I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it.
Nothing excites me more than to end 2023 talking about the greatest transfer of wealth in history.
Women are on the threshold of an opportunity of such magnitude that’s never been seen before. In the next decade they will be the beneficiary of “The Great Wealth Transfer.”
According to global consulting firm McKinsey and Co., women will be inheriting or controlling $30 trillion or the equivalent to the annual GDP of the United States.
Many in the financial industry present this as a “generational transfer going from boomers to millennials. This overlooks the fact that “The Great Wealth Transfer” will first make a pit stop into the hands of boomer women. And it’s going to be there for a very long time.
The reality is, men of the Boomer Generation are dying faster than the women, so the money that belonged to men is ending up in the hands of their spouses and women are living longer and larger.
In my forty years as a financial advisor, I’ve had a front-row seat for the evolution of women in the investing world; moving out from behind their husbands and making their own investment decisions and making an impact in philanthropy with their own unique approaches.
The progress is stunning when we consider how much women have had to overcome. Wealth management and finance have historically been male-dominated professions. And just a few decades ago, women investors were regularly overlooked by financial advisors and researchers or viewed as a monolithic group. In fact, many financial professionals viewed women investors as less financially confident, less sophisticated and more risk averse.
Women are making great strides in the investing world, but there is still work to be done.
The Bag Lady Syndrome.
Coined in the 70’s to define the profound anxiety women felt around their finances, it’s this fear, that for many is still too embarrassing to admit. In a 2109 UBS report, 56% of married women handed over the responsibility of investing to their spouse, convinced that men knew more than they did.
There are many reasons for the abdication, insecurity about their ability is certainly a big one but women often tell me there isn’t enough time to think long term about their estate planning strategy.
This lack of time and focus can be a sizable impediment to total financial empowerment. As a result, many women became underinvested or under planned, with negative financial consequences that compounded over time.
When it comes to finances women have arguably less room for error than men when it comes to wealth building; they live longer, earn less, and move in and out of the workforce more.
The women who have confidently taken charge of their finances need to help their “sisters” (we all know a few) who need some encouragement and maybe taken by the hand and introduced to someone who can stand with them every step of the way --- me.
Women will be a potent force when it comes to utilizing this wealth. The Great Wealth Transfer is a game changer – for the family, society, and the economy.
You’ve heard that old nursery rhyme “the King was in his counting house counting out his money, the Queen was in the parlor, eating bread and honey.” Not anymore. Now the Queen is in there counting too.