Less than a third (31%) of women feel confident about investing their money, compared with 44% of men, according to a new survey. Whatâs more, 34% said they donât have enough savings to invest, while 63% of the women polled admitted they wouldnât know where or how to start the process anyway, the research by HSBC UK found. Relatable? âWomen have never been taught to be as bullish as men,â says Bola Sol, qualified financial advisor and author of Your Money Life. âSo they are not the first point of call when it comes to the notion of investing. Finance is still an old boyâs club and heavily male-dominated. And as a result, women wonât even dare to take the first step. âBased on the gender and pension pay gap, women are sometimes afraid to make financial decisions â even if they are meticulously calculated. Financial Advisor With Piggybank. Money Saving Calculation (Alamy Stock Photo) âThey are worried about who they can fall back on if things go wrong. Are they single? Or do they have a partner who works in the banking world? Do they have immigrant parents? Whatâs their class and demographic? Can they afford to take the financial risks? There are a lot of calculations going through womenâs minds, so they just choose not to invest,â Sol adds. So, if they find themselves in this position but are interested in learning more, how can women start investing? Start with the basics Claire Exley, head of advice and guidance at UK digital wealth manager Nutmeg, says if youâre employed and enrolled in your workplace pension, then the good news is, youâre already investing. âWorkplace pensions can be really valuable because thereâs potentially two types of âfree moneyâ on offer, contributions from your employer and the government tax relief,â explains Exley. âFor those looking to take the next step with investing, Individual Savings Accounts â or ISAs â are a good place to start if you have some extra money. ISAs have a £20,000 annual allowance with no tax on investment growth, and you can access your money at any point â but you should aim to invest for at least three to five years.â Exley adds that if youâre new to investing, there are wealth management services who can assist. âYouâll answer some questions to help you understand how you feel about risk, you can choose an investment style that best suits you â for example, you may want to invest in a socially responsible way â and the experts will manage it for you.â Donât be afraid to ask questions Marianne Oliver, operations director at Invest Engine admits that: âIn this industry, we are really bad for jargon. You can have different investment types, with so many different names.â Not only is it ok to ask questions though, itâs wise to do so. Investing carries a degree of risk, so you want to make the right decisions for you and be well informed before making decisions. Sol adds: âYou donât need to pick investing up quickly. Iâve been studying finance since I was in college â so thatâs for 15 years â and there are still some things I still struggle to break down into laymanâs terms.â Figure out where you want to invest Exley says: âIf youâre thinking about investing, youâll have to decide whether you want to pick your investments and manage them yourself, or if you want to find a provider who will manage investments for you. âThe investments universe is very broad â you can invest in almost everything from a tracker fund, which is like a basket of lots of different shares, to more esoteric assets like wine or antiques. Traditionally, the main types of investments are equities, or stocks and shares, which means you hold a small portion of a company; bonds, which are like an IOU from the government or a company; and cash. âItâs wise to hold a diverse range of investments, and the exact mix will depend on how you feel about risk,â she adds. âFor example, equities can be more volatile, so you have to be comfortable with your investments rising and falling, while bonds are traditionally viewed as less risky. If youâre not sure, companies like Nutmeg can build a diversified portfolio for you.â Set long-term goals Setting goals and figuring out your real-life options helps inspire money confidence, which is needed to start investing. âIf you use that as a starting point, it makes investing easier to understand. When people think about investment, they think about the technical bits, tax and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). But itâs also important to manage your expectations and be patient,â says Rebecca Owers, director of wealth distribution for HSBC UK. âInvesting is more about where you want to be in life, and breaking [goals] down into simple thinking points. Take the best things from both worlds. 2JR9KW3 plan finance and savings money.young women put money coin in piggybank and calculate cost. (Alamy Stock Photo) âWhen women want to start investing, they should approach it like learning a new language. Donât you research the options that are available to you? Investing is no different. Women need to feel confident and dedication is a key part of that confidence.â Be patient Itâs also important to manage expectations and be patient with your financial growth. âYou are not going to get rich quickly,â Sol adds. âThe first time you invest isnât the first time you make money. Itâs rare. This is important for women to understand.â For Oliver, there is some beauty in playing the long game: âIt is like a snowball. So the bigger it gets, the more snow it attracts. If you can continue to regularly drip-feed it with payments.â Make sure you have an emergency fund Exley encourages all women to have at least three to six months worth of expenses saved, and this needs to be easily accessible, so if the unexpected happens, you have that security blanket ready. â[But] beyond that, there are many schools of thought around how much of your income you should be investing, and thereâs no one-size-fits-all,â she adds. âOne rule of thumb is the 20/30/50 rule: 50% of your monthly income is spent on covering essentials, like your rent or mortgage, utilities and food; 30% on things you want, for instance, a gym membership or holidays; and the final 20% should go to savings and investments. âHowever, in the current high cost-of-living environment, this simply might not be possible or realistic. Even making small regular contributions to your investments can really add up over time â we all need to start somewhere.â Source link Post Views: 1 Post navigation Yankees paid big money for Gerrit Cole, and their investment is paying dividends off the field too