Women more "progressive" investors, survey says

Wednesday 18 March 2020

Women are more concerned about investing in ‘responsible’ companies, according to research commissioned by Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management.

81% of female respondents in the survey thought it is important to invest in companies with good reputations for being environmentally conscientious and socially aware, compared to 72% of male ones.

Meanwhile, almost a quarter of men (24%) think it’s unimportant.

Men tend to be motivated by companies focused on shareholder return and apply no restrictions on the companies they invest in (34%), compared to 14% of women. Only 11% of men proactively seek out companies that tick the ESG box, compared to 18% of women.

Pictured: Tim Sanders, Head of Wealth Management at CGWM in Jersey, described women as more "progressive" investors.

The research showed that almost a quarter of high net worth (HNW) women surveyed have no investment portfolio (24%) and the same percentage have no pension (24%). In comparison,14% of HNW men have no portfolio and 18% have no pension.

When exploring the reasons why women aren’t investing, over a third of female HNWs (37%) said it is because their money is tied up in property.

Property is the asset class most favoured by female HNWIS with 91% of wealthy women owning property and almost half of women (43%) picking property as the area of investment that is most likely to give them a decent return, compared to 24% of men.

Wealthy men have most confidence in investment portfolios (37%) followed by pensions (29%).

“Women have been reluctant to invest in financial markets, something Canaccord would like to change and encourage going forward," Tim Sanders, Head of Wealth Management at CGWM in Jersey, commented on the research.

"Although our figures show an increase in the number of women surveyed investing since last year (35% didn’t have a portfolio in 2018) and are less likely to invest than men, the women that do are more progressive investors.”

The research also showed that wealthy women are more worried about retirement than their male counterparts. A third of men surveyed said they had no particular worries about retiring, compared to a fifth of women.

42% of women surveyed also expressed concerns about about care home funding, compared to 34% of men.

However, despite these financial preoccupations, 17% of HNW women with a pension who are not yet retired don’t know how long it will last (compared to just 6% of men). Added to this, only 47% of HNW women are prepared to work post retirement if it meant having a better standard of living for longer, with men being more enthusiastic about post retirement employment (51%).