Women Are About to Control More Wealth Than Ever Before – But Many Still Don't Feel Financially Confident

A month after she lost her husband, a client in her early fifties came to see me. She had spent more than twenty years as a physician, treating thousands of patients, was chair of several hospital committees, and was an executive medical director in one of the most demanding divisions of the health authority.

She sat down, turned her iPad toward me, showing a list of accounts she had never once logged into, and sobbed, "I have no idea where to start."

She is an incredibly impressive woman who makes confident decisions in so many facets of her life, so why did her finances feel different? The simple truth was that she had never been invited into most of the financial decisions that shaped her life.

Her story is deeply personal, but it reflects a much broader shift now unfolding across Canada. Many accomplished women carry a quiet sense that they should know more about their finances than they do. These are often executives, business owners, healthcare professionals, and entrepreneurs: women who lead organizations, make complex decisions throughout their day, and support those around them. Yet when the conversation turns to their own wealth, that same assurance can give way to uncertainty.

Women are poised to control unprecedented wealth  

Stories like hers are unfolding at a pivotal moment for women and wealth. While much of this change is being driven by the Great Wealth Transfer already underway, widely described as the largest intergenerational transfer in history, inheritance is just one source of women's growing share.

Longevity is another clear driver. Women tend to outlive their male partners, leaving them to inherit and ultimately direct assets the couple built together. With women poised to become key beneficiaries of this wealth transfer, developing the confidence and knowledge to make informed financial decisions has never been more important.

In the U.S., Cerulli Associates projects that $124 trillion USD will change hands by 2048, with roughly $105 trillion flowing to heirs and $18 trillion to charitable causes. According to Bank of America analyst Kay Hope, women are expected to inherit approximately 70% of that wealth.

In Canada, a shift of equally significant magnitude is also underway. According to a 2024 Women of Influence and CIBC survey, women are expected to control nearly $3.8 trillion in financial assets by 2028, up from $2.2 trillion. CPA Canada estimates that women will inherit roughly $900 billion in financial and real assets by 2026, putting women in a position to control close to half of all accumulated wealth in the country for the first time.

While these figures are striking (consider that Canada's entire 2025 GDP was $2.39 trillion), inheritance is only one part of the story, and the implications extend well beyond dollars. A systemic shift is occurring in who is making decisions about wealth, legacy, and long-term financial planning.

Four pathways, one emerging reality 

In reality, women are arriving at financial control through four distinct routes.

While the first is inheritance, the most immediate expression of the Great Wealth Transfer, that tells only part of the story. Women are entering this new era of wealth through several other, equally significant, pathways.

The second is earnings. According to Statistics Canada, nearly one-third of Canadian households now have a woman as the primary or co-primary breadwinner. They also made up 63% of master's students and 57% of PhD candidates as of 2022. More women are building wealth through their own earnings and professional success. What has not always kept pace is confidence in the decisions that follow.

The third is business ownership. An increasing number of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises are now majority-owned by women. Many of these owners read income statements with confidence and price their services with precision. The same instincts often go quiet when the conversation turns to a personal balance sheet.

The fourth is life transition. Divorce, widowhood, the death of a parent, or a sudden diagnosis each compress the timeline for financial clarity. Decisions arrive alongside grief, legal processes, and accounts that someone else has been managing for years.

The circumstances differ, but they mostly lead to the same place: increased responsibility for financial decisions. Perhaps counterintuitively, the women who handle that best are not necessarily the ones with the deepest technical knowledge. They are often the ones who have a clear sense of what they want their wealth to accomplish for themselves, their family, and the legacy they hope to leave.

Once that clarity is on the table, the conversation shifts from products and jargon to real life: family, flexibility, education, retirement, aging parents, philanthropy, and a legacy that reflects one's values.

The confidence gap  

UBS's Own Your Worth report found that nearly half of married women defer to their spouses on long-term financial decisions, including investing, estate planning, and insurance. A 2021 Fidelity study analyzing more than five million investment accounts found that fewer than 4 in 10 women said they were comfortable with their investing knowledge.  Remarkably, that same study also found that women outperformed their male counterparts by 40 basis points annually, suggesting that the low confidence is unwarranted. 

The gap between actual performance and perceived ability is one of the most consistently documented dynamics in personal finance.  One of the many key drivers is competing priorities. Many women spend years balancing careers, businesses, children, aging parents, and community commitments. Financial planning becomes one more responsibility competing for limited time. Important decisions get delegated, postponed, or simply not prioritized.  

Why the gap persists 

The confidence gap is often misunderstood. It is not primarily a knowledge gap. More often, it is the result of years spent focusing attention elsewhere while financial decisions were delegated to others out of habit, circumstance, or family roles.

For generations, financial conversations were not directed at women. In many households, investing became the responsibility of one partner by default. Those patterns became ingrained even as women's roles in earning and creating wealth evolved.

Complexity plays a role, too. Wealth management can feel intimidating when conversations are dominated by jargon and assumptions about prior knowledge. The common result is hesitation and delay.

Over time, those delays can carry real consequences, including excessive cash holdings, unused registered accounts, or outdated estate plans. This is where thoughtful financial planning can make a meaningful difference.

How clarity becomes confidence 

Many people assume financial planning begins with investments, but investments are only one piece of the picture. Thoughtful planning starts with understanding so much more: what you own, how it's structured, and how it supports the life you want to build. It connects money to the things that matter most: family, flexibility, health, career aspirations, caregiving responsibilities, philanthropy, and the legacy you hope to leave behind.

For many women, that process begins with something surprisingly simple: having the space to define what success looks like on their own terms. The most meaningful financial conversations rarely begin with markets or returns. They begin with what gives someone confidence, purpose, freedom, and choice.

Once that is defined, tax planning, investment management, estate planning, insurance, and philanthropy stop being abstract concepts and instead become tools in service of a broader vision. This vision reflects not only financial objectives but also the realities of someone's life, responsibilities, and aspirations.

Financial confidence rarely emerges from a single conversation or decision. It develops gradually through greater clarity, engagement, and understanding. As people become more connected to their financial lives, uncertainty gives way to confidence, and confidence creates the foundation for more intentional decision-making.

Start with what matters most. Consider what you envision for your family, the impact you want to have, or the legacy you hope to leave behind. Once those priorities are clear, financial decisions become easier to evaluate because they can be measured against what you are trying to accomplish.

Be at the table early. Take an active role in financial conversations with family members and advisors. Ask questions, share your perspective, and stay involved in key decisions so the relationships and understanding are already in place before a major life transition occurs.

Understand what you own. Know what assets you have, where they are held, how income is generated, and who to contact when questions arise. Having a clear picture of your financial life reduces uncertainty and creates a stronger foundation for future decisions.

Build knowledge over time. Financial literacy doesn't have to happen all at once. Read an article, listen to a podcast, attend a seminar, or ask one new question in each meeting. Small, consistent learning builds confidence more effectively than trying to master everything at once.

Seek advice that reflects your goals. Revisiting a portfolio can sometimes feel like preserving someone else's vision rather than defining your own. The right advisor helps you connect financial decisions to what matters most to you, asking thoughtful questions and providing guidance tailored to your circumstances and aspirations.

The Great Wealth Transfer is already underway. However wealth arrives—through inheritance, career success, entrepreneurship, or life transition—the most salient question is the same: "What do you want your wealth to make possible?"

For many women, the answer to that question matters far more than any individual investment decision. Importantly, the best time to begin exploring it is before a major life transition forces the conversation.

Speak with a Nicola Wealth advisor about building a financial plan that reflects your goals, supports the people you care about, and helps create the legacy you envision.