Money is changing hands, and the financial market hasn't realized it yet. Women already control approximately US$34 trillion in assets worldwide, roughly one-third of global wealth. Within 25 years, this share could reach 50%. It is with these numbers in mind that three female entrepreneurs decided to create Ella Wealth.

"We are the 'rebels with a cause' of the financial market. We want to shake up Faria Lima," says Kelly Gusmão, who founded the wealth tech company alongside Ana Toledo and Liana Selles.

For them, the financial market still operates under a logic designed by men, for men. The numbers help illustrate the scale of the problem.

Of the 7,000 professionals certified to manage assets and funds in Brazil, only 100 are women – and more than 98% of certified managers are men. But the imbalance is even greater: 85% of investment advisors and 70% of bank managers are also men.

A segment of the population that is growing in wealth, income, and decision-making power has been ignored by this entire structure. The trio's response is Ella, a wealth tech company that aims to combine wealth management, technology, and community through a female lens.

"We want to promote a cultural transformation in the way women relate to money," says Toledo.

Focusing on capturing this structural movement, but without excluding men, they received Ella's CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID) in November 2025. In just over three months, they have around R$ 100 million under the guidance of family and friends .

The initial structure operates as an affiliate of Hyperion Asset, an asset manager founded by Ana Toledo and approved by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) and self-regulated by Anbima – which allowed Ella to be born with compliance, risk, and regulatory structure ready from day one.

The model is fee-based , with a fixed charge on assets under management, without commission per product – a principle that Kelly Gusmão helped to champion as co-founder of Warren.

To reach R$1 billion under management by 2026, Ella aims to expand the number of registered brokerage firms. In addition to Warren, the wealth tech company already has an agreement with XP and intends to register with all others. Having a wide range of options allows for greater freedom of choice for the client.

"We don't push products or churn out customer base to generate revenue. The more the client grows, the more we grow together," says Selles, who has worked at Stone, Falconi, and Loggi.

The thesis defended by Ella seeks to go beyond gender. According to the founders, clients seek alignment between assets and values, with funds that have a social impact, companies with women on their boards, and investments with an environmental agenda – initially, under the care of banker Juliana Martins, formerly of Warren.

They cite a study by Warwick Business School showing that portfolios managed by women outperformed those managed by men by an average of 1.8 percentage points per year, mainly due to lower turnover and long-term discipline.

Allied men

In addition to investment allocation, Ella is structured around two other pillars: financial education and the creation of a community.

In practice, this means educational pathways integrated into clients' journeys, covering topics such as career change planning or asset reorganization in case of divorce, and an intense schedule of in-person events.

In three months, more than 15 meetings were held, impacting approximately 500 women in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre. The conversion rate is around 40%, according to the founders.

The model harks back to XP's origins, which grew by promoting financial education events before becoming a giant – the difference is that the stated focus now is on an audience that has historically been marginalized from financial decisions.

Instead of football-related events, Ella promotes gatherings such as yoga classes, Pilates classes, dinners with wine pairings, and art fairs. The curation is intentional, aiming to be in spaces where women with investment capacity are present, but which the traditional financial market has never reached.

At the same time, studies indicate that closing the gender gap in the world could take more than a century. For them, expanding women's control over wealth is a direct way to accelerate this process.

Despite its targeted communication, Ella is not exclusively for women. Part of its customer base already includes what they call "male allies," many of whom are referred by clients.

"When a woman has money, she has the power of choice," says Liana. "It wouldn't be strategic to exclude them; after all, they occupy leadership positions and can accelerate the transformation."

The bet is that, as women take on a leading role in finance, they will bring families, networks, and new businesses along with them.

Ella was born as a niche company, but the founders foresee a reconfiguration of capital flows. And in this transfer of wealth, they want to lead the change.