Pessimistic warnings about the risks of investing are deterring women from saving more money and have become an unnecessary barrier, according to a new study.
Women are investing up to 21 per cent less money in the stock market as a result of “exaggerated” messages about the risks of investing in shares, according to trials by trade body Tisa and the University of Nottingham.
This is despite women owning 52 per cent of the 11.8 million Isa accounts at one of Britain’s biggest stockbrokers, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Snooze: Pessimistic warnings about investment risks discourage women from saving more money
Women also tend to have a larger amount invested. The study found that alternative wording in financial documents that is more informative and less off-putting to cautious investors would have a significant impact on the amount savers invest in the stock market.
This is because women tend to have a different approach to overseeing money compared to men: many do not see it as their own money, but as family money shared with their children, partner or parents, according to a survey by Hargreaves Lansdown.
This means that women are less willing to take risks because they see themselves as taking on more responsibility.
Six in ten women admitted that they consider the terminology and wording used to be a barrier to investing.
However, women take appropriate risks and are less likely to invest impulsively.
‘Women understand that generating wealth is a slow process. They stay away from speculative, risky or difficult to understand investments,” the study indicates.
