Investing Is (Not) A Man's Business

Women, where are you? We've hosted many client events in recent years. With plenty of guests in attendance. Or should I say, plenty of men? The proportion of women was certainly under 10 percent. Ergo, investing is apparently a man's domain! 

This is definitely not a headline befitting International Women's Day. No one wants to hear it. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. But no one has the right to their own facts. And it is unfortunately a fact that women are underrepresented on the trading floor. This is anachronistic and an economic loss for society. 

Universities, the media and financial institutions have been delving into this topic for years through surveys and studies. The following headline from the FAZ, one of the leading German newspapers, likely provides the common thread: “Women are more risk-averse than men”. 

Now I could launch into evolutionary theories about the origins of this risk aversion. You know the drill: hunter-gatherers. Men wielding spears against mammoths while women gathered berries and tended to the children. But that won’t fly. No matter how neutrally I approach the matter, I inevitably I end up in the dead-end of stereotypes, preconceptions and social conditioning. 

Growing interest among women

A study by the University of Hohenheim found that “gender differences are no longer evident in wealthier households.” As you can see, it is not a law of nature that men are more strongly represented on the stock market. 

The observation from online bank ING-Diba in the aforementioned FAZ article is interesting: Only 12 percent of their female clients opt for a securities account. This figure is almost twice as high for male clients at 23 percent.

At Gutmann, we want to turn women into investors. That's why we regularly organize events exclusively for female guests - and have been doing so since 2005! Yes, exclusively with female participants and speakers. And no, I’ve never been present. 

But perhaps change is already afoot. At an event in Salzburg last December, with no gender-specific restrictions, a remarkable number of women participated. The consistent feedback was: “Investing actually isn’t boring at all, I like what I heard.” Incidentally, I am also getting more positive feedback on my Gutmann Viewpoint newsletter from women. 

My suggestion: As a woman, take up invitations to financial and economics-related topics. As a man, bring along your partner, your daughter or interested women in your circle. 

Last but not least: Forward this newsletter to a good friend and encourage her to sign up here.