMEN’S WEALTH Estimated proportion of global personal wealth held by women
TODAY
35%
The perceptions of female wealth levels glob- 35%
ally revealed by our survey were strikingly 30%
mixed, suggesting that the rapid rise in wom-
25%
en’s financial power of recent times has yet to 26%
be fully appreciated, even within the wealth 20%
management community itself (see p33 for
sample composition). 15%
As might be expected, our respondents 10% 13% 13% 13%
showed high awareness of the fact that global
wealth distribution between the genders 5%
remains highly unequal despite the popula-
tion being roughly evenly split throughout 0%
the world: overall, just under three-quarters Less than 25% 25% 35% 50% More than 50%
(74%) made the accurate assumption that
women hold less than half of total personal
FIGURE 2
wealth.
Estimates of female wealth ownership vs respondent gender
Yet it seems that many are significantly under- 40%
estimating just how strongly female wealth
has marched on recently: the majority of 35% 37%
respondents (35%) believe that less than a
quarter of global private wealth is currently 30% 33%
32%
in the hands of women, when in fact the real
figure is estimated at 30%.1 25%
25%
At the other end of the spectrum, an optimis- 20%
tic 26% overall estimate that women own half
or more of the world’s private wealth and it
15% 17% 17%
16%
is interesting to note that male respondents
10%
were more likely to attribute greater wealth 11%
ownership to women: a third of men believed 5% 8%
that female wealth represents 50% or more of 5%
the total, compared to just 21% of female par- 0%
ticipants. In fact, a quarter of men believe the Less than 25% 25% 35% 50% More than 50%
proportion is over 50%, while more women
Male Female
than men believe that females have less than
25% of the pie (37% vs 33%). (Totals may not be exactly 100% due to rounding)
Of course, self-selection bias may well be at
play, but it is nonetheless encouraging that a “It seems that many are significantly
high proportion of men see females as such
strong contenders in the global wealth race.
underestimating just how strongly female
wealth has marched on recently: the ma-
jority of respondents (35%) believe that less
than a quarter of global private wealth is
currently in the hands of women, when
in fact the real figure is estimated at 30%”SECTION 1: WOMEN’S WEALTH IS SERIOUSLY UNDERESTIMATED; STILL STRONGER GROWTH YET TO COME 11
MOST SEE FEMALES RAPIDLY GAINING FIGURE 3
FURTHER FINANCIAL STRENGTH GLOBALLY Women’s economic power and financial power is growing rapidly around the world
Global progress has already been very 40%
strong over recent decades. For instance,
35%
today, workforce participation for US fe- 36%
males aged 18-33 is 69% compared to 78% 30%
for male millennials. In 1963, these figures 30%
stood at 41% versus 88%. 25%
24%
But most see further big gains in female 20%
financial strength, and a very steep ac- 15%
celeration in regions starting from a lower
base. Over half (54%) of our survey par- 10%
ticipants think women’s economic power
and financial independence is growing rap- 5%
6%
idly around the world, with 24% believing 3%
0%
this strongly. Less than a tenth do not see
5 4 3 2 1
women’s financial might increasing fast. Strongly agree Strongly disagree
While relatively small, our cohort includ-
ed wealth-holders, business people and
advisors from every continent, therefore
representing an on-the-ground perspec-
tive across a wide range of markets and
industry sectors. The fact that over half the
sample see females rapidly gaining further
financial strength therefore bodes very
well for the global economy and the life
prospects of women around the world.
With higher career aspirations, a greater
tendency to start up companies, and more
income equality across numerous indus-
IN FOCUS:
tries – these are exciting times for women
the world over. There may certainly be oth- DIAMOND SALES UNDERSCORE WOMEN’S
er factors driving the expansion of female
wealth. However, increased knowledge-
GROWING PURCHASING POWER
sharing, improved workplace practices,
growth in female entrepreneurship and
DeBeers recently revealed that female buyers now account for a quarter of all
more women being in senior leadership
diamond sales worldwide as women increasingly purchase the precious stones for
positions are clearly key.
themselves, rather than wait to have them bought for them by men.
