BBC News
· collected 2026-08-11 · by Will Smale, Phil Leake, Jess Carr
- Published
Women who invest their money get slightly higher long-term returns than men, new analysis suggests.
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analysis → publish → men
But only about a quarter of UK women have investments, compared with about 40% of men, a separate report shows.
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report → have → men
We've looked at the data behind these trends, which reveal some surprising differences in how men and women approach investing.
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men → look → investing
Teleri Evans was 25 when she began saving into a Help To Buy ISA then a couple of years later she took out a stocks and shares Lifetime ISA.
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she → begin → ISA
By 33, she had £40,000 saved - with £8,000 of it returns on her investments.
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8,000 → have → investments
"I saved aggressively, and lived at my mum's for half of that time, so I could save as close as possible to the maximum £4,000 per year into Lifetime ISA," she says.
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she → save → ISA
The civil servant from Cardiff used the money towards a house deposit earlier this year with her partner.
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servant → use → partner
Only 26% of UK women invest, but that this falls to 23% for those under 45, according to a study by consumer finance website Boring Money.
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this → invest → Money
In contrast, 41% of all men invest, which holds steady at 40% of those under 45.
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which → invest → 45
So why are fewer women investing than men?
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women → invest → men
It can be "largely attributed to culture", according to Gillian Fleming, co-founder and managing director of UK-based Mint Ventures, a women-led angel investment firm.
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It → attribute → Ventures
"Men historically have been more likely to make family investment decisions, and women have also historically not owned the balance of wealth, but that is changing now," she says.
"
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she → make → wealth
Also, money and wealth creation is not a topic that women often discuss, and we would like to change that.
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we → discuss → that
Women who invest
Teleri says she has noticed a shift of late.
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she → invest → shift
"Investing is definitely something that women are talking about more, which is always a good thing," she says.
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she → talk → that
When women do invest in stocks and shares, analysis by Fidelity International found that over three years its female personal investing customers recorded cumulative returns of 50%, compared with 47% for men.
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customers → invest → men
The analysis does not identify the reason for the difference, but why may it be the case?
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it → identify → difference
One possible clue to women's slightly higher long-term returns lies in how often they buy and sell their investments, with Barclays data showing that women trade around half as frequently as men.
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women → lie → men
This could be because women are more patient and risk averse, says Joanna Floyd, business psychologist at London-based The Work Psychologists.
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Floyd → say → Psychologists
"Studies show that male investors trade more than women, chasing higher returns, but women actually get higher returns," she says.
"
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she → show → returns
The restraint that keeps women out of the market in the first place is the very same thing that rewards them once they are in it.
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they → keep → it
That more cautious approach to risk can be seen beyond investing, with women more likely to choose certainty when faced with a financial gamble.
When it comes to how women invest, Fleming says they are deliberately more cautious.
"Women are often accused of being more risk adverse, we call it more risk aware," she says.
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she → see → it
"Certainly from speaking to male investors their main focus is on the rate of return."
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focus → speak → return
Fleming also says women appear to invest more broadly.
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women → say → ?
"Men are more likely to invest in technology companies for their higher potential returns, whereas women want to invest in a broader range, from retail to food and drink, health and beauty, fem tech and creative industries."
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women → invest → food
Anna Macdonald, investment strategy director at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, agrees that women choose the companies they invest in carefully.
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they → agree → companies
"Women appear to place relatively greater weight on where their money is going and what impact it might have, as well as the reassurance that an investment is right for them," she says.
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she → appear → them
"Our research suggests men are...more readily attracted by the potential financial return."
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men → suggest → return
Jemma Slingo, pensions and investment specialist at investment firm Fidelity International, says female investors "appear more likely to connect investing with real-life goals, from building emergency savings to looking after children."
It's important to remember women in the UK generally have less money to invest than men because the continuing gender pay gap means they earn less on average.
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they → say → less
Macdonald says that the investment sector "needs to do a better job of making investing feel accessible, relevant and connected to people's own goals and values".
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investing → say → goals
"Addressing this would be good for women's long-term financial resilience and for the UK economy."
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Addressing → address → economy
