A financial shift is taking place through the money market, it's being called the “Great Wealth Transfer.”
Tens of trillions of dollars are expected to change hands over the next two decades through inheritance, and women are poised to control a significant share of it.
At the same time, many women are also building wealth through their own careers, businesses and investments.
Debra Tagg, president of the Dallas-based wealth management firm BFS Advisory Group, said she is already seeing this wealth transfer in her daily work. She joined NTX Now's Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning to talk about it.
These interview highlights have been edited for length and clarity. To hear to this conversation in its entirety, click the 'listen' button above.
What's accounting for the shift?
Tagg says there are a number of different shifts happening in the current market.
"First of all, Baby Boomers are leaving a lot more money to all of their children right now, and what that means is in families where there are mixed siblings, we're gonna have men and women who are receiving those assets," she said. "Then we also have many more women in the workforce, many more woman who own businesses. So they are developing their own assets."
She says broadly, women tend to take financial risks when they're related to a specific goal, rather than just general wealth accumulation.
Women advising women
The field of wealth management is dominated by white men and while Tagg says there's nothing inherently wrong with that, she also noted that women may not feel welcome in a space without employees that look like them.
"If you think about how many people in the world need help with their wealth, especially as wealth is coming in from all different places to all different kinds of people, everybody has exposure to the possibility of wealth now," she said. "The issue is that if you don't have people that might look like you in a wealth management firm, you might be intimidated or feel like you're not welcome, or you may not be able to trust that firm."
Financial advice
There's never a bad time to learn about wealth management and how to save. Tagg says while talking about money amongst friends hasn't become "cool" yet, there aren't many downsides to learning as much as you can.
"Get involved and get knowledgeable as soon as you can," she said. "We do want people to be educated. We want people be informed. Time in the market is more important than anything else. So start early and I would get the guidance of a professional advisor."
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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