When Women Exit: Navigating from Cashed-up to Confident Custodian

by Nicky Boustred, Senior Adviser & Partner, Sarah Sheehan, Adviser

The full text of this paper is available below. To download a PDF copy of this paper, click here.

“Over time, I’ve grown clearer about my purpose: to build a more inclusive world. A world that listens to women and girls, and values their contribution. ” Elizabeth Broderick AO

Introduction

When a founder or entrepreneur leads their business to a successful exit, it is often the culmination of years or decades of endeavour. What comes next? This should herald in an empowering new chapter – the journey to understanding what wealth means to them and their family, how to put it to work and the delicate task of bringing along the next generation. Many have traversed this path with singular success, effectively articulating their family vision, purpose and values, and establishing the structures and investments to support these over the longer-term.

However, many remain transfixed – overcome with paralysis. The inability to move forward comes at a large cost and our observations indicate that it is women in particular who are more prone to be caught in this deadlock. This is due to a combination of specific psychological hurdles and the lack of visible and accessible wealth management services that truly meet their needs.

We explored five stages in the path to success that may pose barriers for a woman after a significant wealth event. A specific focus from the wealth industry to address these barriers along with recognition by women themselves, will go a long way to enabling their transition to sophisticated and confident wealth custodians:

1. Taking Control – Addressing self-doubt to enable action
2. Building Trust – Establishing true connection through transparency
3. Overcoming Fear – Understanding the risk of remaining cashed-up and uninvested
4. Finding Purpose – Aligning capital with personal values
5. Creating Legacy – Placing a deep focus on family, stewardship and preparing the next generation

The failure to thoughtfully address this market is a significant shortcoming of the wealth industry today, both for advice and funds management. What is devastating is the lost opportunity for women in falling short to convert their triumphant business exit into meaningful multi-generational wealth. A woman deserves an equal chance of success in her new chapter – both for her family and to meet her own measure.

Koda Capital has long advised clients through these transitions. This paper is not about creating separate financial strategies for women; it is about strengthening our understanding of their lived experiences and preferences. As more women lead companies, scale ventures, and generate significant personal wealth, it’s critical the wealth industry evolves to offer services that are relevant, visible and accessible, leading to a higher chance of engaging women to a successful outcome.

While many of these considerations are not exclusive to women, they appear more frequently, and often more deeply, in conversations with female founders and leaders. Our goal is to reflect these patterns with integrity and use them to shape more inclusive, relevant advice frameworks – for the benefit of all clients.

Understanding the psychology

Psychological research has long observed that women and men often differ in how they engage with decision-making, motivation, and meaning. According to studies in cognitive psychology and gender socialisation (Gilligan, 1982; Weller, Ceschi, Hirsch, Sartori, C Costantini, 2018), women are generally more relational and context-driven in their thinking.

Carol Gilligan, a renowned psychologist and author of In a Different Voice, argued that women tend to adopt an “ethic of care,” focusing on relationships, interconnectedness, and the broader implications of their choices. This contrasts with the more individualistic and outcomes-based “ethic of justice” often observed in men, who are more likely to focus on rules, logic, and measurable results. These cognitive tendencies mean that women are often more attuned to the “why”- what a decision means, how it aligns with their values, and the impact it has on others. Men, by contrast, are statistically more inclined to prioritise goals, performance, and the “what” of the outcome.

In financial advice, as in other domains, this manifests in women seeking meaning and clarity alongside strategy, while men may be more comfortable with metrics and abstract targets. Understanding these patterns helps advisers foster more resonant, personalised relationships – meeting clients not just in their financial lives, but in how they naturally think, feel, and decide.

You’ve already built success once. The next step is learning how to make your wealth work for you -confidently, consciously, and on your own terms.

1. TAKING CONTROL – Addressing self-doubt to enable action

When female founders have trodden the boards for years grappling with issues that cause a disparity of outcomes for them in raising capital or scaling up their businesses, they rightfully feel an enormous amount of fulfillment and pride in achieving a successful exit. It is the culmination not only of decades of determination, vision and operational leadership but also fighting pre-conceptions and often prejudice.

The abrupt shift from C-suite or business owner to wealth custodian introduces a new identity – one that may feel unfamiliar or unsupported by conventional wealth paradigms.

