It’s a (wo)man’s world and i-stock want in.

According to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics*, women opened 892,000 stocks and shares ISA accounts in the last tax year alone. That’s a lot of money stored away! 

However, there is no hiding from the idea that the financial services industry has slipped up a little when it comes to women investors, with many still feeling discouraged and misunderstood in the field. 

Women are more in need of wealth management than ever, with belief that by 2020, they will hold 32% of all private wealth. ** And they live longer. Fast becoming superheroes in many an opinion.

However, the number of saving accounts opened by women stands at 1.1m less than men last year**, so what is holding them back from owning their own financial destiny?

Women don’t actually invest any differently to men but there are, probably subconsciously, still some negative stereotypes around a woman’s ability to manage money.

These stereotypical ideals of “money management” may be a trigger for supressing women’s confidence in investing.

Only a small percentage (28.3%) describe themselves as investment confident, with most being risk-adverse and too conscious of a negative outcome to fully immerse themselves in the ups and downs of the investment market. ***.
Some may leave the decision making to their partners, and 50.8% of men feel they know how to handle themselves in the investment field. However, this could easily backfire, leaving some ill-equipped to handle their finances if they outlive their partner.

At i-stock, we offer free investing to everyone, making the whole process clear and accessible to all from start to finish. Not only that, but you can move existing ISAs to i-stock, so even if you did use to leave the money to the “man of the house”, it’s very easy to quickly take control.

Despite these old-stated stereotypes, the majority of married women now actively participate or fully manage all family finances, which is great news!

However, many of these women are still earning less than their male counterparts, as regularly bought up in the heavily debated gender pay gap. Over the course of their careers, women earn about 76% of what men do, leading to less disposable income for women to put aside for investing. *****

Part of the reason is that they are more likely to work part-time than their male counterparts. Then, there are gaps in employment due to the birth of a child or other family matters. It all adds up to less money earned over a lifetime, which makes it tougher to accumulate a nest egg. *** Perhaps many feel this lack of steady income makes regular investing too hard to maintain?

i-stock can provide an account that is flexible, be opened from as little as £50 a month so whatever life changes are thrown your way, i-stock can move with you.  Not only that, but it’s accessible 24/7, on the go through the downloadable app, meaning you don’t have to feel restrained or have to add “work out my family’s investments” to the “daily to-do list”.

Finally, it is important to introduce investing as a normal conversation topic. Nowadays, it’s not often a topic of conversation that comes up at the dinner table or a normal part of everyday life. However, if it was spoken and encouraged more may be inclined to join the world of investing.

With education around investments and long-term planning, women can feel more comfortable with riskier — yet potentially more rewarding — investments. With women on average living longer than men and seemingly having to make their money work harder, its often advised that they start investing sooner rather than later. ****

 So take a look at i-stock, and see how it can answer all your investment needs!