Top Trends in Female Wealth Management – Carrie Lennard, Marketing Manager at JM Finn

Date: 24 Sep 2025

Karen Jones

This week’s Top Trends in Female Wealth Management is dedicated to Carrie Lennard, Marketing Manager at JM Finn.

How has the profile of the female private client evolved, and what does the new generation of wealthy women want from their advisers?

There is a long-term trend towards many women in the UK owning more wealth. Among the reasons for this growth are life events such as inheritance and divorce, as well as more women founding their own companies or reaching the top of their organisations.

Despite women gradually closing the pay gap and advancing in the world of work, they are still far less likely than men to invest money: and this is contributing to a staggering £599 billion investing gap between men and women in the UK.

One of the reasons for the investment gap is that investing has historically been seen as a male preserve – not helped by the pervasive use of jargon in the industry. We believe women (and all clients!) want advisers who take the time to understand their situation through regular meetings, and who speak plain English.       

Are firms adapting their approach, language, service models, or relationship management, to better connect with female investors?

One of the main reasons for the introduction of Consumer Duty by the Financial Conduct Authority was to make it compulsory for finance firms to ensure their material can be understood by all their clients and prospective clients regardless of their level of financial knowledge – it is now no longer acceptable to assume understanding by a hypothetical ‘average client’. This can only benefit clients regardless of gender.

What types of investment themes or products are most appealing to women, and how are their priorities distinct from male counterparts?

Women on average are more risk-averse when it comes to investing: according to FCA research 82% of women describe themselves as having a low appetite for risk, compared with 69% of men – linked to a higher propensity for women to regard investing as risky.

This perception means that women are likelier to opt for more familiar types of saving that they may perceive as being lower risk: 37% use a cash ISA for example. Women are also more likely than men to have a savings account. Ironically, in the climate of inflation at elevated levels in the last few years, cash accounts are unfortunately typically a riskier way to have kept money – as keeping large amounts held in cash during periods of high inflation can often mean its value declines in real terms.

How do life events such as divorce, entrepreneurship, or inheritance shape the wealth journey of women, and how can firms support them better?

Inherited wealth is a major driving factor in the transfer of wealth to women. The baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) are the wealthiest generation globally – and the UK’s population are no exception.

The initial phase of the wealth transfer is typically from male baby boomers to their surviving female partners and spouses as the odds are that many women will outlive their male partners. UK women have outnumbered men for every year since 1953, and at the age of 65 they can also expect to live on average for a further 22 years compared to 19.7 for men. The average age for inheritance in the UK is 61, meaning that many inherit later in life – and this can result in people suddenly finding themselves managing a large sum of money during their later years.

Another reason for the rise in female wealth is an increase in female-led entrepreneurship. Women founded 150,000 companies in 2022, accounting for 20% of all new firms registered in the UK, up from 17% in 2017. While there is still evidently much work to be done to reach gender parity in funding for startups, female entrepreneurs outearn their male counterparts by 14%, with an average annual income of £382,000 compared to £327,000 for men. The point at which many founders see a real difference to their personal wealth is often soon after an IPO or after selling the business.

In the employed sector there has also been some progress; women now hold 40% of board positions at companies listed on the FTSE All-Share Index.

Divorce is another contributing factor in the transfer of wealth to women: 42% of UK marriages unfortunately end in divorce, and the figure is on the rise. With the average UK age for divorce at 45 for men and 42 for women, in many cases, women may suddenly find themselves midway through their lives facing the dilemma of how best to manage a large sum of money for the long term.

How are women’s decision-making styles or priorities different?

Women are becoming more involved and engaged with their own, and their families’, long-term financial lives. In conjunction with this shift, we do still see that men and women tend to think about and behave in disparate ways towards their investments. The main financial concern we see for both men and women is the performance of their portfolio. However a higher proportion of men (66%) name this as a concern compared to 51% of women. Women are also more likely to be concerned with having adequate financial protection in place. Men have stronger concerns around the impact of inflation on their investments (57% compared to 51%), while women are more concerned with the rising cost of living (39% compared to 33% of men).

What role does financial education or confidence-building play in engaging female clients more effectively?

There is a clear gender gap in financial knowledge, creating scope for many women to become more confident in managing their wealth, to take risks and to delegate – making use of professional help.

How important is trust, empathy, and relationship continuity in serving HNW women and multigenerational female-led families?

While some women may feel alienated by the investment industry as a whole, at JM Finn we are proud that the opposite is true of our female clients – and our personal service resonates with them. In our most recent client survey, 98% of our female clients said they were satisfied with their Investment Manager, and 96% were satisfied with JM Finn overall. A big contributing factor to this, as mentioned, is that we understand that financial jargon can feel unhelpful: so wherever possible, we avoid it. We work hard to demystify the language, talk in plain English and make investing more accessible to all our clients.

Are marketing and branding efforts in the wealth industry inclusive enough? What changes are needed to resonate with female audiences?

We believe more can be done in the wealth management industry to engage overtly with female audiences – and that’s something we are working hard to do. Our Wealth in Women’s Hands report is aimed specifically at encouraging more women to invest and take a proactive interest in their financial futures. We are just about to launch our latest report Planning for the future: a guide to pensions for women with practical tips for women to help redress the UK’s £85,000 gender gap in pensions.

JM Finn hold regular sessions specifically for female investors to offer food for thought about the barriers to higher levels of female investment generally. We also encourage women to think about their own personal situations and whether their money could potentially be working harder for them by investing it.

How can advisers avoid assumptions or stereotypes when working with women clients, and focus on truly personalised service?

Above all, not to assume a level of knowledge (or lack thereof) based on gender, but to take the time to understand each client’s unique situation and treat them as an individual.

What do you believe the next 5 years will look like in terms of innovation and growth in the female private wealth space?

The factors contributing to the great wealth transfer will continue to mean a more even playing field in terms of wealth ownership in the next five years – the industry has a responsibility to help women get the most out of their wealth by making investment more inclusive.

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