You’ve Evolved. Has Your Wealth Strategy?

As a Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley, Chief Member Ana Munro helps families navigate the complexities of wealth with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

As women, we lead companies, negotiate contracts, serve on nonprofit boards, and somehow remember that our kid needs a permission slip tomorrow. Yet making time for our own financial future can feel like one responsibility too many.

After leading more than 100 wealth and legacy conversations for the Chief network and speaking with women in other organizations, I’ve noticed a recurring theme: Women know financial security matters. The challenge is finding space to act on it while navigating everything else.

My goal in these conversations is to create space for women to learn, share experiences, and leave with a clear next step they feel ready to take. Nobody needs another impressive presentation that gets lost in the mental shuffle.

Here’s what I keep coming back to.

Start With What You Want Your Wealth To Do

Before inviting anyone else into the conversation, spend some time with yourself.

What are you building wealth for? Freedom to leave a role? Time with your family? Starting a business? Supporting your parents without compromising your own security? A cause you want to advance?

And what does legacy mean to you? It might involve an inheritance, but it can also mean the opportunities you create, the values you model, or the impact you make while you’re here to enjoy it.

I encourage women to write down their priorities, concerns, and nonnegotiables, even as bullet points. “I want to be financially secure” is a starting point. “I want the option to take a year between roles without jeopardizing retirement” gives us something to work with.

Then, invite the important people in your life into the conversation. A spouse, child, or parent may have a very different idea of what money is for. Getting clear yourself helps you listen without losing your own priorities in the process.

Reinterview Your Personal Financial Advisory Board

You wouldn’t expect the team that supported a startup to automatically have every skill needed to run a global company. Your financial life deserves the same consideration.

The advisor or accountant who was a perfect fit earlier in your career may need additional expertise alongside them now. Equity compensation, business ownership, higher taxes, assets in multiple jurisdictions, and caring for children and parents at once can change the assignment considerably.

Build a personal financial advisory board that reflects where you are and where you are headed. Ask them: Have you helped women navigate situations like mine? What are we overlooking? How do you coordinate with each other? Who is responsible for moving things forward?

Otherwise, congratulations: You’ve acquired another project management job.

Representation matters here, too. Cerulli Associates research shows that fewer than 1 in 5 wealth advisors are women. Whoever you choose, you deserve a team that takes your perspective seriously and makes room for your questions.

Use AI to Prepare Better Questions

Artificial intelligence has made financial information more accessible. You can ask it to explain an unfamiliar term, compare concepts, or help prepare questions for an advisor, without worrying that you should already know the answer.

But an unlimited supply of information can quickly become an unlimited supply of homework.

Try a focused prompt: “Explain restricted stock units in plain English, then give me five questions to ask my advisor before my next vesting date.”

Treat the response as preparation. Verify the details with your professionals, and avoid uploading sensitive financial documents into tools without understanding their privacy protections. What matters most is identifying what applies to your circumstances, what action deserves your attention next, and what you should disregard as noise.

Give Taxes a Seat at the Investment Table

As women advance in their careers, I find that taxes become a bigger source of frustration. A promotion or equity award is exciting. Figuring out what you actually get to keep can be less exciting.

Proactive tax planning, coordinated with investment decisions, can be one of the most meaningful opportunities to improve a woman’s financial picture.

Ask your advisor to review upcoming equity events, investment gains, and charitable plans together, before decisions are made. Check with your CPA whether withholding and estimated payments match your income. And ask how your portfolio is being managed to help improve your returns with taxes in mind.

The goal is a better outcome after taxes, costs, and risk are considered together. Keeping more invested can support compounding over time. That deserves attention when your plan may need to accommodate career interruptions, caregiving responsibilities, and a retirement that could last multiple decades due to women’s longevity.

Consider Your Access to Investment Opportunities

As wealth accumulates, I find that women often become interested in exploring investments beyond traditional stocks and bonds, including real estate, business ventures, private markets, and infrastructure. Your values may also influence where you want your capital working.

Ask your advisor which opportunities you can access, how to evaluate them, and what role each plays in your broader plan. Access can vary considerably based on eligibility and the platform you use. If your options are limited, ask what those limitations are and why they exist.

And keep in mind that an interesting investment and an appropriate investment aren’t always the same thing.

Make Your Future Concrete Enough To Act On

In my experience, high-achieving women want control over and options for their future. Wealth planning helps make those wishes tangible.

How much is enough for work to become a choice? What if I fund my next business myself? Could I make a meaningful gift now? What if I were single again?

A useful plan lets you test those possibilities, measure progress, and adjust when life changes. I’ve yet to meet a woman who describes their path to success as perfectly smooth. Their wealth plan should allow for a few turns, too.

This month, put one question on your agenda: “What has changed in my life or ambitions that my wealth strategy hasn’t caught up with?” Ask your trusted advisors to identify what needs attention most, then agree on who will take the next step and by when.

Your financial future deserves a place on your calendar. Ideally, before the permission slip.

Disclosures: Ana Munro, CFP®, CPWA® is a Financial Advisor with the Global Wealth Management Division of Morgan Stanley in Naples, FL. The information contained in this article is not a solicitation to purchase or sell investments. Any information presented is general in nature and not intended to provide individually tailored investment advice. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be appropriate for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives. Investing involves risks and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Member SIPC, or its affiliates. CRC 6020850 10/2026 Alternative investments often are speculative and include a high degree of risk. Investors could lose all or a substantial amount of their investment. Alternative investments are appropriate only for eligible, long-term investors who are willing to forgo liquidity and put capital at risk for an indefinite period of time. They may be highly illiquid and can engage in leverage and other speculative practices that may increase the volatility and risk of loss. Alternative Investments typically have higher fees than traditional investments. Investors should carefully review and consider potential risks before investing. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. CFP Board owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the U.S. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trusts, estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning or other legal matters.