Women take the reins on investing

Investment in the share market is no longer dominated by men, especially for people aged under 40, the ASX says.

Women aged under 40 now outnumber men in the ASX Sharemarket Game. Picture: iStock

Younger women are stepping up their investment game when it comes to taking an interest in shares, the ASX has found.

For the first time in the 25-year history of the ASX Sharemarket Game, women aged under 40 outnumber men in the same age group – 28 per cent of participants versus 25 per cent.

The ASX says women have less tolerance to risk and are taking a smarter approach to investment and using the simulation to practice strategies without using real money.

ASX head of equity markets Graham O’Brien said more than 10,000 had signed up for the game, ahead of registrations closing on July 29, including 1500 university students amid an ASX push to attract “next generation investors”.

Many “next generation investors” are young women, the ASX says. Picture: iStock

“Traditionally when you think about the older fraternity, generally the male has been leading that decision making,” he said. “Younger people are taking control of their own investments, and especially when it comes to females they want to be more educated, they want to understand, and they want a safe environment to test out what they’ve learned.”

Women did not want to “go and sit with the old crusty guy in a room” to receive advice, and instead were using new technologies, platforms and apps to build investment knowledge.

Mr O’Brien female investors were more likely to spread their money across asset classes to ensure “broad diversification, more so than male counterparts that might take a view on an individual stock here or there”.

“The explosion of apps and accessibility of information helps them in being able to make those decisions for themselves,” he said.

Investor Sarah Loder-Sommer uses the ASX Sharemarket Game.

Among them is Sarah Loder-Sommer, 38, who trades shares but also plays the free ASX Sharemarket Game, which gives people $50,000 in virtual cash to create an investment portfolio from more than 300 ASX-listed companies, including exchange traded funds. It started in March and runs until September 5.

“I use the game as a way to practice trading strategies without the emotion associated with real money,” Ms Loder-Sommer said. “One thing I’ve been trying this time around is looking at the biggest losing stocks of the day and reading about them to try to decide whether they have been oversold – I’ve had some wins and some losses but I’m learning a lot about trading psychology and also getting better at critically analysing company news and reports.”

She said it was exciting that younger female investors were outnumbering males.

“In previous generations, women often let their male partners handle the finances, but this is definitely changing,” she said.

“Most women are now earning their own money and taking control of their situation.

“I’ve also read that intergenerational wealth is being handed down to more women than men so women really need to be able to manage that money and invest it appropriately.”

MBA Financial Strategists director Darren James said he also had noticed a rise in female investors, particularly in younger demographics.

“They’re going through university, they are self-sufficient and they are more educated in that space,” he said. “There’s a lot more avenues to get educated around investing and finance, including on social media. There’s podcasts geared purely for women in investing. It makes it easier to dip a toe in the water.”

Mr James said “the best investment is investing in yourself and your education”.

Originally published as