35% of advised women plan to switch firms within two years
Forty-five percent of women with US$10m or more in assets are not working with a financial advisor, and 35 percent of those who are advised plan to switch within two years over unmet needs for coordinated advice.
According to Future of Wealth: Women, Money & The Growing Opportunity for Advisors, a BlackRock report, nearly 40 percent of women with US$5m or more also report no advisor relationship.
Nearly 40 percent of women with US$5m or more also report no advisor relationship.
Over 25 percent of surveyed women plan to switch advisors within two years over unmet tax-related needs.
Over 40 percent of advised women under the age of 45 are considering changing advisors over the next two years, the research found, with the figure rising as wealth levels increase and financial lives become more complex.
Women rank growing their wealth as their number one priority while advisors place it eighth.
Advisors ranked preserving wealth as most important.
Better tax outcomes are a priority for 41 percent of women, against 12 percent of advisors who believe this is a key priority.
Among advisors serving high-net-worth clients, 92 percent report being frequently asked for tax guidance, and 17 percent say after-tax returns are a primary driver of portfolio decisions.
"Women are not a niche segment of investors but a leading indicator of where investor expectations are headed," Jaime Magyera, head of BlackRock's US Wealth and Retirement Businesses, said in the firm's statement.
Magyera said the priorities women express today, including investment outcomes, tax strategies, and advice that connects different parts of their financial lives, reflect what all investors will expect tomorrow.
Career earnings are the main source of women's wealth, cited by nearly 80 percent of female respondents.
Among high-net-worth women, equity compensation rises to the third most common source, cited by over 40 percent.
BlackRock said the findings challenge the industry's association of women's wealth with major life transitions such as divorce or widowhood, describing women's paths to wealth as more diverse than advisors perceive.
Forty-five percent of advisors identified prospecting and connecting with women as a leading challenge.
Nearly 60 percent pointed to earlier engagement before a major wealth transition as the largest gap in their relationship-building efforts.
Projections cited by BlackRock show women are expected to control US$34tn in US investable assets by 2030.
