Women, wealth, and the age of AI

There are some pretty big numbers going around about the amount of money that will move into the hands of women as part of the ‘great wealth transfer.

Recent research from Unbiased shows that women are 45% more likely than men to have inherited assets as part of their overall wealth, indicating that a large scale transfer is underway.

There are impressive facts and figures but what about the women at the heart of this change? How might they feel about a potential wall of money coming their way – are they prepared for it, and what actions might they take as a result?

In this article I want take a look at what women’s attitudes to investing, financial planning and inheritance tell us about how this trend could play out, and what it means for advice firms.

Women and investing

A consistent pattern in research and surveys is that women are more reluctant, or feel less confident, about investing compared to men. And, when women do invest, they tend to take a more cautious approach to risk. 

Part of this might link back to what many of today’s inheriting women grew up seeing. A large portion may have watched their mothers hand over financial responsibility and decision-making to male partners. In fact, as part of the work carried out for Consumer Duty, we held sessions with end clients. Every woman I spoke to said she had asked a man, what to do financially – whether a husband or father.

If you’ve never seen the women around you investing, managing the household finances or making big financial decisions, it naturally becomes harder to mirror those behaviors yourself.

This challenge isn’t going away quickly. Research from Scottish Widows in 2025 found that many women feel investing “is not for them” – even when they have a workplace pension. 

Imposter syndrome could play into this too, especially when handling unfamiliar concepts or large sums of money. And on top of that the gender pay gap and traditional family roles have meant that many women have had less disposable income available to invest in the first place. This can leave investing feeling more like a luxury than a default.

Women and financial advice

While some figures won’t necessarily come as a surprise to anyone working in advice or financial services, they do raise interesting questions about the future. Especially as more wealth begins passing into women’s hands. 

Encouragingly for the financial advice profession, research from M&G, carried out by Censuswide*, found that 53% of women surveyed, who expect to receive an inheritance of at least £300,000, say they’ll need financial advice to feel confident about managing an inheritance.

And when financial planners are able to clearly explain the benefits of investing and the need to take sensible levels of risk, this results in a higher equity allocation of 49% on average among female clients.

Enter the age of AI

Another major trend happening at the same time as more money is starting to pass to women, is of course AI. With AI technologies finding their way into everyday life, through publicly available tools such as ChatGPT or advisers firms integrating AI tech into their operations, how might this impact women’s confidence in financial advice and investing? 

It’s perhaps unsurprising then that a recent YouGov study found that only 19% of UK adults were comfortable receiving financial advice generated by AI, with women feeling less comfortable than men. Given how rapidly advice firms are integrating AI into their businesses, it’s reassuring that a study by Unbiased found that the majority of UK adults would prefer a human adviser, even if supported by AI tools, over AI alone.

As you’ll know trust is extremely important for both women and men when seeking financial advice. But these findings highlight that the human aspects of financial planning, such as building relationships are highly valued by clients. This is particularly important for women, who’s comfort levels with AI-generated advice differ from those of men.

Women also place especially high value on “feeling they [advisers] would listen intently to, and understand my needs”. This reinforces how essential human interaction is in establishing emotional context and motivations behind women’s financial decisions. 

It’s also worth acknowledging the rise of online influencers who speak confidently about investing, some of who use AI tools themselves. This means many younger women will be engaging with financial content on social platforms long before speaking to a professional adviser. This trend will shape expectations for advice firms in how approachable their communications feel and how they integrate new technologies.

Is financial services ready?

Although many women still feel less confident when it comes to investing, their recognition of the need for financial advice, especially around the complex matter of inheritance, is a real positive.

While this opens up an opportunity for the sector, with only 14% of women (and just 18% of men) having carried out intergenerational planning with an adviser, it also shows that the industry still has a lot to do to prepare for the great wealth transfer and get more women engaged in planning for this significant life stage.

And, as AI takes on a bigger role across the sector, firms will need to keep sight of the fact that human advice has never been more important.

*Methodology: The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 1002 men and women (aged 26+) who have £150k+ investable assets OR anticipate receiving £300k+ inheritance. The data was collected between 31.01.2025 - 11.02.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.