While women are eager and willing to seek help to tackle the transition from building a business to managing significant personal wealth, they frequently find it difficult to identify a wealth service that resonates, and that makes them feel heard or safe. This unrequited search for a fit-for-purpose service, leads to the age-old questions of ‘Do I really belong here?’ or ‘Can I do this?’.

“I led a 200-person company, negotiated eight-figure deals, and handled global expansion. Yet when it came to investing my own money, I second-guessed every move.” Fintech Founder, exited to private equity

Women stand to lose out if they are unable to overcome this self-doubt to become financially confident. Financially literate people save and invest more, have better diversified portfolios and can generate greater returns on their investments, leading to greater financial empowerment.

Female entrepreneurs often seek more context, education and validation in financial decision-making – not out of insecurity, but from a desire for informed control. Wealth advisers must therefore adapt their approach to appeal to this cohort of high achieving women.

The approach is not to dictate or serve up cut-and-dried solutions but to offer a more collaborative and educational approach, so that women feel seen, heard and ultimately empowered in the process.

And the question: ‘Can I do this?’ can be resoundingly answered in the positive by data revealing that female investors consistently match or outperform their male counterparts in long-term returns – Fidelity’s 2021 study revealed women earned on average 0.4% more annually.

Building confidence in her financial acumen and understanding is critical to a woman taking the next step towards pro-active wealth management. Without it many women remain stuck with a large amount of cash, too wary to seek help in taking the next step.

Her Story –Becoming empowered through knowledge

After selling my tech company, I felt a strange mix of pride and fear. I had built something from nothing, led a team through years of innovation, and yet when it came to managing my personal wealth, I felt like an imposter. I remember sitting across from my financial adviser, heart racing, thinking, ‘Do I even belong here?’ It took real courage to voice my fears and confess that my lack of knowledge around investing was affecting my ability to move forward in managing my financial affairs with confidence. Together we identified a short executive program on wealth management for entrepreneurs, into which I enrolled. The curriculum was rigorous – covering investment strategies, tax planning, and philanthropy – but what made the difference was the guidance I received from mentors who understood the unique challenges women founders face. I also joined a small peer cohort of female entrepreneurs, where we could ask the ‘stupid’ questions and share the realities of our financial anxieties. The newfound confidence this path provided renewed my engagement with my adviser, and we have become a true partnership.

Angela, exited to industry leader

2. BUILDING TRUST – Establishing true connection through transparency

People in general, and women in particular, do not want to feel talked down to, overlooked, or unheard. These risks are compounded for women who are new to significant wealth and navigating complex financial decisions for the first time. Although they may be on the genuine hunt for advice that helps them achieve their exacting standards, they may be deeply cautious and will not be wooed easily into a relationship. For a woman stepping into significant wealth after exit, finding an adviser who genuinely understands her values and vision is key to building a true partnership.

Research consistently finds that women place greater emphasis on trust, transparency, and partnership in financial relationships. In a 2023 report by New York Life Investments, 63% of women said it’s essential that their adviser understands what it’s like to be a woman in their situation, and 89% expected to be treated as an equal. Yet only 48% said their adviser had ever proactively asked about their values, goals, or lived experience (New York Life Investments, 2023).

This disconnect leads to disengagement. A UBS study revealed that women are more likely to switch advisers after a major life event and if they do not have an adviser, the lack of true engagement will mean they remain on the sidelines (UBS Own Your Worth, 2021).

Women should be provided the space and time to develop a meaningful, connected relationship with their adviser – where trust is earned, not assumed. They should reasonably expect their adviser will:

• Listen – Take time to understand the story behind her success. Take time to understand her priorities and needs
• Not instruct – Or jump to solutions and outcomes. A woman wants a thought partner, someone who respects her acumen and delivers advice in a collaborative manner.
• Be vulnerable – Sharing a personal story or weakness will increase authenticity and help to create an environment where women feel psychologically safe, essential to building connection.
• Be transparent about their process and fees – And not hide behind acronyms and financial jargon.
• Think beyond financial returns – And pro-actively moderate discussions that encompass legacy, purpose, impact and family dynamics.
• Lead with curiosity, not assumption – Tailor support to where the client is now, not where outdated gender models presume she’ll be.
• Offer choice and representation – Being able to engage with a female adviser, or a team that reflects the client’s values, can be the difference between wanting to engage and build a relationship or turn and walk out the door.

