The Tax Planning Gap: Why Financial Firms Risk Losing Affluent Women Clients

Wealth management firms that continue to treat tax planning as a peripheral service are increasingly finding themselves at a competitive disadvantage, particularly when it comes to retaining affluent and high-net-worth female clients. According to new research from BlackRock, the industry’s failure to integrate comprehensive tax strategy into the core of the client relationship is driving a significant exodus, with more than one in four advised women planning to switch firms within the next two years specifically because their tax needs are not being met.

BlackRock’s inaugural 2026 Future of Wealth study, which surveyed 1,067 affluent and high-net-worth women and 409 financial advisors across the United States, highlights a profound disconnect between what female clients value and what many advisors currently prioritize. While advisors often focus on wealth preservation as a primary goal, the women surveyed identified growing their wealth as their top financial priority. More pointedly, 41% of these women cited better tax outcomes as a primary concern, a reality acknowledged by only 12% of the advisors surveyed.

This misalignment manifests clearly in portfolio construction. While 92% of advisors serving high-net-worth clients admit that they are frequently asked for tax guidance, only 17% consider after-tax returns—the actual amount a client retains after taxes—a primary driver of their investment decisions. This failure to focus on "tax alpha" is not merely an oversight; it is a structural weakness that leaves a massive segment of the market underserved. BlackRock’s broader findings indicate that nearly 40% of affluent women currently have no financial advisor at all, a figure that climbs to 45% among those with $10 million or more in investable assets.

Why Tax Planning Ends Up in Its Own Lane

The persistent separation of tax planning from investment management is a systemic issue, according to industry experts. Laura Combs, executive managing partner and head of Women & Wealth at Mercer Advisors, notes that the industry has historically underestimated the degree to which women are already active participants in their financial lives. Many affluent women have spent years managing household cash flow, budgeting, and bill payment—tasks that serve as a natural foundation for sophisticated investment management. Furthermore, as women continue to represent a growing share of U.S. entrepreneurs—currently estimated at 46%—they are increasingly building wealth independently rather than relying on inherited assets.

The friction, Combs explains, is structural. Many families are forced to juggle an array of outside tax professionals, estate attorneys, and investment advisors who rarely communicate. When tax work is siloed, it inevitably becomes a reactive process, with tax professionals brought in only after major financial decisions have already been made, rather than as part of the initial strategy.

"Having tax professionals in-house helps us meet women where they are," Combs says. "We’re helping them with their time by taking something off their plate and off their list. They don’t need to coordinate another relationship." By integrating these services, firms can shift from being mere investment managers to becoming comprehensive financial partners.

What Should Advisors Change to Keep Affluent Women Clients?

For firms aiming to win and retain this demographic, the transition must begin with the very structure of the client relationship. Combs emphasizes that women must be active participants in the conversation from the very first meeting, rather than being treated as secondary observers in a relationship focused on their spouse. The professional consequences of failing to engage female clients are severe; industry data has long shown that approximately 70% of women leave their spouse’s advisor within a year of being widowed. BlackRock’s recent research suggests this risk is not limited to transition events like the death of a spouse, as 35% of surveyed women indicated a desire to switch advisors simply because they crave more coordinated, integrated advice.

The solution, according to Combs, is a holistic model that brings tax, investment, and estate planning under one roof. By reducing the burden of "project-managing" multiple professional relationships, advisors can build deeper trust. This involves explaining financial strategies in plain language and tailoring advice to the client’s specific life circumstances, whether they are business owners, inheritors, divorcees, or widows. Creating a community of peers and fostering long-term engagement are the final pieces of a retention strategy that moves beyond transactional interactions.

Tax Alpha Now, Not After the Wealth Transfer

While much of the industry remains fixated on the "Great Wealth Transfer"—the massive movement of assets from one generation to the next—some experts argue this focus is misplaced. Raj Doshi, president and chief operating officer of the tax technology firm April, notes that for many women, career earnings and equity compensation are the most significant drivers of wealth creation. Relying on the expectation of future inheritances ignores the immediate needs of high-earning, high-net-worth women who require tax-optimized strategies today.

BlackRock’s data supports this view: 79% of the women surveyed identified salary or career earnings as the primary contributor to their wealth, while only 27% cited inheritances and gifts. Doshi argues that firms must shift their focus to delivering "tax alpha"—the measurable improvement in returns achieved by minimizing tax leakage—as a matter of standard practice.

"This means delivering tax filing, planning, and insights capabilities by investing in software, data integrations, and tax professionals that together can deliver the holistic guidance that women demand," Doshi explains. The industry is already showing signs of this shift. According to Schwab’s latest RIA Benchmarking Study, 88% of firms with $250 million or more in assets now offer tax planning and strategy services, and an increasing number are incorporating tax preparation into their offerings.

Serving Women as Operators, Not Inheritors

The framing of women as passive recipients of wealth is perhaps the most significant barrier to effective service, according to Cameron Rogers, a partner at Angeles Wealth Management. She argues that the narrative of the "Great Wealth Transfer" often relegates women to the role of beneficiaries, ignoring their current reality as financial operators and decision-makers.

"Women already control about a third of U.S. household financial assets, drive an estimated 80% of consumer decisions, make up about 39% of angel investors, and 78% of women ages 25 to 54 are in the workforce," Rogers points out. "They are earning, building, and deciding long before any inheritance arrives."

For Rogers, the challenge for advisors is to move away from the traditional, rigid structures that have defined the wealth management industry for decades. This involves meeting women where they are—both physically and emotionally. She recalls an early-career experience where a manager blocked an advisor from expensing a coffee meeting with a client at a nail salon, despite the fact that the setting allowed for genuine, comfortable conversations about money. That moment served as a catalyst for her understanding that the industry’s conventional spaces often alienate the very clients they intend to serve.

Furthermore, the composition of the advisory team plays a crucial role in building sustainable, long-term relationships. At Angeles Wealth Management, the firm has prioritized diversity, with women holding majority positions across its partner, employee, and investment teams as of late 2025. Rogers believes that when women see their own perspectives and experiences reflected in the advisory team, the relationship is far more likely to endure through the various transitions and complexities of life. By focusing on competence, integration, and a more modern approach to client engagement, firms can successfully bridge the gap and better serve the women who are increasingly driving the modern economy.