Women, especially younger ones, are taking investing seriously
Women have flocked to the investment party, particularly younger ones, but that doesn’t mean they are on top of the world about it.
That’s the takeaway from two new reports.
While 7 in 10 women now invest in the stock market outside their employer-provided retirement accounts, according to a new report from Fidelity Investments, “women are nearly two times more likely than men to describe their level of investing knowledge as ‘nonexistent,’” Lorna Kapusta, head of women and engagement at Fidelity, told Yahoo Finance.
They are also more likely than men to feel overwhelmed and intimidated by investing and managing their day-to-day finances and less likely to see themselves as investors, she said. Just 64% of women who invest consider themselves an investor, compared to 76% of men who invest.
And disturbingly, more than half of those surveyed said that their financial situation keeps them up at night at least monthly — those numbers are higher for Gen Z (72%) and millennial women (68%).
“The financial industry historically has made investing seem more complex than it needs to be with unnecessary jargon,” Kapusta said. “So it’s not surprising that most women say investing intimidates them."
Fidelity’s report found that Gen Z women, those in their 20s, are nearly two times more likely than Gen X women, who are in their 40s and 50s, to invest outside of retirement.
And they aren’t tiptoeing into it. Overall, women who invest outside of retirement carve out 9.5% of their paychecks to do so. Among Gen Z women, that level is 10.4%.
Read more: How to start investing: A step-by-step guide
That can add up to a lot of cabbage.
Gen X and boomer women are working it, though. While younger generations continue to invest in higher numbers, the percentage of Gen X and boomer women who invest in the stock market jumped the most year over year, increasing 18% and 23%, respectively.
That’s all good news, but here’s what makes Kapusta hopeful for the younger generation of women.
Two-thirds of boomer women started investing in their 50s or later in life, the survey found. But most younger women began investing in their 20s.
“This is incredible to see,” Kapusta said.
What can help move the needle even more?
“I’d love to see that number of women owning investments in the stock market continue to get higher,” Kapusta said. “Most women want to invest, but so many aren’t sure where to start, which is why financial education is so important.”
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Gen X women fall short on financial swagger
A new survey by Northwestern Mutual is a mixed bag when it comes to women investors and retirement savers.