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Future of Wealth

Women, money & the growing opportunity for advisors
Our inaugural Future of Wealth research explores how affluent and high-net-worth women are building, managing and making decisions about wealth, and where advisors can build relationships, deliver greater value and grow with them.

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Women create wealth differently than advisors expect

Women's paths to wealth are varied, but career earnings play a much larger role, and inheritance
and marriage a smaller role, than advisors perceive. Understanding a client's path to wealth can
help advisors engage around her priorities today.

What contributes to women's wealth survey bar chart

Women want results more than reassurance

Women and advisors value definition survey bar chart

Personalization matters, but outcomes define value. Women place substantially greater value on investment and tax outcomes than advisors perceive.

The focus on outcomes sharpens with wealth. Among high-net-worth women ($5M+), 56% prioritize better investment outcomes, compared with 50% of women overall. Better tax outcomes rise from 41% overall to 47% among HNW women.

Deliver more personalized portfolios

Explore tools and portfolio solutions that can help you translate individual client needs into more personalized investment outcomes.

See the whole portfolio

Use our tool to evaluate client portfolios across risk, cost and performance to identify opportunities for greater personalization.
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Tailor individual portfolios

Deliver personalized portfolios with separately managed accounts to reflect individual client needs and preferences.
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Personalize at scale

Use custom model portfolios to reflect your investment approach while delivering a more tailored portfolio experience.
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Tax tops the list of decisions women seek advice for

Women rank tax #1

As a client’s wealth grows, their needs become more complex and they increasingly value professional guidance. Women and advisors broadly agree on where that guidance matters, but they differ on the importance of tax. Women rank tax-efficient financial decisions #1 among those where they would always seek professional advice; advisors believe women would rank it #4.

Demand for tax guidance rises with wealth. 46% of women with $2M+ say they would always seek professional advice for tax-efficient financial decisions, compared with 39% below $2M.

More from the research

The research reveals additional opportunities for advisors to serve women as financial decisions become more complex and their needs evolve.

Confidence comes from clarity

Advisors can build confidence by providing the clarity and information women value, rather than focusing primarily on emotional reassurance.

Women want connected advice

Coordination across professionals is women’s largest unmet need. Connected advice aligns a client’s financial plan, professionals and broader life, goals and circumstances.

Engagement starts today

35% of women with $2M+ remain unadvised, with the share rising at higher wealth levels. Building relationships today creates opportunities to grow with them as needs evolve.

Explore the full report on the Future of Wealth

Discover all research findings on how women are building and managing wealth and what they mean for the future of your business.
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About the Future of Wealth survey

The inaugural BlackRock Future of Wealth research reflects the perspectives of 1,067 affluent and high-net-worth women investors and 409 U.S. financial advisors. The survey was fielded by Escalent, an independent research firm, between July 29 and August 23, 2026.

Research topics covered: Wealth creation, financial priorities, financial decision-making, personalization, tax management, advisor relationships, life transitions, financial agency, legacy and wealth transfer.

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How advisors are evolving to serve HNW clients

BlackRock's 2026 Advisor Trends Survey explores how advisors are adapting their businesses to serve HNW clients, personalize at scale and capture new growth opportunities.

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Frequently asked questions

  • Women are actively creating, growing and investing wealth, with career earnings playing a larger role than advisors perceive. As wealth grows, optimization needs increase, including tax efficiency, personalization and coordination across increasingly complex financial lives.

  • BlackRock's Future of Wealth research explores the forces reshaping wealth and what they mean for financial advisors. The inaugural 2026 study focuses on affluent and high-net-worth women, reflecting the perspectives of 1,067 women investors and 409 financial advisors across the U.S. wealth management industry. The study was fielded by Escalent, an independent research firm.

  • Advisors can engage affluent women by building relationships before a major wealth transition, leading with investment expertise and providing personalized advice across investments, taxes and planning. Significant opportunity exists today, including among women who remain unadvised at higher wealth levels.

  • Women place significant value on better investment and tax outcomes, followed by advice tailored to their goals, priorities and life circumstances. Investment expertise remains foundational to the advisor relationship.

  • Women rank tax-efficient financial decisions #1 among decisions for which they would always seek professional advice, and demand for tax guidance increases at higher wealth levels. Women also place greater value on better tax outcomes than advisors may recognize.

  • Connected advice brings together investments, taxes, retirement planning and other financial priorities around a client's broader goals. Coordination across professional advice is the largest unmet need identified by affluent women in the research, highlighting the opportunity for financial advisors to connect advice across increasingly complex financial lives.