Here is a brief excerpt from an article written by Sally Krawscheck for LinkedIn’s “Big Ideas 2014” series in which LinkedIn Influencers pick one big idea that will shape 2014. . To read the complete article and check out others, please click here.

Photo: Allen.G/shutterstock

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2014 may be the year in which investing fundamentally changes.

Baby Boomers are marching into retirement, thereby beginning to liquidate their investments; thus the profile of the “typical investor” is changing. For example, although women are still referred to as a “niche market” by the wealth management industry (yes, seriously), it is estimated that by 2030, they will control some two-thirds of US wealth. And at the same time, Millennials are entering their prime earning (and thus investing) years.

The changes driven by these demographic shifts will be far-reaching. An example: as a rule, today’s investors compartmentalize their money. They have their investment money, which is slated to earn the highest return, and they have the money that they give away every year to charitable organizations. These pools are separate. (It is worth noting that, regardless of the underlying goals of this investing approach, many in this generation have failed to achieve their goals of being well prepared for retirement.)

And so this is changing, as the opportunity to express one’s values – be they social, environmental or political – will not remain compartmentalized going forward. The ability to amplify one’s impact, by expressing one’s values through investment dollars, is becoming mainstream.

The differences in approach by categories of investors are stark: about half of affluent women report to be interested in environmentally or socially responsible investments, as compared to just one-third of men. As for Millennials, 90% of today’s MBAs are willing to exchange some financial benefits for a strong commitment to social good, according to Ourtime.org. And 79% of Millennials seek to work at a company that is socially responsible, according to CatchAFire.

In other words, if this group buys their shoes at Toms, their glasses at Warby Parker, they drive a hybrid, they look to work at companies whose values align with theirs….are they really going to pass up the very powerful opportunity to have their investments also express their values?

Certainly this is good thing for the causes that will benefit, driving significantly more capital – and thus more opportunity – to them. And it can be a good thing for governments, many of which are groaning under deficits, which can ultimately limit what they can accomplish on this front.

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To read the complete article, please click here.

Sallie L. Krawcheck is the former president of the Global Wealth & Investment Management division of Bank of America. GWIM includes Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust, the largest wealth management business in the world at $2.3 trillion in client assets. She has turned around a number of troubled businesses in her career through eliminating conflicts of interests, namely Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and has been known as one of the most senior women on Wall Street. Most recently she has been widely published in both social and more traditional media, focusing on Wall Street regulatory reform; she is also advising a number of start-ups. On May 15, 2013, she agreed to buy the global women’s network 85 Broads from its founder, Janet Hanson.

To check out her other articles, please click here.