Gender investing gap initiative

Aiming to close the gender investing gap, an urgent issue brought to light by studies demonstrating significant differences between how men and women view financial risk and return, investment platform InvestEngine has partnered with FemaleInvest.

Women around the world earn, on average, 37% less than men, according to FemaleInvest, a group that promotes empowerment and knowledge with a particular focus on women.

It is predicted that it will take 267 years to close the financial gender gap at the current rate. Women’s personal finances and capacity to make investments in their financial destiny are being negatively impacted by these inequities.

While men and women are equally likely to set aside money each month, research by InvestEngine in the UK shows that women are much less likely to invest their money. Instead, they frequently keep it in savings accounts, which generally provide poorer long-term returns.

The main results of a study of 2,000 adults in the UK

• Only 13% of women report owning a stocks and shares ISA, compared to 23% of males. This is a significant difference.
• Just over 13% of female ISA owners make regular deposits, compared to almost 24% of male ISA owners.
• Compared to males, who favor low-risk investing goods 56 percent to 62 percent, women are typically more risk averse.
• There is a sizable gender discrepancy when it comes to emphasizing returns; 36% of males and just 25% of women prioritize returns when buying a product.

It’s interesting to note that despite having lower investment initiation rates than males, women typically generate higher returns. This outperformance can be attributed to their propensity to maintain broad portfolios and their preference for conservative investment tactics over speculative “lottery-style” methods.

Women beat men in annual returns on investment portfolios, attaining returns that were 1.94 percentage points higher than those of the FTSE 100, according to a Warwick Business School study. Female investors outperformed their male counterparts by 1.8% while men’s investments only performed 0.14 percent better than the FTSE 100’s performance.

Collaborating to overcome the difficulty

In light of these findings, InvestEngine and FemaleInvest have teamed up to promote investment among women. FemaleInvest is a financial universe that primarily aims to educate and empower people, with a focus on women. To address these issues and close the investment gap, they will jointly offer a number of events in September, October, and November.

“One of the big issues is education,” said Elspeth Brown, marketing manager at InvestEngine. “For example, our research shows 40% of women don’t know how stocks and shares ISAs work, compared to just 29% of men. This, combined with a lack of funds and aversion to risk, is creating a huge investment gap that desperately needs bridging.”

“We are on a mission to close the financial gender gap by educating women on everything from managing their finances to investing on the stock market and empowering them – an important part of which is ensuring they have equal access to investment tools,” said Laerke Engelbrekt, community lead and webinar host at FemaleInvest. We are happy to collaborate with the online investment platform InvestEngine because of this.

The next sessions will cover a range of financial issues and products, including subjects like the distinction between General Investment Accounts and ISAs, comprehending ETFs, and the advantages of routine investing with autopilot portfolios. The seminars will be led by specialists from FemaleInvest. Activating these programs empowers women with essential information and resources to overcome barriers and seize opportunities in the realm of investing.