Investment confidence of HNW females on par with males: JBWere

A new whitepaper from wealth management company, JBWere, has highlighted the growing confidence of women to manage their finances and financial markets, as the number of female high-net-worth (HNW) investors continues to rise.

The whitepaper completed in association with CoreData, titled The growth of Women and Wealth, found HNW female investors presented similar risk profiles to HNW male investors, with 21 per cent of women identifying as an aggressive investor (versus 20 per cent for men). One hundred per cent of women said they had a “moderate or good knowledge of the relationship between investment risk and return”, compared to 96 per cent of men.

“More than ever women are taking charge of their finances and are seeking to be actively engaged with their investment portfolio. When HNW women seek investment advice we know that they’re wanting to see a range of different investment options across both traditional and non-traditional assets and not be pigeonholed into products considered to have less risk,” JBWere Australia chief executive, Maria Lykouras, said.

“The research tells us that it’s a deal breaker for women if their financial adviser doesn’t capture the full financial picture and tailor investment solutions appropriately.”

The research found that HNW women invested mostly in real estate (63 per cent), Australian shares (59 per cent) and cash (51 per cent), as of December 2023.

“We found that three in five HNW women (62%) already have an ongoing relationship with a financial adviser and are most likely to engage when they feel they need support for their investments or when receiving an inheritance,” Lykouras said.

“Advisers play a crucial role in empowering already confident women to take the next step with their investments. Women often rely on their adviser as a critical source for information and to provide options that
match with their risk appetite and future financial direction.”

The whitepaper showed women have become millionaires at twice the rate of men in the last 10 years, due to a variety of factors besides work including intergenerational transfer, death of a spouse or divorce amongst wealthy families.

The research indicated an advice gap between this fast-growing number of HNW women alongside a shortage of female financial advisers, with only 55 per cent of Baby Boomer women having an adviser compared to 67 per cent of Generation Y women.

“The cohort of HNW women in Australia is growing at a faster pace than men with increased workforce participation and surging female entrepreneurship. And with women across Australia set to take charge of the intergenerational wealth transfer, the demand for high-level support from advisers will be critical to shaping the financial future for thousands of Australian women and their families. There is a clear need for
the financial services industry to support more women becoming advisers,” Lykouras said.

“The research indicates HNW women are likely to seek advice when they’re making their next investment or are receiving an inheritance, but it also shows that women value a holistic approach to their overall financial situation – which includes support from their bank, lender and other finance professionals to provide the complete picture.”