Despite financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 p🍸andemic, women in the U.S. are opening new brokerage accounts and investing in greater numbers than ever before, according to data from Fidelity Investments, with 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:millennials and younger generati♍ons of women fueling much of the🐼 recent growth. 

A rising share of women who manage accounts with a partner also report taking on an increasingly active role in joint finances, with surveys further suggesting that when women are more engaged in making financial decisions, they are more likely to incorporate 澳洲幸❀运5开奖号码历史查询:environmental, social, and governance 🎶(ESG) factors into their strategies.

And with significant room for growth, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:this segment of investors is still expected to expand over the next decade, a recent by McKinsey found, potentially offering opportunities for wealth managers to develop new and stronger relationships with a key source of clients and assets.

Women Investors on the Rise

2021 research from Fidelity found that the number of women in the U.S. who say they are more interested in investing has since the start of the pandemic, with millenial and younger women contributing significantly to the shift. 

Fidelity’s recent found that half of those surveyed under the age of 36 had either started investing in the past six months or planned to in the next six months. A Fidelity of retirement plans also found that IRA accounts opened by millennial women investors rose over 26% in the first quarter of 2022 from a year earlier.

And while a from UBS found that roughly half of women who manage investments with a part🍒ner defer investment decisions to their partners♏, the number of women who say they lead financial decisions continues to increase at 26%, up from 21% in 2018.

Elevating ESG Investing Interest

As women invest more, they’re a✤lso becoming more involved in sustainable investing.

Women with over $250,000 in invesꩲtable assets by UBS this spring were twice as likely as men to say it’s important to them that companies they invest in incorporate ESG factors inꦕto their policies and procedures.

Women who reported leading investment decisions were also significantly more likely to report investing in ESG products than those who didn’t. Two-thirds of women leading investment decisions said they hold ESG investments, with 54% investing in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:venture capital companies focused on a specific issue t𒈔hey support. That compared to just 40% and 31% of women who are not leading financial decisions, respectively.

UBS noted that the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic likely influenced some of these changes. “More than 82 percent of women say the events of the last two years made them reassess what’s important, and that catalyst will drive more meaningful change for causes they champion and for society overall,” said UBS Global Wealth Management Vice Chair Paula Polito in a release.

The 🦋shift was most salient among younger generations of investors. A by the Bank of New York Mellon noted that at least seven in 10 women surveyed under the age of 30 prefer to invest in companies that support their personal ♍values, compared with just over half or 53% of women over 50.

"Looking at the research, it's clear that increasing women's participation in investment is critical for their personal prosperity and to help shape a more equitable future for all. Doing so will also potentially help increase the allocation of capital for the benefit of society and the environment,” said BNY Mellon Investment Management CEO Hanneke Smits.

The Biggest Potential Wealth Transfer in Histor⭕y

The Bank of New York Mellon that if women were to invest at the same rate as men, there would be more than $3.22 trillion of additional capital to invest ൲globally, with over $1.87 trillion flowing into sustainable investing.

However, the report noted that many asset managers continue to primarily target men as their client audience. Almost nine out of 10 or 86% of those surveyed say that their default target customer for🧸 investment products ꦚis a man.

“As women, we all have different hurdles to overcome to meet our individual financial goals. Some of these are influenced by demographics and personal circumstances but some are a result of how the investment industry has traditionally engaged with women,” BNY Mellon’s chief client experience officer, Anne-Marie McConnon, explaine🙈d. 

A 2022 by McKinsey projects that by 2030, women in the U.S. could also control much of the baby boomer generation’s $30 trillion in investable assets — a potential wealth transfer greater in magnitude than the annual 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States.

By some estimates, the largest wealth transfer in modern history could already be underway. At the end of 2021, the Federal Reserve estimated that individuals aged 70 and greater had a total accumulated wealth of $37.79 trillion.