How Are Women Redefining Wealth Through Investing?

2026-04-01 09:00 Rewards and Programs

Brought to you by: Tradex Management Inc.
Email: advice@tradex.ca
Phone: (613) 233-3394
Website: www.tradex.ca
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Women are becoming the most powerful economic force in Canada. By 2028, Canadian women will control nearly $3.8 trillion in financial assets representing more than one third of the country's total wealth. However, when retirement arrives, women on average have saved only two-thirds of what men have saved, despite the fact that they'll live, on average, four years longer. The wealth gap is real, but so is the opportunity to close it.

💡 Ask yourself: What would happen to your investments when you pass? Do you have a will? A named beneficiary on every account?

The Rise of the Woman Investor
The numbers tell a remarkable story. Nearly 60% of Canadian postsecondary graduates are now women. The wage gap is shrinking, dropping from 16% in 2007 to 12% in 2022 for workers aged 20 to 54. Women are starting businesses, climbing into management, and inheriting wealth like never before. But here's the part that rarely makes headlines. When women do invest, they outperform men. Research from Fidelity found that women's portfolios outperformed men's by 0.4%1 on average and over 30 years, that compounds into 25% more wealth. Women also trade less impulsively, log into their accounts less obsessively, and stay the course during market volatility more often than men.

$3.8 Trillion
Projected wealth controlled by Canadian women by 2028 — up from $2.2 trillion in 2019
Source: Canada Perspectives: Women, Money, and Wealth. Women of Influence, October 2024

Yet only around a quarter of women have money in the stock market. And 56% of millennial women say fear holds them back from investing at all. The knowledge is there. The capability is there. What's missing for many women is confidence and a plan.

💡 Ask yourself: If you had to stop working tomorrow, how long could your savings carry you? Income instability is a top concern for 41% of women, compared to 30% of men. A solid emergency fund and investment plan are your first line of defence and not a luxury.
Source: CIRO 2024 Investor Survey, May 2024

The Challenges Are Real… But So Are the Solutions
Let's be honest about what women are up against. Income instability, career interruptions for caregiving, a higher likelihood of being a single parent, outliving a spouse and more. These aren't theoretical risks. They are the lived realities that make retirement planning simultaneously more urgent and more difficult for women.

4.5 Years
How much longer Canadian women live compared to men on average, making long-term investing not optional, but essential. On average, men's median RRSP contribution is 50% higher than women's. However, more women than men hold TFSAs.
Source: Statista. Life expectancy at birth in Canada, 2012–2022

The key is to start early. An individual who invests $500 per month beginning at age 25 could accumulate approximately $1.2 million by age 65, assuming a 7% average annual return. Wait just ten years to begin, and that number drops dramatically. Time is the single most powerful investing tool available, and it costs nothing to use.

💡 Ask yourself: Are you letting perfect be the enemy of good? Many individuals wait until they feel "ready" to invest (i.e. until they've paid off all debt, built a perfect budget, learned everything). But investing even a small amount consistently, starting today, will nearly always outperform waiting for the perfect moment. Source: Strategies for attracting and supporting women investors: the Fidelity perspective, May 2024

Investing Can Be Your Superpower
Research consistently shows that women make excellent investors. Here's where women investors tend to succeed:

Stay invested during market volatility: 51% of women hold steady vs. 43% of men
Save a higher percentage of their income
Invest with long-term goals in mind
Make fewer impulsive trades, which reduces costly mistakes

The challenge isn't ability, it's confidence. And confidence is built through knowledge, community, and action.

💡 Contact Tradex for a free portfolio review and income projection:

Women who work with an advisor they trust are 2.5x more likely to stay the course and reach their goals. At Tradex, we build that kind of relationship from day one. Let’s start the conversation.

Mackenzie Private Wealth, Women and wealth – time to step up and answer the call, p. 9, July 2021.

Please reach out to advice@tradex.ca and (613) 298-2067 or use the link below to book a meeting with a Tradex advisor.

Schedule a meeting: https://go.tradex.ca/widget/bookings/tradex-team