‘Nudge technology’ attracts women to online investing platforms
WOMEN are turning to online investment platforms due to ‘nudge technology’, according to new research from Fidelity International.
The investment management group surveyed more than 1,000 women and found that 49 per cent favour online investing through websites or apps.
Regular reminders and updates on investments are a key reason why women are choosing to invest this way, often investing for the first time. Over a quarter of women using an online website or money app to invest chose to do so because they wanted to receive regular updates on their investments.
A further 19 per cent said the ability to receive regular nudges and reminders to invest was a key benefit of managing their investments online.
For many women, money management apps have also prompted them to invest, with 39 per cent of those who had downloaded a money app in the last 12 months also purchasing an investment product for the first time during the same period.
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The ease and accessibility of online tools is one of the reasons given by woman for investing through a website or app. Over a quarter said being able to access information quickly was a key benefit. Being able to see how investments perform easily and view information in real time were also major factors.
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Similar to health apps (used frequently by almost a third of women) which track and remind users of their fitness or health goals, these money nudges help women to keep on top of their investments. A quarter of women who had invested for the first time in the past 12 months had also topped up their investments since then after being prompted by an app.
“Women, and indeed men, are becoming increasingly familiar with using apps to manage many aspects of their lives, and so it stands to reason that money management apps should be part of this,” said Emma-Lou Montgomery, associate director at Fidelity International.
“Just as we use health apps to manage our steps, travel apps to check on our commute, we now using money apps to manage our finances. But it doesn’t need to stop at budgeting and saving.
“Many will already be using an app or website to do their banking or budgeting and it’s encouraging that now more are using apps to invest as well – whether that’s rounding up the pennies or super-charging their investments.
“We know that women have traditionally seen investing as inaccessible or time-consuming, so the ability to manage their investments from an app in the palm of their hand, complete with timely reminders is a fantastic solution. As women will, on average, retire with a smaller pension pot than men, it’s vital that they start investing as much as they can, as early as they can.”
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