StashAway Insights 2022 observes the gender investing behaviours since it was launched in Singapore in 2017. The genders portrayed in this report are based on the gender our clients indicate to us when they sign up to use our platform.
The report excludes data from investors who did not specify their gender when they signed up.
Our results are based on data from our global client base in Singapore (SG), Malaysia (MY), the Middle East, Hong Kong (HK), and Thailand (TH). However, as the Middle East, Hong Kong, and Thai platforms are less than 18 months old, they have only been included in this edition of StashAway Insights where there is sufficient data.
Women choose lower-risk portfolios compared to men
The StashAway Risk Index, or SRI, indicates the 1% probability of losing a given percentage in asset value in any year. For example, an SRI 25% portfolio with US$100,000 has a 1% chance of losing 25%, or US$25,000 in a year.
Across all regions, male investors are more likely to invest in portfolios with a higher SRI. Higher-risk portfolios are more likely to be met with short-term volatility.
However, women are more likely to follow through with their commitment to investing.
For instance, in Malaysia, 44% of women who signed up have invested on our platform, compared to 32% of men.
Women check their investments less frequently than men
Generally, men check their investments 1.5 times more often than women.
In Malaysia, men are more likely than women to log in in their first 30 days of making an investment. We believe that women are less reactionary and anxious about their investments after making a decision than men, hence they do not check their investments constantly.
Women are more likely to invest regularly
Since making their first investment, women in Singapore and Malaysia were, on average 1.1 times more likely than men to invest each month. However, in the Middle East, where our platform has been live for a little over a year, we see the opposite trend: men were, on average, 1.3 times more likely to invest consistently compared to women.
In Malaysia, women are more likely to invest consistently compared to men at 1.22 times over a period of 20 months, in comparison to male investors.
Women are more likely to stay invested
Investing for the long term takes patience and consistency. Our data shows that women are more likely to stay invested and less likely to withdraw their investments and close their accounts. Investors may close their accounts for a number of reasons: they may be dissatisfied with returns, worried about the markets, or they may simply have reached their investment goal.
In Malaysia, women are more likely to stay invested 1.18 times more than their male counterparts. The gap widens the longer our platform has been live in each of the regions.
Investing consistently empowers investors to build long-term wealth
Although women are more likely to invest consistently over the long term, statistics show that they aren’t investing enough. This is despite the fact that women, on average, have higher life expectancies than men, and therefore more retirement years to plan for.
68% of women believe they will outlive their spouse. Malaysian women born in the year 2000, have an average life expectancy of 75 years old, outliving their male counterparts by 4 years.
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