A survey carried out by investment adviser Boring Money has suggested that women are missing out on £599 billion because of what has been dubbed the Gender Investment Gap.
The survey revealed that there are an estimated 9.7 male investors in the UK and 6.4 million female investors. Boring Money suggested that this means there are 3.3 million less women who hold investments or private pensions.
It said that pensions contribute to the Gender Investment Gap, revealing that women hold, on average, £39,000 less than men in retirement funds.
Boring Money also found that women are less likely to invest than men, with fewer women holding a General Investment Account (GIA).
Holly Mackay, CEO of Boring Money, commented: ‘We know that women struggle with a hatred of jargon and lack of trust in financial institutions, but they are also dealing with big and often messy life challenges which are just not being recognised in the finance space. The industry is not tackling women’s ‘why’. It just rushes to focus on the ‘how’ and to churn out more content about complex financial products.’