On this International Women's Day, it's encouraging to see how many Australian women are jumping into the world of investing and ASX shares.
Share market floors with all the yelling and chain-smoking brokers on the telephone are now consigned to the past, and the accessibility of online trading has lowered the barriers of entry for female and young investors.
Due to increased independence and a longer life expectancy, Ausiex executive Brett Grant said that women will have considerable wealth to manage in the coming years.
"Women are likely to be the primary beneficiaries of the intergenerational wealth transfer," he said.
"Various studies suggest 60% to 70% of wealth in the US and UK, respectively, is likely to be inherited by females over the coming years and it's reasonable to expect a similar trend in Australia."
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In 2024, women want to invest
Stock broking app Moomoo recently conducted a study into what female Australian investors are thinking right now.
And the survey found a definite difference between the reasons what stops the typical woman from investing compared to an average man.
"Men list access to capital as their biggest impediment to trading," said Moomoo market strategist Jessica Amir.
"Whilst women are hampered by a lack of available time, limited knowledge of trading platforms, and a lack of experience."
One overwhelming message was that, even among those who already have a stock portfolio, women want to be more active.
The research found 80.9% of female investors are planning to execute more stock trades over the next 12 months.
Making the world a better place
This increase in participation is encouraging for not just financial reasons but to make the world a better place generally.
The study showed 38.3% of female investors place a high priority on the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) credentials of their investments, as opposed to just 24% of men.
The more investors care about ESG factors, the higher the chances that companies will listen to their concerns.
According to Amir, the amount of free resources available online these days means women can dip their toes into ASX shares far easier than in decades past.
Some broking platforms like Moomoo even allow dummy trades so that beginners can have a trial run before putting up real cash.
"There are easy to digest 'invest 101' courses, library resources and market analysis within the app, which also includes the opportunity to paper trade.
"Taking a steady approach to learning about investing is a good way to build confident behaviours."
