Finance firms urged to tackle the gender investment gap
A PROPERTY investment platform is calling for financial services firms to do more to tackle the gender investment gap.
As companies reveal their gender pay gaps, Brickowner, which lets investors fund property projects, has looked at its proportion of male and female clients, finding only 17 per cent of its own users are women.
Fred Bristol, chief executive of Brickowner, suggested a gender investment gap has emerged due to women having unequal pay so less disposable income, smaller pension pots, different attitudes to finance and less risk appetite.
He said progress was slow on unequal pay and pensions, but also highlighted research from consultancy Kantar that last year warned financial institutions were losing out on a £130bn business opportunity by not appealing more to women.
The Kantar research claimed women were more likely to choose a financial firm that showed trustworthiness and accessibility while men focused on products and price.
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He said financial firms could do more to appeal to female customers in their marketing and products.
“It is unacceptable that in this day and age, woman fall behind men when it comes to investing for their future,” Bristol said.
“The good news is that with the application of technology some of these industry problems can be overcome. Online investment can offer more control and flexibility over investments without paying middlemen or having to in some cases endure aggressive sales tactics.
“All financial service companies need to step up to the challenge. It is not only right to reduce the gender investment gap but also makes excellent business sense by paying more attention to many investors who have been overlooked for too long.
“Female investors will rightly, become a major consideration across all areas of investment and consequently our own development.”
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