Center for Women & Wealth

Supporting women as they create and manage wealth

Cultivating a community of women

The Center for Women and Wealth® (CW&W) is committed to engaging and supporting women as they create and manage wealth. We provide women with investment, planning and philanthropic resources derived from decades of experience through work with our Private Banking clients. The CW&W aims to cultivate a community, in person and online, where women can share experiences with each other and give advice to new generations of female leaders.

Women & Wealth Magazine Fall Issue 2023

In this issue of Women & Wealth Magazine, we provide strategies for overcoming one of the key issues business owners voiced in our inaugural Private Business Owner Survey: how to communicate their estate plans with their family. In addition, we dive deeper into the statistics behind business owners’ approach to risk-taking. Even for the most experienced business leaders, change management can be complex. Learn new strategies to make lasting impacts in your organization. Finally, learn why being confident – despite discomfort – is so important.

Our Latest Insights


Earlier this year, BBH conducted an inaugural Private Business Owner Survey. The respondents represented 400 U.S. private businesses with enterprise values from $10 million to $500 million and more. We asked about how the business affects their family, how they think about the future, what might happen when they step away from the business, and how business strategy might be changing due to economic conditions. Here, we look at some of our key findings around family communication and risk-taking.

Communicating Estate Plans

  • 98% of business owners have an estate plan
  • But 94% have not communicated their plan with their family. Why?
    • 49% want to be sure the plan is right
    • 42% dread the emotions and potential arguments
    • 36% feel unprepared to answer questions

Communicating Succession Plans

  • 85% of owners say it is very/extremely important that the business remains in the family for at least another generation
  • 84% of owners say a business decision/discussion has led to severe family disagreement
  • 100% have taken steps to prepare the next generation, but barriers exist:
    • 43% say it’s a challenge to choose a successor knowing it will cause family conflict
    • 75% feel that the roles are either not well-defined or not fully communicated
  • Nearly 2 in 5 anticipate a family member will take over leadership of the business when they’re ready to step away

Gender and Risk

  • For the most part, men and women business owners think alike – except when it comes to risk:
    • 78% of women and 69% of men say their business is mostly/fully recession-proof
    • 41% of women and 29% of men see their business as a fixed income investment
  • Are women business owners more or less risk-averse than men?
    • There’s no clear answer, but data looking at corporate risk taking among women executives and directors of S&P 500 companies gives some insight:
      • When a woman is CEO of a firm, there’s a significant positive increase in the amount of risk a firm undertakes
      • A firm’s risk-taking behavior has a positive relationship with the number and percentage of women board directors and a board having a “critical mass” of women
      • As the number of women executives in a firm increases, so does the amount of risk-taking by the firm
      • Having a greater number of women executives is related to increased spending on capital expenditures and research and development (R&D)

Past Issues of Women & Wealth Magazine

Partnerships

New America: Better Life Lab

The Better Life Lab, an initiative from the think tank and civic enterprise New America, is a leader in the national conversation surrounding the evolution of gender roles and norms, family policy and how we work and live. They are policy entrepreneurs finding outside-the-box solutions to public problems and using research, data and reporting to inform their work and tell the stories that motivate, edify and engender change.

Women’s Philanthropy Institute

The Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) is part of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. WPI increases understanding of women’s philanthropy through rigorous research and education, interpreting and sharing these insights broadly to improve philanthropy.

If you would like to be more involved with the CW&W, contact us at CW&W@bbh.com.

 

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This communication is for informational purposes only.  The information herein has not been based on a consideration of any individual investor’s circumstances and is not investment advice, nor should it be construed in any way as tax, accounting, legal or regulatory advice.  Individuals should consult their personal tax, accounting and legal advisers regarding any potential investment or strategy.  Any views and opinions are subject to change at any time.

This material does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where or to any person to whom it would be unauthorized to do so.

 

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