Investment Gender Gap
Gender Pay Gap is in the news and additional to this is Women's Investment Gap. It is expected that by 2030 there will be more than 100 million women in the workforce globally.
Research from Fidelity’s 2021 Women and Investing Study, has shown that of American women 50 % are more interested in investing and 42% have more to invest since the start of the pandemic. In a follow-up to this study in 2022, Fidelity looked at how women are approaching financial decisions and changing behaviours. Of the 2,015 adults surveyed who had opened an investment account, the study showed that:
Of the women between the ages of 18 – 35:
50% have either started investing in the past six months or plan to in the next 6
37% created or updated a financial plan in the last six months
35% started or added to an emergency fund
37% believe it’s important to just start investing, any amount is OK
Of women aged 36+ :
36% regret waiting too long to start saving for retirement
70% believe it is important to educate the next generation about investing
57% believe it’s important to just start investing, any amount is OK
Overall, 57% of women are motivated to invest their money for financial independence. It looks like things are moving in a positive direction for women, the facts show that we are interested in investing and our financial futures, but there still appears to be a lack of confidence.
So how do we empower women to become more involved in their finances and their financial futures?
The Fidelity International 2021 study shows us that while more than 50% of women are actually in control of their household finances they find making decisions about investing difficult and tend to prefer the safety and easiness of cash deposits. While we know cash is king in many situations it is the lowest returning asset class over the long-term and it carries a major opportunity cost. It is unlikely women will be able to close the retirement gap by just holding cash.
My preference as a Financial Adviser is to work with clients over time investing smaller amount but more often. Do not wait to build up that lump sum, book a meeting today to discuss your options to close the gap.