Price started out with a CommSec portfolio, but now uses Stockspot to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Others in her family invest in silver, property and shares. Over the years, her investment portfolio has experienced steady growth.
Price says her husband doesn’t have much interest in investing, so leaves her to make the decisions.
“I always do my homework, researching all the big investment companies and looked at their returns, and I could see you were just a small cog in a big wheel, and I didn’t like that.”
Over the next decade, women are expected to inherit and control approximately 65 per cent of the nearly $5 trillion set to change hands in the largest intergenerational wealth transfer on record. This will see women become the primary decision-makers for family budgets and wealth creation.
So, it’s perhaps not surprising that a growing number of women are turning to investing, now accounting for 42 per cent of investors with active holdings – up 18 per cent over the past three years.
Despite ongoing efforts to close the gender gap, women still trail men in finances. The average Australian woman has $428,000 in net wealth, compared to $597,000 for men – a 40 per cent gap. This comes down to factors such as lower workforce participation, the gender pay gap and more time spent out of the workforce raising children, along with superannuation disparities.
Loading
This year has seen all previous Australian ETF inflows records broken, with investors channelling $15.8 billion into the asset class in the September quarter alone, according to ETF provider Vanguard Investments.
ETFs have taken off because people want a simple way to invest without the stress of picking stocks, says Chris Brycki, founder and chief executive of Stockspot.
People know they’re not betting on one company, they’re buying the whole market, he says, adding that ETFs are designed for patience.
“You can have good years and bad years. The magic happens when you stay invested through the full cycle. We recommend a time horizon of at least three to seven years for the best chance of success.”
- Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter.