Under a tenth of participants do not believe
Purchases by women in the world’s top diamond markets of the US, China, India and
that women’s economic power is growing
Japan totalled $18bn over 2016, with the average buyer being over 35. Notably, in
rapidly, while 36% remain on the fence. It
Hong Kong, women bought 55% of all diamonds sold.
would be interesting to note what other
views those with a more tentative view of
The jewellery giant believes that women are now well on the way to becoming the
female wealth expansion have – whether
primary purchasers of diamonds, seeing the trend as a powerful signifier of
they believe that female representation in
their ever-growing economic empowerment.
the workplace is under-par and whether
wealth advisors need more training to help
Bruce Cleaver, CEO of the De Beers Group, went so far as to argue that “the meaning
women achieve a greater slice of the pie.
of diamonds may be undergoing its most significant shift in decades” as more and
For wealth managers to effectively cater
more women buy high-end jewellery to reward themselves for personal
to this trend, they need to understand the
achievements in work or business, rather than them invariably being something
very specific needs of women, topics that
given by a male to a female to mark a relationship milestone.
will be discussed in-depth later in this re-
port.12 WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
SECTION 2
GLOBAL TRENDS IN FEMALE
WEALTH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
HARRY KEIR HUGHES, LEAD DATA ANALYST AT WEALTHBRIEFING, PROVIDES AN
OVERVIEW OF GLOBAL TRENDS IN WOMEN’S WEALTH – HIGHLIGHTING IN
PARTICULAR THE EUROPEAN ENTREPRENEURIALISM IDENTIFIED BY
WEALTHMONITOR’S TRACKING OF LIQUIDITY EVENTS.
EUROPEAN REGIONAL TRENDS
“It is the Western European market that is
The story of women’s wealth in Europe has
been very encouraging in the last few years. faring best in terms of female wealth
As can be seen from Figure 4, in 2015, the creation, hitting a high of just under
contribution of women’s wealth to the over-
all total was 14.3%, up 2.1% on the year be- $5bn in 2016.”
fore. Though this might seem a small amount
given the dominance of men’s wealth in the
region, it is part of a rising trend and should
not be glossed over.
FIGURE 5
Indeed, the amount of female wealth created Female wealth creation trends in Europe
steadily increased throughout the years (Fig-
Wealth Creation (Current and Historic) (£bn)
ure 5) between 2012 and 2016. In 2012 women 7 2500
contributed just under £3.5bn. This number
increased considerably between 2014 and 6
2015, jumping 34% from £4.1bn to £5.6bn, 2000
with another jump of 10.8% from 2015 to 5
2016, to reach a peak of £6.2bn of wealth
1500
Deal count
created. 4
Drilling down further, we see that it is the 3
1000
Western European market that is faring best
in terms of female wealth creation (Figure 6). 2
Every year, apart from 2012/2013, the amount 500
of female wealth created in the region has in- 1
creased, hitting a high of just under $5bn in
2016. 0 0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
In other European regions the story is similar,
Female wealth created Total number of liquidity events
though there is more fluctuation than in West-
ern Europe. Source: Wealthmonitor
FIGURE 4
Contribution of women’s wealth in Europe compared to men
Period Male Female
Est. total Deal count Est. total Deal count Total deal Total est. % Contribution
Wealth (£m) Wealth (£m) count Wealth of Female
Wealth
2012 20,934 6,530 3,443 1,618 8,148 24,377 14.1%
2013 25,278 6,120 3,696 1,412 7,532 28,974 12.8%
2014 29,578 6,620 4,129 1,542 8,162 33,707 12.2%
2015 33,227 8,252 5,548 2,061 10,313 38,775 14.3%
2016 50,177 9,261 6,147 2,258 11,519 56,324 10.9%
Source: WealthmonitorSECTION 2: GLOBAL TRENDS IN FEMALE WEALTH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP 13
FIGURE 6
Female wealth created throughout Europe compared to male wealth
Period Europe CEE Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe
Est. total Total Est. total Deal Est. total Deal Est. total Deal Est. total Deal
Wealth European Wealth count Wealth count Wealth count Wealth count
(£m) Liquidity (£m) (£m) (£m) (£m)
Events
2012 Female 3,450.5 1,619 1 341.2 102 170 119 2,938.8 1397
Male 20,951.8 6,535 168.0 7 1,351.7 670 2,489 455 16,943.0 5403
2013 Female 3,695.8 1,413 3.2 6 488.7 88 970 105 2,233.7 1214
Male 25,276.8 6,120 483.5 84 2,622.0 596 5,162 346 17,009.6 5094
2014 Female 4,129.0 1,542 3 389.2 80 346 127 3,393.7 1332
Male 29,578.1 6,620 815.9 25 3,051.2 585 3,352 414 22,359.3 5596
2015 Female 5,548.2 2,061 0.8 3 520.2 91 551 213 4,476.7 1754
Male 33,227.3 8,252 651.2 23 2,730.3 766 3,485 627 26,360.5 6836
2016 Female 6,146.5 2,258 457.1 125 896 304 4,793.1 1829
Male 50,177.1 9,261 145.7 22 4,009.2 1,011 6,576 901 39,446.5 7327
Source: Wealthmonitor
FIGURE 7 It is also telling to break down the region fur-
Top country breakdown for female wealth ther, looking at the countries that females in
Europe are making most of their wealth in.
