According to a report by the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, American women are poised to be the new face of wealth by controlling as much as $30 trillion in financial assets by 2030.
Such wealth in the hands of women presents tremendous opportunities for the financial services industry, as women experience various life journeys—specifically widowhood, caregiving and gray divorce—on the way to and during retirement, noted Marissa Weaver, Transamerica’s director of channel marketing for asset management.
In honor of Women’s History month, Weaver and her colleague, Melissa Mursch, director of channel marketing for annuities, created a “Women and Investing” campaign aimed at helping financial professionals build a female-inclusive practice that better addresses those life events that disproportionately affect female clients.
The campaign, which has several components, kicked off at the beginning of March with a livestream webinar titled, “Women and Investing: Being There for Her,” which focused on best practices for communicating with—and serving—female investors throughout their various life milestones. There is also a white paper, “The Future of Wealth Is Female,” which examines the experiences women encounter in the three life changes. It also shares insight from advisors and thought leaders who specialize in helping women through these transitions.
In addition, the campaign included an online panel discussion on International Women’s Day, and the company is hosting webcasts and sponsoring a four-episode podcast series featuring industry experts. More information on the campaign’s resources can be found at Transamerica.com/women-and-investing.
Transamerica also added a social media aspect to its campaign in hopes of building a community of women and men who support female investors, Weaver said. She added that they also wanted to build awareness by giving back to an organization that helps to empower women during their journey to becoming financially independent.
That chosen company is Savvy Ladies, a New York City-based charitable organization founded by Stacy Francis two decades ago. “We selected Savvy Ladies because of their mission to empower women to achieve financial independence. So, it really aligns nicely with our campaign, Weaver said.
Weaver said people are encouraged to engage on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #womenwhoinspire and the @Transamerica and @SavvyLadies handles to tell a story or post about a woman who inspire. And for every post, Transamerica will donate $1 up to $20,000 for the month of March.