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Women and investing in the UK: Statistics and overview

Women are closing the investing gap to men.

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By

Danny Butler

Edited by

Joselle Delos Reyes

Updated

Fact checked

With more women investing than ever before, we looked into the breakdown of how and why this is. We ran a survey on how many women invest or plan to invest as well as which investing apps are the most used by women.

Quick overview

  • A third (32%) of women have invested before.
  • An estimated 1 million women have started investing in the last year.
  • 37% of women investors have bought shares before.
  • 2 in 5 (40%) women rate themselves as beginner investors, compared to 30% of men.
  • According to external research, women who invest outperform men by 0.4% per year.
  • The most common source of investing advice for women is YouTube, with 21% of women investors saying they watch videos on the streaming platform for investment tips.
  • In 2021, ethical investment funds were twice as likely to have a female manager as other funds.

How many women invest?

According to our recent survey, around 8.5 million women in the UK have invested in the past, which is around 32% of women. The figure has increased from 28% in 2022, meaning an estimated 1 million women have started investing in the last year.

Is there a gender investing gap?

Based on 2023 data, 52% of men in the UK have invested compared to 32% of women, meaning there is still a gender investing gap. However, our survey shows that the number of women investing is on the rise, so we may eventually see this gap start to close.

Between 2022 and 2023, we estimate that an additional 1 million women have started investing.

Gender Percentage that invests
Women 32%
Men 52%

How many women invest in stocks and shares?

In 2023, women invest in a variety of different investment types, but stocks and shares lead the way with 37% of women investing in this category. This has increased since 2021 when 32% of women were investing in stocks and shares.

What else do women invest in?

Bonds and ready-made portfolios follow stocks and shares as the most popular investment types, with 23% and 16% respectively.

1 in 6 (16%) women invest in ready-made portfolios while only 6% of women invest in forex and 5% in CFDs. Women are 45% more likely to invest in ready-made portfolios compared to men.

On the flip side, women are 42% less likely than men to invest in forex and 28% less likely to invest in CFDs.

Investment type Percentage
Stocks/ shares 37%
Bonds 23%
Fund 16%
Cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin) 13%
Ready-made portfolios (such as Moneybox, Nutmeg, etc.) 16%
Ethical investments 13%
Forex 6%
ETFs 7%
Options/Futures 7%
Contracts for difference (CFDs) 5%
Other, please specify 4%

Do women think they are good at investing?

According to our survey, women tend to perceive themselves as having less expertise than men in investing. 2 in 5 (40%) women rate themselves as beginner investors, compared to 3 in 10 (30%) men.

On the other hand of the spectrum, 7% of men consider themselves expert investors compared to only 5% of women. This could be one of the reasons for the gender investing gap and why a higher percentage of men currently invest compared to women.

Experience level (self-rating) Women Men
I am a beginner investor 40% 30%
I am an intermediate investor 35% 42%
I am an experienced investor 20% 21%
I am an advanced/expert investor 5% 7%

Are women better investors than men?

According to external research, women who invest outperform men by 0.4% per year. This would add up to a substantial amount if compounded over time. An annual investment of £1,000 a year over 30 years would earn over 7.8% more than men.

Year Women (5.4% returns per year) Men (5% returns per year)
Year 0 1,000 1,000
Year 5 7,171 7,078
Year 10 15,199 14,835
Year 20 39,224 37,372
Year 25 56,893 53,450
Year 30 79,876 74,082

Where do women get their investing advice from?

The most common source of investing information consulted by women is YouTube, with around 21% of women investors saying they watch videos on the platform to research investments. Friends and family follow in close second with 20% of women consulting close relatives.

Instagram and Facebook complete a trio of social media sites in the top 5, with 19% and 17% respectively. Only 7% of women investors do no research at all before investing.

Source Female Male
Investment news sites (e.g.Motley Fool, Marketwatch, Financial Times) 17% 32%
General news sites (e.g. BBC, Daily Mail, Yahoo) 17% 28%
Investment platform forums (e.g. Freetrade community, Trading 212 community) 17% 25%
Financial adviser 17% 25%
Investment apps, websites and brokers' (e.g.Trading 212, eToro, etc) 17% 24%
YouTube 21% 21%
Friends and family/ word of mouth 20% 17%
Facebook 17% 15%
Instagram 19% 13%
Twitter 13% 15%
Other people's trades (e.g.Trading 212 pies, eToro copytrader) 12% 13%
TikTok 16% 9%
Snapchat 13% 10%
Reddit 11% 9%
Other social media, please specify 8% 5%
I don't do research for investments at all 7% 5%
Other 1% 3%

How many women work in investment management?

External research reported that around 12% of fund managers are women in 2022, increasing by 0.2% from 2021. The gender gap in investment management seems to be unlikely to change, with the same report claiming that 9 in 10 new fund launches are assigned to men.

Are women more likely to invest in ESG?

According to our 2023 survey, 13% of women have bought an ethical investment, making them 13% more likely to invest in ethical investments than men. Women are also more likely to be managers at ethical investment funds than other funds, according to Finder’s analysis of 212 funds in March 2021.

Sources used

  • Finder survey 2023
  • Fidelity
  • Citywire

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This article offers general information about investing and the stock market, but should not be construed as personal investment advice. It has been provided without consideration of your personal circumstances or objectives. It should not be interpreted as an inducement, invitation or recommendation relating to any of the products listed or referred to. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested, so your capital is at risk. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you're not sure which investments are right for you, please get financial advice. The author holds no positions in any share mentioned.

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

Matt Mckenna
UK communications manager
M: +44 747 921 7816
T: +44 20 8191 8806
matt.mckenna@finder.com@MichHutchison/in/matthewmckenna2

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