6
Wealth Creation (Current and Historic) (£bn)
By a long margin, the UK and Germany are
5 the top countries in Europe for female wealth
creation, with their figures steadily increas-
ing over the years in both countries, as can be
4 seen from Figure 7. Though 2014 was a rela-
tively poor year for the UK, between 2014 and
3 2015 female wealth increased by a huge 73%
to take the total to just over £2.3bn. Similarly,
the period between 2013 and 2014 was mas-
2 sively productive for German female wealth,
it growing 148% from just under £600m to
1 £1.5bn.
Interestingly, Italy is another region that has
0 seen a significant climb in female wealth
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 recently. Starting at £117.4m in 2012, the
country saw over £550m of wealth created
UK Germany France Italy Norway Sweden
by women over the four years, bringing their
Source: Wealthmonitor total to £679.4m in 2016.
“By a long margin, the UK and Germany are the top countries in
Europe for female wealth creation, with their figures steadily
increasing over the years in both countries.”14 WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
FIGURE 8 EUROPEAN SECTORAL TRENDS
Sector breakdown comparison male vs female in 2016
Turning to the sectors in which women are
Financial 92.3% making most impact, we see that the sector
services 7.7% showing the least discrepancy between the
genders is Media, with 26.6% contribution of
Energy, mining 92.2% wealth from females and 73.4% from males in
& utilities 7.8% 2016 (see Figure 8).
Construction 91.1% Agriculture and Industrials & Chemicals are
8.9%
other sectors where the discrepancy is below
average, with women accounting for 21.3%
Consumer 91.0% and 14.7% of wealth creation respectively.
9.0%
At the other end of the spectrum, Financial
Leisure 90.7%
9.3% Services is a sector where women have a lot of
catching up to do, with 92.3% of wealth created
Pharma, by men (male domination in the financial ser-
medical & 89.9%
biotech 10.1% vices sector is discussed in depth in Section 6).
Business 86.5% Other Wealthmonitor data - shown in Figure
services 13.5% 9 - highlights the sectors where women are
making the most money. Industrials & Chemi-
Industrial & 85.3% cals represents the top sector with a female
chemicals 14.7%
wealth contribution of 25.1%, followed by the
Consumer industry with 13.8% of the total.
Agriculture 78.7%
21.3%
There is also a high proportion of female
73.4% wealth being created in the Technology sec-
Media
26.6% tor, where women have achieved 12.3% of the
total.
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0%
Wealth managers targeting female wealth-
Male Female Source: Wealthmonitor
creators need to be paying close attention
to fast-moving trends, rather than relying on
past assumptions, Florian Pixner explained.
“The Media sector has typically been an area
where women have made their mark, but we
FIGURE 9 are also seeing wealth creation by women in
Female wealth contribution in 2016 - sector breakdown the Industrials and Chemicals sector, with
women contributing 14.7% of value, and the
Agriculture sector, where their contribution is
OTHER 2.4% 21%,” he said. “Experts expect the Technology
sector to be a key growth sector, with devel-
Transport 3.1% opments in Artificial Intelligence and FinTech
at the forefront; these will be real areas for
Construction 3.4% wealth managers to watch.”
Financial
services 4.4%
Pharma,
medical &
biotech
7.0% “The Media sector
Leisure 8.6% has typically been
Media
an area where
9.5%
women have made
Business
services 10.5% their mark, but
Technology 12.3%
we are also seeing
wealth creation by
Consumer 13.8%
women in the In-
Industrial &
chemicals 25.1% dustrials & Chemi-
cals sector.” - Florian
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% Pixner, Wealthmonitor
Source: WealthmonitorSECTION 2: GLOBAL TRENDS IN FEMALE WEALTH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP 15
FIGURE 10
Generational breakdown comparison male vs female in 2016
18 000 3 000
16 000
2 500
Wealth Creation (Current and Historic) (£bn)
14 000
12 000 2 000
10 000
Liquidity Events
1 500
8 000
6 000 1 000
4 000
500
2 000
0 0
Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male
16-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66+
Est. total wealth (£m) Deal count Source: Wealthmonitor
EUROPEAN GENERATIONAL TRENDS wards closing the gender gap amongst the next tion in the GCC remains very low. In the GCC,
generation of high net worth individuals (the 16- only 26.9% of women participate in the labour
There are two main take-aways when con- 35 millennial age bracket),” he said. “The wealth force, compared to a world average of 51.7%.6
sidering the European generational trends in management industry needs to stay abreast of
female wealth. The first is that most wealth such trends to innovate and tailor their offerings How is this changing?
