Women surveyed were less likely to be self-assured and feel financially at ease than men
Building on previous studies about financial gender disparities, ATB Wealth has released research suggesting that Alberta women feel less confident and are more risk-averse when it comes to investing than their male counterparts.
In its latest Investor Beat survey, the firm found that women were less likely than men to rate their investment knowledge as “Excellent” or “Good” (20% of women vs. 35% of men) — though 73% of Albertans in general said they have fair knowledge or were inexperienced at investing. They were also more likely to report having Very Low to Low risk tolerance (53% of women vs. 35% of men), as defined by their desire to move their investments into cash after a decline in their investment value.
In line with those results, the survey also found more women than men agreed that the stock market is too risky (45% of women vs. 34% of men). Female survey respondents were also less likely than males to be confident that they are saving enough for a comfortable retirement (30% vs. 40%) or report being comfortable with the amount of debt they are carrying (42% vs. 49%).
When it comes to financial decisions, men were more likely than women to report that they had the final say (34% vs. 17%). Women were more likely than men to either have an equal share or have less say in such decisions (81% vs. 64%). When asked why they don’t make the final decisions, women gave these top three reasons:
- “I don’t know as much about finances as my partner” (55%)
- “I prefer my partner makes the financial decisions (35%)
- “That’s just the way we’ve always done it” (35%)
“With more women entering the workforce, becoming financially independent and inheriting wealth, closing the investment gap created by gender stereotypes is no longer just a good idea,” said ATB Wealth President Chris Turchansky. “It’s a true necessity.”
According to Turchansky, the first step toward a more even playing field is recognition. Solving the problem, he added, may simply be a matter of knowledge improvement. For some women, this would require a female financial advisor to step in, as 22% of the women surveyed agreed they would be more comfortable working with one.
The report found some areas of common ground among Albertans regardless of gender. Whether male or female, Albertans had the same level of agreement on preferring to talk to a professional when making investment decisions (54% agreed), worrying that financial advisors aren’t looking out for their best interest (47%), whether professional financial advice is worth the cost (36%), and don’t feel comfortable seeking financial advice (33%).
Generational differences were also uncovered. One third of Albertans surveyed said they were confident they had enough money to retire comfortably; this sentiment was more prevalent among boomers (50%) than Gen Xers (32%) or millennials (32%). Boomers were also found to be the most confident in finance management (74%, vs. 54% of Gen Xers and 56% of millennials). And the feeling of wanting to work with a female advisor was most widely held by millennial women (37%); only 19% of Gen Xers and 10% of Boomers said the same thing.
