A new survey from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) commissioned by RBC Wealth Management polled 207 respondents in the UK, with at least $1 million in assets, about their wealth.

The majority of high-net-worth women in the UK (92 per cent) believe that they have greater opportunities to own their own business than previous generations, compared with 80 per cent of men, a new report has found.

A new survey from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) commissioned by RBC Wealth Management polled 1,051 HNWIs across regions, genders and generations, including 207 respondents in the UK, with at least $1 million in assets, about their wealth. "Younger" is defined as people born between 1965 and 2000 and "Older" is defined as people born in 1945 or earlier.

The report also found that 72 per cent of younger HNW women said that they will make more of an impact on the world with their wealth than prior generations –  among the highest of any group surveyed.

Around 39 per cent of younger women in the UK said that they align their investments with giving goals, compared with 18 per cent of UK men of the same age. Some 56 per cent of HNW women in the UK think the ability to create change through charitable giving is becoming more important in defining wealth, compared with 38 per cent of men.

And 31 per cent of UK female business owners saaid that increasing the charitable or economic impact of their business, or growing their business, is a top-three goal for their life as a whole, compared with 27 per cent of other business owners globally.

Some 73 per cent of female business owners in the UK said that it is important to protect the livelihoods of their employees; this figure was lower for male business owners, which stood at 68 per cent.

Also, it found that 42 per cent of female business owners in the UK are hoping to pass their businesses on to their offspring, compared with only 24 per cent of men.

Overall, around 61 per cent of UK business owners state that it is important to them that their business makes both a positive economic and charitable impact on the community.

Furthermore, 65 per cent of female business owners said that it is important that their businesses have a positive economic impact on the communities in which they operate – maintaining jobs and contributing to local economic growth – compared with 56 per cent of men.

“We are pleased and encouraged by these findings, which verify that what we have been seeing across our client base for some time is indicative of a broader shift in wealth creation,” said Ross Jennings, head of sales and relationship management at RBC Wealth Management – International. “The distribution of wealth around the world is on the cusp of major change; women represent an increasing share of wealth generation and have distinct goals for their finances, prioritising values such as family legacy and making a positive impact on the community. At RBC, we are laser focused on ensuring we understand these priorities and goals so that we can provide the best possible advice and service to meet both.”