is being created by women in the 46-55 age to fit the needs of the market.”
range (£1.9bn), which is the same age-range Recently, in a bid to empower women in the
as the top wealth creation bracket for males FEMALE WEALTH TRENDS IN THE MIDDLE workplace, the UAE launched a five-year plan
(although they have a considerably higher EAST/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL to find female leaders. Qatar and Kuwait have
total at £16.8bn). This bracket also holds the business forums set up for women (Qatar
highest number of deals compared to other Wealth Creation in the Middle East Business Women Forum and Business Pro-
female age groups, totalling 481. fessional Women) with the aim of helping
In the Middle East, female wealth has been businesswomen contribute to the economic
The second is that the millennial group (16- growing at a rate of 9% a year and women development of their respective countries.
35) is the most gender-equal age group in are now estimated to control 22%, or about
terms of total estimated wealth, although $500bn, of the region’s investments.2 The HNW female market in the GCC is cur-
men still hold more than double of the esti- rently worth about $224bn and accounts for
mated total wealth and number of deals com- As early as 2010, industry luminaries were 20.2% of the total wealth in the area, with GCC
pared to women (£856m vs £328m). Clearly, predicting that women’s investments in Saudi women’s contribution to wealth expected to
the younger generation of females are rap- Arabia alone would reach $18bn by 2018.3 grow by 15% over the next ten years.7
idly catching up with their male peers due a
heightened sense of independence, strong Female representation lacking in the It is of note that the GCC’s female entrepre-
educational attainment and the sense of en- GCC labour force neurs are very successful, with 33% of enter-
trepreneurial “can-do” which characterises prises owned by women in the UAE generat-
the millennial generation. The majority of women in the GCC are liter- ing over $100,000 a year. This falls to just 13%
ate, and have made rapid advancements on for similar firms in the US.8
The question of how to attract and retain mil- the education front. The literacy rate among
lennial money is one of the most pressing issues women adults in the GCC stands at 84%.4 In Wealth managers should also be aware the
facing the industry today. And, as Pixner pointed fact, women in most GCC countries represent GCC region counts more than 5,000 family
out, wealth managers need to constantly bear in a better-educated pool of talent than men: offices, encompassing more than $500bn in
mind that effectively targeting females is intrin- women in Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE com- assets, and that women are playing increas-
sic to meeting the next gen challenge. prised more than 60% of all graduates in 2009, ingly influential roles in these family offices.9
for instance.5 As well as being successful entrepreneurs,
“Whilst gender equality in wealth creation still many of the region’s women hold senior po-
has a way to go, particularly in the financial It is disheartening, therefore, that cultural rea- sitions in private companies and are taking
services sector, we are seeing positive moves to- sons have meant that female labour participa- control of the wealth in family companies.16 WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
SMEs – driving local economies in the GCC Growth in the female UHNWI population has
shown its highest levels in Asia-Pacific com- “Female entrepre-
Over the last decade, women in the GCC have pared to the rest of the world, at a compound
made powerful economic strides as small-to- annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1%; in North neurs in the
medium sized enterprise (SME) owners driving America and Europe the CAGRs were 5% and region need
local economies. In their role as SME owners, 2.9% respectively.12
they are increasingly becoming recognised for strong support at
driving exports, generating employment and
contributing to local developments and inno-
No country has more self-made female bil-
lionaires than China.13 Not only that, but more
every stage of the
vations. That said, as of 2010, they have a very than half of female billionaires in the Asia-Pa- start-up process,
low ownership of the SME pie at 6.8%, com-
pared to their male counterparts.10
cific region are first-generation entrepreneurs,
while less than a quarter of female billionaires
requiring a great
in the US and Europe are self-made.14 deal of time and
The story goes that even where female entre-
preneurs in the GCC are able to secure seed Asian women are also inheriting first-genera-
effort from VC
funding from friends, families and angel in- tion wealth and family businesses, something firms to cater to
vestors, there remains a gap between this that was rare a generation ago.
stage and that where private equity firms are
this new and
willing to take a stake. FEMALE WEALTH TRENDS IN THE US dynamic sector.”
To ensure that their slice of the SME pie contin- In the US, women’s assets grew in line with
ues to grow strongly and wealth expectations the global average of 8% a year, over the past
can continue to increase year-on-year, female five years.15 All the while, the income gap
entrepreneurs in the region need strong sup- between women and men is closing in most
port at every stage of the start-up process, re- leading economies, with women significantly
quiring a great deal of time and effort from VC closer to pay equality among millennials.16
firms to cater to this new and dynamic sector.
