More women invested in alternative loans in 2020

The number of women investing in alternative loans in Europe rose significantly over the course of 2020, new research has found.

According to alternative investment marketplace Mintos, women now constitute 15 per cent of its total investor base – a 43 per cent year-on-year increase.

Mintos found that Estonia had the highest proportion of new female investors, with women making up 36 per cent of all the country’s newly registered investors last year. In Latvia and Lithuania the number was 25 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.

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“The fact that an increasing number of women consider and actually start investing is a victory to everyone, knowing how underrepresented this group of investors is,” said Martins Sulte, chief executive and co-founder of Mintos.

“It also shows that alternative investments, especially loans, are an attractive asset class for women investors.”

A demographic breakdown of Mintos’ data showed that the average amount of first investment among women investors ranged from €20 (£17.50) to €1,300.

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Women from Germany, Denmark, Finland, Andorra, Serbia and Monaco tended to make an initial investment of €50 or less. Meanwhile, Irish, Icelandic and Albanian investors invested between €200 and €1300 initially.

According to Mintos, the average female investor on the platform had an outstanding balance of €2,028 at the end of the last year, compared to €4,164 at the end of 2019. This is believed to reflect economic anxiety caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In January 2021 the investment volumes steadily increased, yet it is too early to make any projections at this moment in time,” Mintos added.

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