The gender investment gap in the UK is estimated at £574bn, with only 26% of women investing compared to 41% of men. This disparity is occurring amidst a decade of policy changes that have made investing more difficult to navigate, according to Etoro UK MD Dan Moczulskiis.
Recent policy changes include a reduction in the capital gains tax annual exemption from £12,300 to £3,000. Upcoming ISA reforms are also set to introduce different cash ISA allowances based on age, restrictions on transfers from investments back into cash, and a charge on interest earned on cash held within a stocks and shares ISA.
Research from Warwick Business School indicates that women investors have outperformed men over the long term, trading less frequently and making more considered decisions. This suggests that the issue is not women's ability to invest, but rather a problem of participation.
A study by Appinio found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of women who do not invest believe they need extensive knowledge before starting. Additionally, seven in 10 (69%) of women who already invest feel that investing is portrayed as more complicated than it truly is.
An Etoro trial, the Loud Investing Challenge, involved 151 women learning investment fundamentals over seven days. After the challenge, the proportion of participants believing investing is "for people like me" more than doubled from 34% to 71%, and comfort with investment risk rose from 35% to 61%. The percentage of those actively planning to start investing almost tripled, from 13% to 38%.