This represents a real opportunity for advisors What this means for the overall picture of US
in the region with such expertise. female wealth is significant. Women already
control $14tn of personal wealth in the US
FEMALE WEALTH TRENDS IN ASIA-PACIFIC alone, 51% of the total,17 and are forecast to
control two-thirds of the nation’s wealth by
In Asia-Pacific, the face of wealth has changed 2030.18
dramatically from what it was a generation
ago. Today it is increasingly young, self-creat- Many women in the US are making their own
ed, and female. money, as they become entrepreneurs and
run their own successful businesses.
The total assets under management held by
female investors worldwide grew 8% annu- Female entrepreneurs in the US accounted for
alised over the past five years. And yet it is 36% of all businesses in 2012, according to the
significant to note that assets held by women latest data from the US Census Bureau.19
in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan)
experienced the highest growth - 13% a year Women make up 48% of the millionaires in
- over the past five years.11 the US,20 and the US comes top in the world
for female HNW wealth, with 45% of the total.
This trend is due to Asia’s economic boom
over the past decade, accelerating the growth In comparison, the UK has 5% of the total and
of the female market, spawning a tide of busi- China just 4% of the total.21 On top of that,
ness- and tech-savvy women who make fi- almost half of ultra-wealthy females have
nancial decisions that affect billions in corpo- their primary business in the US, a higher
rate assets, as well as controlling significant share than among all male and female
personal assets. individuals.22SECTION 3: GENDER GENERALLY OVERLOOKED IN SEGMENTATION, DESPITE HUGE SIGNIFICANCE 17
SECTION 3
GENDER GENERALLY OVER-
LOOKED IN SEGMENTATION,
DESPITE HUGE SIGNIFICANCE
GENDER SEEN AS A SEGMENTATION FIGURE 11
“MUST” BY BOTH CLIENTS AND ADVISORS Is gender an important factor in client segmentation?
Gender politics can be complex. However, 35%
most would agree that equality does not nec- 34%
essarily entail a complete elision of differenc- 30%
es between the sexes. While there is certainly 28%
no place for determinism or reductionism in 25%
the industry’s thinking, our experts agreed it
should not aspire to be gender-blind - lest the
20% 22%
traits, tastes and life trajectories that can be 15%
proven to be common to a great many women
are neglected. 10% 13%
For their part, both the wealth-holders and 5%
advisors surveyed for this study seem to over- 3%
whelmingly agree that taking account of gen- 0%
der is vital to understanding the wants and 5 4 3 2 1
needs of clients. As Figure 11 shows, overall Strongly agree Strongly disagree
approaching two-thirds think this should be
taken into account by wealth managers, while
34% see it as being of the utmost importance FIGURE 12
to an intelligent segmentation strategy. Importance of gender in segmentation: advisors vs clients
However, setting the views of advisors against 80%
clients themselves seems to highlight a huge
disconnect. 70%
70%
Strikingly, a massive seven in ten wealth- 60% 67%
holders believe very strongly that gender
should be a primary segmentation factor, 50%
against only 17% of advisors.
40%
39%
Commensurate polarisation is seen at the
other end of the spectrum: although 39% of
30% 33%
advisors disagree with the principle of seg- 20%
menting clients on the basis of gender, only 20% 22%
10% of wealth-holders do. 10% 17% 17%
10%
6%
Wealth management professionals are right 0%
to be wary of blunt (or even patronising) seg- 5 4 3 2 1
mentation techniques. It must also be con- Strongly agree Strongly disagree
ceded that there may be as much variation
Wealth-holder/prospective wealth-holder Wealth advisor Other
intra-segment as inter-segment when such
broad categorisations as gender are used.
But while over-reliance and generalisation a key driver of segmentation practices (even agement industry is hugely lagging others in
are unwise, it seems that clients are in fact “other” factors ranked higher).23 Meanwhile, the adoption of sophisticated segmentation
generally quite keen to be viewed at least par- Boston Consulting Group puts gender seg- strategies (and therefore leveraging off them
tially through the lens of their gender – and mentation even lower, finding that only 2% of to implement precisely targeted marketing
research shows that the vast majority of firms wealth managers treat female clients as a dis- techniques).
today simply do not. tinct client segment and have adapted their
service offering to them.24 For example, WealthBriefing research carried
According to EY, wealth managers consistent- out just last year found that a quarter of UK
ly see gender as the least important source of However, this must also be seen in the context wealth managers are still not formally seg-
client differentiation, with just 5% seeing it as of the fact that, in general, the wealth man- menting clients at all, while those that do are18 WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
relying on the bare metrics of investible assets are grappling with wealth management
and revenue generated. “There are plenty issues in the context of both aging parents
and their own growing families.
