· The new partnership will support more women who want to get into investing but are unsure where to start and help efforts to close the investment gap
· InvestEngine’s data shows women are half as likely to invest their money in stocks and shares as men
· But research reveals that when women do invest, they outperform their male counterparts
· The partnership will culminate in a range of learning events, highlighting resources and tools available to help more women to invest for their future
Investment platform InvestEngine is partnering with FemaleInvest to help close the gender investment gap after research has revealed huge disparities between the way men and women approach financial risk and reward.
FemaleInvest have highlighted that currently women around the globe earn on average 37% less than men, and at the current rate it will take 267 years to close this financial gap. These barriers are having a direct impact on women’s personal finances and ability to invest in their financial futures.
In the UK specifically, InvestEngine research found that while men and women are equally likely to be putting money aside each month, women are far less likely to invest their money, preferring to keep it in savings accounts where the likelihood of good returns are much lower over the long term.
In a survey of 2,000 UK adults, InvestEngine found:
· Women are far less likely to have a stocks & shares ISA, with just one in eight (13%) saying they have one, compared to almost a quarter (23%) of men.
· Of women who do have an ISA, just over one in ten (13%) are making regular deposits compared to almost one in four (24%) men.
· Women are more risk averse, with almost two thirds (62%) saying they would want to know their money was in a low-risk product (vs. 56% of men)
· A third of men (36%) say they’d prioritise returns over all else when choosing a product, whereas only a quarter (25%) of women feel the same.
However, while women are less likely to invest in the first place, when they do, they get better returns than men, due to the fact they are more likely to have diverse portfolios and less likely to indulge in ‘lottery style’ investing .
In a study of 2,800 investors, Warwick Business School found that annual returns on the investment portfolios held by women were 1.94% above the performance of the FTSE 100; annual returns on investments for men were just 0.14% above it, meaning female investors outperformed men by 1.8%.
So, to help raise awareness about investing amongst women, InvestEngine has partnered with FemaleInvest – a financial universe, aiming to empower and educate everyone, with a primary focus on women – to offer a series of events throughout September, October and November to help solve these challenges.
Elspeth Brown, Marketing Manager at InvestEngine, said: “The fact women are paid 14.9% less than men in the UK means they have less money to actually invest in the first place. This makes it even more important for women to know how to make the most of the assets they do have. However, even if they were given a lump sum, just one in five women would invest it compared to 29% of men. So, the question is, why?
“One of the big issues is education – for example, our research shows 40% of women don’t know how stocks and shares ISAs work compared to just 29% of men, and this – combined with a lack of funds and aversion to risk – is creating a huge investment gap that desperately needs bridging.”
Lærke Engelbrekt, Community Lead & Webinar Host at FemaleInvest said: “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. That is why we are pleased to partner with online investment platform InvestEngine.
“InvestEngine’s innovative platform offers both managed and DIY options – those who prefer someone else to make investment decisions for them can choose that option, while those who prefer to make their own decisions can pick and manage their own investments for free.”
The events will be led by experts at Female Invest and cover a range of financial subjects and products, including:
· ISA vs GIA – exploring the difference between General Investment Accounts and ISAs, when to use which and how to invest
· How to navigate ETFs – explaining what ETFs actually are, how they can fit in an investment portfolio and where to go to invest in them
· Saving Regularly on Autopilot – demonstrating the benefits of regular investing and how to build an autopilot portfolio.
