Full Breakdown
Women Face a $124 Trillion Wealth Transfer Yet Remain Unprepared
By Drooid · · How we work
The Looming $124 Trillion Transfer
A multiyear “great wealth transfer” projected to move roughly $124 trillion in assets through 2048 will disproportionately benefit women. Consulting firm Cerulli Associates estimates that about $54 trillion will first pass through inter-spousal transfers to widows, with more than 95 % of those funds going to women. Consulting firm McKinsey forecasts that female-controlled assets could rise from $18 trillion in 2023 (34 % of U.S. assets) to $34 trillion by 2030, representing about 38 % of total U.S. assets.
Preparedness Gaps Among Women
A 2025 Citizens survey of 1,500 adults found that 84 % of women said they lacked confidence in managing an inheritance or other financial windfall, compared with 73 % of men. Nearly half (45 %) of women reported feeling confused or overwhelmed about personal wealth, versus 27 % of men. Similar patterns appear abroad: a Canadian study by estate-planning platform Willful showed 53 % of women named as executors of estates, while a UK law-firm blog cited a YouGov survey in which 56 % of women had administered estates themselves, compared with 43 % of men.
Industry and Advisory Recommendations
Advisors are urged to involve both spouses early in financial-planning discussions. Ami Doshi, director of business development at Hightower Signature Wealth, stresses that advisers should “engage both husband and wife” and avoid meeting only with the louder partner. She notes that many “boomer” women were historically excluded from money-management decisions, creating a readiness gap. Doshi adds that advisers have a responsibility to understand clients’ relationships with money and to provide guidance that anticipates long-term impacts.
Verbatim Quotes
- “In the great wealth transfer, a large part includes a dialogue about women,” — Ami Doshi, director of business development at Hightower Signature Wealth
- “Women are very capable, but 'boomer' women were not very involved, either by choice or not given a seat at the table,” — Ami Doshi, director of business development at Hightower Signature Wealth
- “They need to engage both husband and wife," Doshi said.” — Ami Doshi, director of business development at Hightower Signature Wealth