Highly granular and dynamic segmentation of ways in which
is increasingly espoused by industry lumi- being sensitive to Female clients may feel particularly beset
naries as a means for wealth managers to by multi-faceted, multi-generational fam-
increase profitability and has been made en- gender can ily responsibilities and so greatly appreciate
tirely practicable by the masses of data and
efficient analysis technologies now at their
significantly specific advice here.
disposal. Yet it seems that this has not yet improve the On the latter front (and as discussed further
translated into practice for the majority of
firms, even in a market as hotly-contested as
service offering on p25), contributors who are themselves
female entrepreneurs highlighted the power
the UK is: enhanced segmentation was found available to women.” of having their pioneering status and rela-
to be a top growth strategy for only one in ten - Katherine Ellis, tive newness to wealth management issues
institutions. proactively acknowledged.
Boston Multi Family Office
As our experts pointed out, this neglect of As technology entrepreneur Caroline Pugh
segmentation means wealth managers are observed, wealth managers have much to
setting themselves up for failure when target- gain by deploying proprietary research show-
ing client groups which - like women and mil- ing communications, collateral and product/ ing the firm understands the directions where
lennials - may have high growth potential, but service design that have been prepared to ap- female business-owners usually trend, or
are outside their “comfort zone”. peal to a different audience - typically one that case studies showing how their strategy has
is male, older and reflecting a different lifestyle worked with similar clients.
Dennis Harhalakis explained that this failure to your target segment - will certainly fail.”
really can be complete since emotional en- Furthermore, as Section 5 sets out, helping
gagement is foundational to delivering cus- Here, Cesareo observed that feedback from female clients to connect with like-minded
tomised, resonant user experiences. Since female wealth-holders and entrepreneurs of- women for networking, collaboration and
it is impossible to establish this connection ten points to wealth management campaigns mentoring opportunities would be a wise
without an appreciation of how the per- clearly being focused on segments other than move for any wealth manager.
son experiences the world, he believes “it is them. Jargonistic language which alienates
hard to imagine how you could develop an women rather than convincing them to invest As can easily be seen, many of the most in-
effective client experience strategy without is a particular issue. telligent ways wealth managers can differ-
encompassing gender in your profiling”. entiate their offerings and forge emotional
“We have seen the volume of wealth created connections with female clients are entirely
THE “HOW”, RATHER THAN THE “WHAT” by women increase steadily since 2012 from dependent on sophisticated segmentation
£3.5bn to £6.2bn in 2016,” added Florian techniques that take a wide range of factors
Katherine Ellis concurred, further pointing Pixner. “Wealth managers shouldn’t buck this into account.
out that while male and female clients may trend and could capture great value by target-
have similar “destinations” in view, their jour- ing female entrepreneurs with considered
neys often vary widely – creating great com- communications.”
petitive advantages for firms able to focus as
much on the “how” as the “what” of helping The solution is to “get back to basics”, in Ce-
clients achieve their financial objectives. sareo’s view: firms need to understand the
drivers within the segment and communicate
“There aren’t necessarily enormous differenc- the organisation’s appreciation of them in a
“Pushing commu-
es in their long-term aspirations and goals, way which the type of women being targeted nications, collat-
but I do think there are plenty of differences can relate to, fits their lifestyle (whatever that
in how the genders are treated currently, and may be), and isn’t patronising.
eral and product/
the methodologies and preferences for how service design that
they get there,” she said. “Therefore, there As she and others emphasised, intra-segment
are plenty of ways in which being sensitive to variation and sophisticated, multi-factor cat- have been prepared
gender can significantly improve the service egorisations have to be front of mind. Gender to appeal to a
offering available to women.” is a vital segmentation factor, but like any
must enrich rather than narrow the institu- different audience
As Section 7 discusses, aligning products tion’s view of the client and be seen along- - typically one
and services with gender-specific wants and side several others which may refine (or even
needs could generate very significant growth supersede) the “headline” designation. that is male, older
if done well. Yet just as important is how and reflecting a
wealth managers take that offering to market. Here, life stage, family situation and source of
Those inattentive to gender are unlikely to wealth were just a few of the other segmenta- different lifestyle
pique the interest of, let alone win, potential
female clients – and may even actively put
tion factors identified as particularly worthy to your target
of attention when institutions are targeting
them off. women. segment - will
“When targeting offers towards specific seg- On the former fronts, for example, the panel
certainly fail.”
