A new study from BMO Private Bank confirms the rise of women’s share of private wealth among the country’s affluent citizens.

The study of 305 Canadian adults with at least $1 million in investable assets shows that women made up a third, up from 21 per cent three years ago. It also found that 40 per cent of these women generated their own wealth and one-third of them manage their own investments.

"Today's women are controlling more and more wealth in Canada, and that number is increasing by eight percentage points annually," said Alex Dousmanis-Curtis, senior vice president and head, BMO Harris Private Banking, citing a figure from the Boston Consulting Group.

"From a private banking perspective, it's clear that the face of wealth in Canada is changing and there is no longer one stereotypical type of high net worth client. As an industry, we need to anticipate and exceed the unique needs of this diverse client base if we are to succeed," she added.

In other findings of the study, immigrants or first-generation Canadians made up a large share of the wealthy, accounting for nearly half of this population. Within this group, nearly two-thirds said their wealth was self-made.

The Canadian bank also studied a group of 482 American adults with at least $1 million in investable assets and found that wealthy people in the US tended to be younger than in Canada, with 24 per cent of high net worth Americans being under the age of 40 versus just 4 per cent in Canada.