Emma Wheeler, Executive Director and Head of Women’s Wealth and UBS Global Wealth Management, visited Monaco this week to launch the first local edition of the programme, which aims to boost women’s financial confidence and participation in investment decisions.
“We could see that women were largely dissatisfied with the advice that they were receiving from their wealth managers. They felt misunderstood,” Wheeler told Monaco Life. “We always wanted to be part of the solution to that.”
The paradox is quite striking. While women are increasingly earning and inheriting wealth, they often step back when it comes to major investment decisions. Research shows that 51% of millennial women defer large investment decisions to their spouse after marriage, despite 88% being comfortable with long-term finance while single.
“In the average household, women are typically the CFO (the Chief Financial Officer),” Wheeler explained. “They set up the monthly budget, pay the bills. But male partners tend to be the CIO (the Chief Investment Officer) taking the lead on retirement planning and longer-term investments.”
However, this division extends beyond individual households. Only 4% of family office principals globally are women, and just 18% of portfolio managers in the US are female.
The seven-step programme
The Women’s Investment Circle, which has been running globally since January 2017, seeks to address this imbalance through education and confidence building. The dedicated financial education programme consists of seven-hour-long sessions designed specifically to speak to women’s need and concerns.
“What we’ve seen as we talk to our female clients around the world is that many of them lack financial knowledge,” Wheeler said. “That’s because women haven’t been part of the financial decision-making processes in their families over time.”
The programme covers topics ranging from an introduction to financial markets to more nuanced subjects such as “financial EQ” – what Wheeler describes as “the more emotional quotient of wealth”, and financial parenting, helping parents instil good money habits in their children from an early age.
Breaking down barriers
Mariana Mamou, UBS’s CIO, Head Advice Beyond Investing, explained that women’s hesitation around investing isn’t about risk aversion but rather about risk perception.
“We think that they are more risk-cautious,” Mamou explained. “Risk perception has to do a lot with experience and knowledge. If something is new, and you haven’t tried it before, it looks a bit scarier. The financial services speak in jargon, they’re not accessible and understood, make it intimidating.”
The approach though seems to be working. Once women do engage with investing, research shows they often outperform their male counterparts. “Women make more calculated risk decisions,” said Mamou. “They are more disciplined. They perform better. They become better investors.”
Wheeler agreed: “There’s less gut instinct involved in women’s decision-making when it comes to investing. So, you could say that they’re less emotional than men as investors.”
The timing of the programme’s Monaco launch couldn’t be more crucial. Wheeler highlighted what she calls “the great wealth transfer” – a historic demographic shift from the baby boomer generation to millennials and Gen Z.
“This wealth transfer over the next 20 to 25 years is going to be worth about $83 trillion, and the lion’s share of that will go to women,” Wheeler said. Recent research from Capgemini suggests that 57% of this transfer will end up in women’s hands.
“For the first time in history, we really are a serious economic force and owning and controlling more wealth than men,” Wheeler said. “But that’s why we need to get women investing right? Because otherwise, we’re going to face an economic hole.”
Different investment preferences
Both Wheeler and Mamou noted that women do have distinct investment preferences, though these often stem from education and experience rather than inherent traits.
“Women are more inclined to invest in themselves when they see that the investment risk also benefits from a social perspective,” Mamou explained. “There is more sustainability impact that blends in their interest.”
However, once women gain financial knowledge and confidence, their portfolios become more diversified and perform well. “The actual portfolio may not look different than men’s,” Mamou said. “We make great investors.”
Wheeler also noted a generational shift in women’s relationship with wealth. During a recent summit in Panama, a young female entrepreneur told her: “What’s different between my generation and yours is that I see female leaders all around me every day, because it’s in my social media algorithm.”
“I thought that was a fascinating point,” Wheeler said. “In my lifetime, for example, I’ve known of the Queen and maybe Sheryl Sandberg, but they were very distant from my actual world. But on your phone, they’re actually there. And that really is empowering.”
Getting started
For women looking to become more involved in investment decisions, Wheeler’s advice is to start small and build confidence gradually through trusted environments where they can ask question without judgement.
“That’s what we found is the biggest challenge…where do I get started?” she said, noting that UBS has developed tools specifically designed to help women overcome that first hurdle.
The Women’s Investment Circle in Monaco will offer local women the opportunity to develop their financial knowledge and confidence alongside other women facing similar challenges.
“Women make great investors,” Wheeler concluded. “We just need to get them over than first hurdle and build their confidence. The time for women to step up is now.”
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Main photo of Emma Wheeler provided.