ments, the key drivers for any messages must pointed to recent Scorpio Partnership re- - Noreen Cesareo,
be derived from that segment’s particular search focused on the complex (and under- Market Accents
characteristics,” said Noreen Cesareo. “Push- served) needs of “midults” aged 40-55 whoSECTION 3: GENDER GENERALLY OVERLOOKED IN SEGMENTATION, DESPITE HUGE SIGNIFICANCE 19
The fact that a great many institutions are
not even acknowledging gender in how they
design their products and services, and then
IN FOCUS:
take them to market, signals that a huge
opportunity exists. MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN FEEL MASSIVELY
“It is vital the industry recognises female in- MISUNDERSTOOD
vestors as a sizeable segment, moves away
from a patronising viewpoint and starts talk-
ing in a language that resonates with them,” As discussed on p15, just as with men, wealth creation is strongest among women
said Cesareo. “It is no coincidence that major aged 46-55 – meaning that institutions would do well to aim their marketing squarely
brands across sectors worldwide are paying at this age bracket.
great attention to the key drivers and issues
which matter to women.” Furthermore, according to a study carried out this year by strategic marketing agency
Superhuman, women at this stage of life feel very much misunderstood, creating a
As Pixner observed, wealth managers are in- huge opportunity for wealth managers who can rise to the challenge of
creasingly alert to the fact that multi-factor understanding their needs and how differently “middle-aged” women perceive
customisation is expected in most areas of life themselves compared to in the past.
and that it is never too early to foster deeper af-
finities with prospective clients. Indeed, in his
Middle-age misperceptions:
view there is really no excuse for firms to miss
out on these opportunities given the amount
of information available to them today.
96% of women over 40 say they don’t feel middle-aged
“Whether wealth managers are targeting fe- 67% consider themselves to be in their prime of life
male or male high net worth individuals, we
are seeing an increasing amount of person- 84% don’t like to define themselves by their age
alisation in their communications. Subscrib-
ers to Wealthmonitor typically utilise our 80% believe society’s assumptions about women their age don’t accurately reflect
early-stage information on money in motion the reality of their lives
through liquidity events such as a company
sale,” he concluded. “Wealthmonitor pro- 91% don’t believe advertisers understand them
vides access to information such as an indi-
vidual’s personal and professional interests
and wealth managers are increasingly using
this insight to form meaningful relationships
with their clients.”20 WINNING WOMEN: KEY INSIGHTS FOR WEALTH FIRMS TARGETING TODAY’S DYNAMIC FEMALE CLIENTS
SECTION 4
FEMALE CLIENTS’ WANTS AND
NEEDS NOT WELL CATERED TO,
WITH FINANCIAL PLANNING
PARTICULARLY NEGLECTED
As Figure 13 shows, a very large majority of FIGURE 13
62% of wealth management professionals Generally, do wealth managers cater well to the specific wants and needs of female clients?
globally believe that the industry does not
cater well to the specific wants and needs of 70%
female clients. Just one in ten sees women as
very well served at present. 60%
62%
Our survey of wealth-holders, entrepreneurs/ 50%
business-owners, family office professionals
40%
and other advisors sought to unpick areas of
weakness, finding that the financial planning 30%
requirements of women are seen as particu-
larly neglected: across both genders, almost 20% 24%
two-thirds of respondents (63%) believe that
the advisory industry is paying insufficient 10%
attention here (see Figure 14). 10%
5%
0%
As might be expected, female participants No Yes Yes Don’t know
saw levels of inadequacy that were greater moderately well very well
still: 78% of women believe females’ specific
financial planning needs are being neglected,
compared to only 42% of men.
Tellingly, a further 42% of male participants said
they did not know if women’s financial planning
needs are well provided for by the sector.
FIGURE 14 FIGURE 15
Do wealth advisors pay sufficient attention Participant gender vs belief that wealth advisors pay sufficient attention to women's financial
to the specific financial planning needs planning needs
of female clients?
