Barclays Stockbrokers launches SmartWoman

The number of female investors is growing, and while they are increasing in confidence, they still lag behind their male counterparts, according to research from Barclays Stockbrokers. The UK's largest online execution-only retail broker surveyed both its male and female clients on their attitudes to risk and their confidence in making investment decisions, to accompany the launch of its SmartWoman initiative.

Barbara-Ann King, Head of Investments at Barclays Stockbrokers, said: "Many women still do not do enough with their personal finances; SmartWoman is an initiative for women of all ages and levels of experience, dedicated to encouraging and inspiring more women to do more with their money.  Research shows that women tend to take a long term view when it comes to investing and this composure allows them to ride out fluctuations in their investments, a great attribute for any investor to have.  Historically, men have taken control of financial decisions and we hope that SmartWoman will empower more women to take charge of their financial future."

The Barclays Stockbrokers research revealed that many women struggle to find enough time to invest, and are more likely to believe they lack the knowledge to make informed investment decisions - a problem the SmartWoman initiative aims to tackle. The research found just a third of women (34%) consider themselves to be quite experienced when it comes to investing, compared to half of men (47%), and a fifth of  women(19%) say they are not very experienced at all.  However, when asked if they would take risks to generate good returns, seven in ten women (68%) would, compared to 77% of men. Some women take an even more bullish approach: more than a fifth (22%) admit they actively choose higher risk investments to achieve better returns.

Barbara-Ann King continued: "Women don't hesitate to make financial decisions when running businesses and households, and there is no question that women are just as financially able as men. Investing is not just about trading; it is about making provision for the future, whether that is for yourself or for your family. Rather than being a bolt-on to everyday life, investing should be a central component of women's lifestyles. Although we do have confident female clients that invest every day, this number is still dwarfed by our active male clients. More needs to be done to encourage more women to start making investment decisions for themselves; this is where we hope to help with our SmartWoman initiative."

SmartWoman website: barclayssmartwoman.co.uk.