By taking pro-active steps to build true connection, advisory firms can better serve the growing cohort of women who are earning, negotiating and leading their way into wealth on their own terms.

3. OVERCOMING FEAR – Understanding the risk of remaining cashed-up and uninvested

Women founders tend to approach post-liquidity investment decisions with a heightened sensitivity to risk and a preference for capital preservation, particularly in the early stages following an exit. This often manifests as a strong inclination to hold significant levels of cash until they feel sufficiently informed, confident and aligned on how best to deploy their capital.

A 2022 study by Hargreaves Lansdown found that women aged 25 – 44 held an average of 29% of their investable assets in cash, 14% higher than their male peers, with only 19% participating in equities. The issue is not a lack of capability; rather, it reflects differences in confidence and decision-making styles. Research published in Economics Letters 2020, concluded that lower confidence, not financial literacy, accounts for the observed differences in risk-taking behaviour between genders.

These trends are parallel in the corporate domain. A 2023 academic review found that companies led by female CEOs consistently hold more cash on their balance sheets, valuing each dollar of liquidity at 56 cents versus 39 cents in male-led firms. The interpretation is not simply caution but a calculated preference for optionality, security, and flexibility. Women clients may delay investment decisions not out of indecision, but out of a desire to ensure alignment with their long-term goals, family values, or purpose-driven ambitions.

Advisers should resist defaulting to traditional notions of portfolio optimisation and instead recognise that a high initial cash position may reflect a deliberate, values-based approach. Tailored advice that includes staged implementation strategies, decision support frameworks, and collaborative modelling can help self-made women feel empowered rather than rushed. Building trust, providing transparent education, and framing risk in a values-based context can support more confident and timely deployment of capital, on their terms and timeline.

The Cost of Sitting on the Sidelines

Remaining heavily in cash after a liquidity event is often a deliberate, strategic choice for self-made women. However, the market’s best days often occur during volatile periods, when cash investors are most likely to stay on the sidelines. It is important to recognise the financial opportunity cost associated with missing even a few of the market’s strongest days. Historical data illustrates this vividly:

A $10,000 investment in the SCP 500 Index from December 1979 to March 2024 would have grown to $1,510,750 if fully invested. Missing just the 5 best trading days reduced the outcome to $936,693; missing 10 days cut it to $674,669. Excluding the 30 best days left only $242,454, while missing 50 days reduced the investment to $106,230.

The data highlights that the market’s strongest days often occur during periods of heightened volatility, precisely when investors are most likely to retreat into cash. Remaining invested ensures participation in these critical days, which can define long-term returns. The opportunity cost of missing even a handful of the best trading days is substantial, reinforcing the value of a disciplined, long-term investment approach.

Source: Bloomberg and First Trust. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Returns are total returns. The illustration is not indicative of any actual investment and excludes the effects of taxes and brokerage commissions or other expenses incurred when investing. These returns were the result of certain market factors and events which may not be repeated in the future. The SCP 500 Index is an unmanaged index of 500 companies used to measure large-cap U.S. stock market performance.

4. FINDING PURPOSE – Aligning capital with personal values

Post-exit, many female entrepreneurs are no longer driven by the next business milestone but by a deeper question: How can my wealth reflect who I am and what I stand for?

A 2023 Morgan Stanley survey found that 84% of women express interest in ESG or impact investing, with women twice as likely as men to say they plan to increase their allocations to purpose-driven strategies. These preferences are not trend-based; they are extensions of values honed over a lifetime of leadership, resilience, and social responsibility.

“After the sale, I wasn’t interested in just preserving wealth – I wanted it to do something. I wanted every dollar to have a purpose.”- HealthTech Founder, sold to private equity

Purpose-driven investing takes multiple forms, from responsible investment (RI) screened portfolios to direct impact investments and the establishment of private foundations or donor-advised funds. For example, one founder of a national childcare network used a portion of her exit proceeds to launch a foundation focused on early childhood education access for underprivileged communities – an issue rooted in her company’s mission.