80%
78%
70%
20% 17%
60%
50%
40% 42% 42%
30%
20%
63% 17% 17%
10%
5%
Yes 0%
No Yes No Don’t know
Don’t know Male FemaleSECTION 4: FEMALE CLIENTS’ WANTS & NEEDS NOT WELL CATERED TO, WITH FINANCIAL PLANNING... 21
It is also significant that across the survey As indicated by Ellis, wealth managers cer- have the optimal client experience. Among
sample virtually the same proportion of re- tainly should not be neglecting lifestyle fac- wealth-holders themselves the proportion
spondents believe that women need better tors like those just discussed, nor should was higher still at 90%.
financial planning advice and that segmenta- they make assumptions, particularly about
tion by gender is key to looking after female the choices of today’s dynamic - and often As we have seen, addressing the specific finan-
clients well (respectively, 63% and 62% said pioneering - female wealth-creators. cial planning needs of women will need to be a
this). large part of such efforts. However, as the next
However, what they can probably safely as- section of this report will discuss, there are a
The underlying message seems clear: since sume is that today’s wealthy women are fulfill- plethora of other variables for wealth manag-
women’s lives tend to follow a different trajec- ing a multiplicity of roles, and require solutions ers tilting towards female clients to consider.
tory to men’s, “gender-blindness” by wealth and advice that facilitate them flexing across
managers therefore risks elements of their these as their lives evolve, our experts argued.
financial plan falling down – or even that very FIGURE 16
important considerations are not taken into In addition to this complexity, as discussed on Should advisors be given more training to
account at all. p23, women tend to take a far broader view of help female clients achieve their goals and
wealth and the goals it can help them achieve. optimise their wealth management experience?
One of these is of course their greater longev- As such, they often stand to get a great deal
ity. As the World Economic Forum recently from advice extending beyond the mere “nuts
stated: “Despite the social inequality women and bolts” of investment portfolios – making 12%
experience, they live longer than men. This it even more of a shame that their financial
is the case without a single exception, in all planning needs seem somewhat neglected. 6%
countries”.25 In the US, for example, the av-
erage life expectancy for a woman is 81.2 As Jacqueline Lockie, Head of Financial Plan-
years against 76.4 for a man, while in most ning at the Chartered Institute for Securities &
countries female centenarians are thought to Investment, argued:
outnumber males five to one.26
“I believe that the financial planning process
It may seem counterintuitive to speak of is a better approach for women as it encour-
“longevity risk”, but most would agree that ages advisors to explore their personal views 82%
outliving one’s funds is a frightening prospect and emotions, and focus on using wealth to
indeed. Women therefore have to plan for a get them where they want to go - establish-
very much longer retirement than their male ing what’s on their wish list, as well as their Yes
counterparts, along with the likelihood of sig- concerns and worries.” No
nificantly outliving a male spouse. Don’t know
ADVISOR EDUCATION SHOULD BE A
Yet in addition to their typically longer length, PRIORITY
it is the “shape” of women’s lives that wealth
managers need to give greater weight, our As discussed on p27, an overwhelming 84% of
experts argued. As Rosalyn Breedy observed: participants in this study believe wealth man- “Gender isn’t just a
“You have to look at a person as a person and agers need to recruit more women and make
gender is a big part of who they are. Gender them more visible at senior levels in order to biological catego-
isn’t just a biological category, it’s also a social better engage with female clients. ry, it’s also a social
role that impacts on virtually every element of
one’s life, so I don’t see how wealth advisors Yet this is only part of the solution, not least role that impacts
can’t take that into consideration.” because improving female representation is
likely to take time due to supply-side inequali-
on virtually every
Great progress is being made in areas like ties (that reach right down to the level of how element of one’s
shared paternity leave and in a growing pro- children are schooled). Moreover, greater fe-
portion of households a woman is now the male representation alone is not enough to
life, so I don’t see
primary earner (40%, in fact, in the US).27 plug the significant knowledge – and under- how wealth
standing – gaps many firms are likely to have.
However, as Katherine Ellis notes, for a variety
advisors can’t
of social reasons women are still far more like- In the opinion of our expert contributors, take that into
ly to be the primary caregiver for the depen- the wealth management paradigm has been
dents within a family, be that for the older or male-orientated for so long that proactively
consideration .”
younger generation. (The issue of “emotional educating professionals across all its disci- - Rosalyn Breedy,
labour” has also recently come to the fore, plines seems to be by far the surer, quicker Wedlake Bell
with women across the board generally held route to successfully evolving a firm’s offer-
to bear the brunt of this.) ing and culture; used judiciously in market-
ing, it will clearly send the right message to
Furthermore, while caregiving responsibili- prospective female clients too.
ties may be less likely to be an issue for the
UHNW wealth-creator demographic, Ellis The participants in this study overwhelmingly
points out that the biological realities of preg- agree that this is the path wealth managers
nancy do mean that women need to be more need to be pursuing. As Figure 16 shows, 82%
prepared for career gaps, irrespective of their overall believe that wealth management ad-
status – although how that factors into long- visors should be given more training to help
term planning will vary greatly by individual. women achieve their goals and ensure theyYou can also read
