Across Australia, New Zealand and Asia, a structural shift is underway in household financial power and it is accelerating faster than many insurers and financial services providers have adapted to.

Women are no longer peripheral influencers in financial decision-making; they are increasingly the primary decision-makers, long-term planners, and risk assessors within households. Hong Kong offers one of the clearest signals of this transformation.

Sole decision makers

According to Sun Life’s 2026 survey, around 67% of women in Hong Kong have the final say on financial decisions, while 45% are the sole decision-makers for long-term investments and financial planning (Sun Life, 2026).

This is not a marginal behavioural change. It represents a fundamental redefinition of the “default customer” in insurance and financial services across the region.

Traditionally, product design, distribution strategies, and advisory models have been built around male breadwinner assumptions. That model is no longer fit for purpose.

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