How women advisors drive long-term growth with wealthy clients

Key takeaways

• Deepening client relationships is a more important driver of organic growth for women advisors than adding new clients.
• Long-term planning and stickier assets are prominent themes in women advisors’ priorities.
• Women advisors are focused on enhancing their capabilities to serve the increasingly complex needs of high-net-worth clients.

Women advisors: what sets them apart may set them ahead

As investable assets continue to concentrate upmarket and an estimated $104 trillion of wealth is set to transfer to heirs by 2048,¹ the wealth management industry is sharpening its focus on the needs of high-net-worth (HNW) clients. Women advisors, who make up 18% of the advisor population,² stand ready to thrive in this environment.

BlackRock’s 2026 Advisor Trends Survey uncovered distinct areas where women advisors are unique in their approach and priorities, enhancing their ability to earn and retain multi-generational relationships with wealthy families. Together, these survey insights highlight three ways women advisors are positioning their businesses for stronger, sustained growth with HNW clients.

1. Driving organic growth through deeper client relationships

Rather than relying primarily on winning new clients, women advisors tend to drive more of their organic growth by expanding their share-of-wallet with the clients they already have. The women advisors we surveyed expect 33.4% of the growth in their assets under management (AUM) over the next 12 months to be new assets from existing clients. In contrast, men advisors anticipate new clients to be the largest driver (35.5%) of their AUM growth.

Growing AUM with existing clients requires a deeper level of engagement, which aligns with the way women advisors allocate their time. While both men and women advisors spend more time on client service than any other business activity, women advisors invest significantly more time with their clients relative to men advisors.

Cultivating connections with their clients and learning more about their families and unique needs can help women advisors uncover opportunities to serve their clients in more ways. Involving family members in financial conversations and providing financial education further increases the probability of retaining a family’s business when the original client’s assets transfer to heirs.

In an era where HNW clients expect their advisors to provide personalized service and engage with multiple generations of their family, investing more time in client relationships may provide women advisors with a lasting competitive edge.

Women advisors spend more time with their clients
Allocation of time

2. Prioritizing the long-term growth of their business

The women advisors we surveyed are focused on initiatives for the coming year that reflect a long-term mindset. Outside of ‘always on’ business growth goals, women advisors prioritize succession planning, expanding retirement plan offerings, and transitioning assets to model portfolios and separately managed accounts (SMAs).

Notably, women advisors plan to invest a significantly larger portion of client assets to model portfolios over the next 12 months. By increasing their operational efficiency while providing a consistent client experience, women advisors can dedicate more time to client interactions and providing personalized services to HNW clients.

Women advisors are increasing their use of models
% of advisor AUM invested in model portfolios

3. Enhancing their capabilities to provide high-net-worth services

As wealthy clients seek solutions for more complex problems, the growth of an advisory practice increasingly depends on its advanced planning capabilities. In our survey, women advisors expressed strong interest in deepening their expertise in several key areas: liquidity event planning (61%), concentrated stock solutions (48%), and direct indexing and tax overlays (46%).

Enhancing their capabilities to provide sophisticated, personalized services can help women advisors capture some of the largest growth opportunities in the market, including business owners preparing for exits, executives with equity compensation and families navigating tax-sensitive wealth transfers.

Women advisors are invested in their future

Today’s landscape of concentrating U.S. wealth, rising client expectations and a historic intergenerational wealth transfer will favor advisors who can build durable, multigenerational relationships with HNW families. Explore more of the findings from our survey to learn how women advisors are aligning their practices with the needs of HNW clients and building a foundation for sustained business growth.

BlackRock can help you meet increasingly complex client expectations and position your business for long-term growth. Contact your BlackRock representative or explore our resources to learn more.