Less women are investing compared to men
Money, knowledge and trust are three of the key obstacles stopping women from investing, Hargreaves Lansdown research has found.
Only 25 per cent of women across all age groups are investing, in contrast to 37 per cent of men, according to the fund supermarket’s survey.
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“Women are failing to invest as much as their male counterparts – at risk of creating a permanent gap in their financial health and wealth,” said Emma Wall, head of investment analysis and research at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Only a quarter of women are investors, compared to four in 10 men. The number one blocker to investing is lack of money – women across all age groups stating that if they only had more, they would take the plunge.”
Women aged 35 to 54 are investing the least of the age groups surveyed, at 19 per cent. In comparison, 36 per cent of middle-aged men are investing.
“Of those that are investing, the majority are in their older years, aged 55 plus, prompting the question are we leaving it too little, too late?” Wall said. “A third of these women surveyed have an investment, which could include a stocks and shares ISA, investment funds, and company shareholdings – but does not include cash savings.
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“However, this is still less than men in the same age bracket, where 43 per cent of those surveyed are investing in some way. For this age group as well as not enough cash, it is additionally a lack of knowledge in investments that is putting them off.”
However, there are signs that the gender split may narrow among the younger generation. 23 per cent of women aged 18 to 34 are investing, closing the gap on their male peers of 31 per cent and a huge 84 per cent of young female non-investors say they could be persuaded to invest.
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