Modern-day investing is a far cry from its start. Today, we take a chance on stocks, bonds, funds and more. In its beginning, investing was based in shipping, with risky voyages—think severe weather, disease and piracy—requiring funding from investors betting on a trip’s success for a percentage of its proceeds.
Naturally, as investing has evolved, so has the face of wealth. While historical social structures and legal systems once led men to control the vast majority of investable assets, the present day now recognizes women as a significant investor pool. According to McKinsey’s research, between 2018 and 2023, female-controlled wealth rose by 51%, outpacing the market’s 43% increase in global assets.
Despite this, data as of 2025 show that women are still less likely than men to work with financial advisors, leaving more than half (53%) of female-controlled assets unmanaged. With factors like the continued gender wage gap and gendered life-course expectations, women often have different financial goals and expectations of advisors than their male counterparts, lending to a possible mismatch in service capabilities that ultimately widens this gap.
Leading Firms Offer Investor-Facing Content for Women
Findings from our recent June report on Client Education Resources largely reinforce this idea. In the Asset Management Monitor – Advisor coverage set, just 29% of asset managers provide advisors with investor-facing content specific to educating or aiding different investor demographics on financial concepts, supporting professionals in a largely one-size-fits-all approach to client relationships.
The firms that do provide these types of resources—especially those that center such content around this growing sector of wealth—position themselves as clear differentiators among competitors in the asset management landscape. Offering advisors the tools necessary to engage effectively with different investor needs facilitates dual business growth, expanding professionals’ client bases and establishing firms as go-to partners for content less widely available across the industry.
Just three firms earned an Excellent rating among competitors in this report, all of which feature female-specific materials within their client education resource libraries:
BlackRock
BlackRock offers a dedicated Engage Women Investors page that houses seminars, conversation guides and other resources tailored to address the unique financial concerns of a female client base. Here, the firm recognizes women investors as key pieces to the future client base of advisors, using its banner to spotlight how “more and more women are getting involved or taking control of their household finances” and encourage advisors to “proactively build stronger relationships” with them. An Address the Unique Needs of Women Clients section particularly stands out with both advisor guides and client resources, educating each party on topics such as divorce and life after loss. The firm additionally features a secure site guide on How to Engage Entrepreneurial Women, with the subset presenting a significant opportunity for advisors, demonstrated by the $3.3 trillion generated by women-owned businesses every year in the U.S.
DFA
DFA’s secure site Women & Wealth page is largely professional-facing, but includes a single client-ready Divorced or Widowed? Four Steps to Take Command of Your Money episode from its The Informed Investor podcast video series. The episode discusses the importance of cash in such financial transitions and document upkeep, as well as how newfound financial independence can be empowering. Advisors can find this resource in the page’s Helping Women Meet Their Financial Goals section, where webcasts and articles are also available for advisors’ reference around topics like meeting the needs of professional women and how to incorporate a woman’s values into her financial plan. Notably, the page opens with the initial question behind its resources—Is Serving Women Different?— and uses its materials to address how women’s circumstances differ from those of male investors, such as the obstacles they face or what contributes to their “financial peace of mind.”
Manulife John Hancock
Manulife John Hancock features a Women, Wealth and Wisdom hub, building content around nine life-event case studies: First-Time Homebuyer, Business Owner, Newly Widowed, Newly Divorced, Caring for Aging Parents, Nearing Retirement, Estate Planning, Strategic Philanthropy and New Parent. In doing so, the firm stands out for going beyond more table-stakes topics across female-focused content, like divorce and widowhood, establishing a well-rounded library advisors can look to for addressing a more nuanced range of needs. Each case study pairs a video and presentation with at least one corresponding checklist, worksheet or primer. A Women Today case study introduces the page, exploring the “gains women have made, some of the challenges women face and the financial issues they may plan for.”
Understanding gender differences grants both asset managers and advisors an edge, defined by the opportunity to tap into a multi-trillion-dollar female economy. Ellevest—a financial services firm dedicated to helping women build wealth—particularly speaks to this prospect, founded only in 2014, yet reaching an impressive milestone of over $2 billion in AUM as of 2025, demonstrating female demand for more specialized—rather than traditional gender-neutral—approaches.
History shows the faults of trying to time the market; we all know the phrase “stay invested.” In this case, however, staying proactive and adjusting to the tides of time may just be what maximizes returns.
For more on the latest digital experience trends across financial services, insurance, and healthcare, visit CI’s Insights page. And learn more about our Asset Management – Advisor research solutions and our most recent report on client education resources.
Deirdre Kelshaw
Deirdre Kelshaw is an analyst on CI's asset management team.