Critically, this demographic is not satisfied with generic RI offerings. Female founders demand transparency, metrics and alignment. They are seeking advisers who can help navigate not only financial returns but also social return on investment, offering due diligence on impact funds, access to mission-aligned opportunities, and bespoke philanthropic strategies.

It is incumbent on wealth managers, to provide our clients with the support, resources and tools to achieve their desired tailored responsible investing outcomes. Responsible investment exists along a spectrum per the diagram below, but importantly does not mean sacrificing returns – an investor can reasonably aim for both.

• ESG Integration: The integration of Environmental, Social and Governance factors into the investment process, based on robust evidence-based processes.
• Exclusionary / Negative Screening: The application of filters to potential investments which exclude activities, based on an investor’s preferences, values or ethics.
• Norms-based Screening: The application of filters to potential investments which excludes companies which breach international norms and conventions
• Positive Screening: The application of filters to potential investments which includes companies with “best-in-class” ESG performance.
• Stewardship and Engagement: Engaging with companies in the investment portfolio, exercising voting rights and advocating for positive corporate behaviour to promote transparency, accountability, and sustainable practices.
• Sustainability Themed Investing: Seeking to combine attractive risk return profiles with an intention to contribute to specific environmental or social outcome.
• Impact Investing: Investments which achieve measurable positive environmental and/or social impact alongside financial returns.

Insights for Women Founders & Wealth Advisers

Her Story – Giving back the gift of opportunity

I successfully led an ASX-listed company through a strategic privatisation, delivering significant financial returns to shareholders and employees – including life-changing outcomes for my own family.

I was deeply grateful to be the first in my extended family to attend university as a young woman, thanks to a scholarship for which I was nominated by my professor who recognised my potential. As a result, I deeply understand the power of opportunity.

Following my business success and wealth realisation, I am strongly committed to giving back. I am in the process of establishing a philanthropic foundation focused on providing scholarships to young women and am accessing expert guidance to bring this vision to life. Pursuing this goal has greatly assisted me in engaging meaningfully with my new-found wealth and including my adult children in its long-term stewardship.

Kate, former ASX CEO, delisted to overseas buyer

5. CREATING LEGACY – Placing a deep focus on family, stewardship and preparing the next generation

“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence – and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” – Sheryl Sandberg, tech executive and author

While the headlines often focus on the numbers – $84 trillion expected to be passed down in the Great Wealth Transfer – the qualitative aspect of intergenerational planning is just as critical for female founders. Wealth, in this context, is as much about values, identity and custodianship as it is about assets.

Women are more likely to take leadership roles in family financial education, with a Merrill Lynch study revealing that 70% of women see themselves as the primary financial educator in the family. This role becomes even more pronounced post-exit, when wealth planning becomes not only a matter of estate structure, but also of family cohesion and legacy design.

“The idea of our family wealth was very abstract until we had deep and guided conversations around our family mission, vision and values, how our wealth was to be structured and put to purpose. That shaped my kids’ understanding of the meaning around wealth and what it can really achieve” – Health and Wellbeing Founder, owns and runs multi-national family owned business

Female founders often emphasise intentional wealth transfer – seeking help to develop the key governance instruments that support long-term family cohesion, financial sustainability, and legacy planning, including a Family Charter and Investment Policy Statement.

The creation of appropriate entities and structures will follow from this process and may include staged access to wealth based on milestones or values alignment.

Because women statistically live longer – by about five years, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – longevity risk and caregiving roles shape how wealth plans are built. Long-term care, second-act entrepreneurship, and evolving family dynamics (e.g: supporting ageing parents or adult children) are central considerations.

Advisers must be prepared to facilitate multi-generational conversations, integrating financial, emotional and educational planning into the wealth transfer process. Successful intergenerational strategies also include leadership succession, philanthropic engagement and cultural continuity.

“Families who formalise governance, modernise their legal structures, embed year-round tax strategy and maintain complete, accessible records will retain control over their wealth and decision-making. Those who don’t will find the terms dictated to them by others.”– Australian Financial Review, Christine Fleer, ‘Affluent families unprepared for change risk wealth destruction’ 18 August 2025