Why Aren’t More Women Investing?

As it’s International Women’s Day this week, I thought I’d write a post in relation to that. Specifically, women and investing.

 

Now, I don’t claim to be an expert at investing. Far from it. I started dividend investing two years ago, but before that I had no idea about the world of investing. It seemed like an alien concept, a scary place to be. It’s almost as if they don’t want you to understand!

 

But then I did more research into investing. About the different types of investing you can do. The different places you can hold investments. Equities, funds, bonds and yields started to become words that are more known. Understanding the differences between x and y, plus risk and gains. Investing didn’t seem quite so scary, if you understand you can lose money as well as gain it.

 

But, the more I looked into investing, the more I realised something.

 

The majority of big players in the investment world are male.

 

Why is that?

 

One of the most well known investors in the world is Warren Buffet. He’s considered one of the most successful investors in the world. His current net worth is around $87 billion dollars. He’s the third wealthiest person in the world.

 

What about the head of Vanguard group? Founded by John Bogle and the CEO is Bill McNabb. A massive investment group with lots of popular funds which are considered lower risk, plus their fees are very low compared to other platforms.

 

Let’s look at Hargreaves Lansdown. They’re the company I hold my own stocks and shares ISA with. The company was founded by Peter Hargreaves and Steven Lansdown. The current CEO is Christopher Hill. A financial services company based in Bristol.

 

Interactive Investor, an online trading and investment platform based in London. Founded by Tomas Carruthers and CEO is currently Richard Wilson.

 

Are you seeing a pattern here? All of the investment companies seem to be predominately male.

 

Mulling this over, it got me thinking about why this is. Is investing purposely made to seem complicated so the majority of people won’t go near it? Why is the banking world mainly white, middle class men?

 

We need to change this mindset!

 

Anyone can invest. Yes, anyone. You can start off with as little as £25 a month, into an ISA, to begin with. Build it up and begin putting a little aside into funds. Funds are generally lower risk and can offer a very balanced portfolio without too much intervention needed. Not to begin with, anyway!

 

I read quite a lot of blogs which are about investing, especially ones that focus on dividend investing as a source of income. But, I have come to realise that most of these are also written by males. Where are all the women who are investing? Perhaps they don’t write about it. Or, the more likely theory, there just isn’t as many.

 

If you have ever thought about investing but are too scared to take that first step, please think again. The only way to increase your wealth over time is by investing. Inflation eats into your cash reserves.

 

These things I would recommend to get you started:

• Smarter Investing by Tim Hale. A book about investing and how to get the most from your investments. A great place to start!
• Monevator.com – a great website with lots of advice to do with investing.
• Hargreaves Lansdown – the platform I use to invest. Very easy to navigate and do your research on!
• Understanding your level of risk – definitely important, especially when starting out.

 

I wish I had more people to talk to about investing. Perhaps women who are starting out their investing journey. Maybe someone who is starting to receive dividend income for the first time and find it exciting. If you’re out there, let me know!

 

More women need to invest. We can do just as good a job 🙂 

 

I am proud to be joining up with the #WomenRockMoney movement and the UK Money Bloggers to inspire women to take action when it comes to their financial literacy.

 

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