Women’s growing wealth challenges private banking strategies

01 August 2022
Womens growing wealth challenges private banking strategies
Women’s growing wealth challenges private banking strategies

As the UAE embraces a more diverse, inclusive future, private banking and wealth management too need to evolve to include the aspirations and goals of women investors who are emerging as a strong voice with well-defined priorities

The UAE’s Year of the 50th celebrations that ended in March 2022 launched a strategy for the next half century for the young nation. Diversity and innovation are vital components of the country’s strategic focus. The UAE, which is located at the geographic centre of the world, is poised to bridge the shifting centre of global economic gravity, and is home to a youthful and diverse population.

To stay relevant and responsive to a diverse group of stakeholders, wealth planning too needs to evolve to include their aspirations and goals. Women investors in particular have emerged as a strong voice, globally and in the region, with well-defined priorities.

Women make up half of the world’s population. They are custodians of a third of the world’s wealth, adding USD 5 trillion a year to the global wealth pool. This wealth creation is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% between 2019 and 2023, outpacing the overall market growth of 5.8%. Women’s wealth in the Middle East is expected to rise at a CAGR of 8.8% during the same period.

The UAE continues to make great strides in achieving gender balance, with measures covering talent participation at the highest levels, leadership positions, and political empowerment. The country ranks first globally on as many as nine gender balance indices, including the Women in Parliament Index. It ranks ninth globally in the Women’s Leadership Opportunities pillar of INSEAD’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index.

Pre-COVID data show that more than 40% of women’s wealth in the Middle East is concentrated in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. As investors, heirs, business owners, partners, CEOs, and professionals, UAE women control assets worth USD 102 billion. It’s reasonable to infer that wealth managers and private bankers have been advising an increasing number of women clients.

Responsive wealth management for women will need a clear, well-defined shift. Global research tells us that wealth management needs to reinvent itself to reflect deep demographic transformations. The same old wealth management strategies – with a superficial pink-wash, perhaps – would not work for women’s aspirations. Research shows key differences in how women approach wealth. Wealth managers and bankers can best respond by being attuned to the real needs of this clientele instead of relying on stereotypes.

For instance, more women investors compared to men follow a goal-based approach instead of building wealth for its own sake. They also emerge as less reluctant to ask questions, seek precise data, and tend to weigh choices rationally rather than relying on ‘gut feel’. Women investors across the high-net-worth spectrum tend to be more risk-averse. Impact investing with a holistic approach that is socially and environmentally responsible is more prevalent among women investors.

In fact, these may be some of the reasons that investments held by women tend to perform better.

Client priorities have deep implications for wealth management and affect how products and advice are tailored. At the same time, true diversity, equity, and inclusivity also make business sense. Organisations that score higher on gender diversity on executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability. A diversity-driven wealth management strategy would pay dividends for not just the client but also the financial institution, as well as society as a whole.

Curated by White Paper Media

Written by:
  • Private Banking

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