Female investors have a cautious view of equities. That is a problem—for women as well as the rest of the finance world.
3 min
“I think we’re a bit outnumbered, but we’re here.” So said one commenter on a Reddit thread about whether women joined in the recent WallStreetBets trading frenzy.
Female investors largely sat out the riskiest punts taken on stocks like GameStop. That may be no bad thing considering the videogame retailer’s stock is down over 80% from its late-January peak. But low female participation in stock-market investing more generally is a problem, for women and the finance industry alike.
Less than one-quarter of deposits into U.S. brokerage accounts were made by women in January, according to consumer-spending data analytics firm Cardify. Globally, the situation may be even worse: Israel-based brokerage eToro said that female investors make up just 14% of its registered users, most of whom are in the U.S. and Europe.
Some trading platforms did a good job of signing up women during the pandemic. Just over a third of Robinhood users were female at the beginning of this year, up from 20.5% a year before, according to Cardify. For the finance industry as a whole, though, attracting more female custom remains a frustratingly slow work in progress.
Women tend to be more conservative investors than men, preferring to put their wealth into real estate, cash or bonds while steering clear of equities. Credit Suisse surveyed a sample of existing clients and found that almost half of its female customers have 90% of their wealth tied up in low-yielding cash and fixed income—well over double the exposure the Swiss bank recommends.
That kind of caution has downsides, particularly when interest rates are as low as they are today. Since the global financial crisis, cash has returned a paltry 0.6% annually, while 10-year Treasury bills have returned 4.8%, based on Portfolio Visualizer calculations. By comparison, the U.S. stock market has averaged 12% a year.
Governments and companies are increasingly shifting the responsibility for a secure retirement onto individuals, raising the stakes for individuals’ investment decisions. Getting women to increase their exposure to equities is all the more important because they outlive men, so need their pension pots to last longer.
The underlying reasons for women’s caution as investors are complex. They are still paid less than men. Earnings and pension contributions can be disrupted when mothers take time out of the workforce to rear children, hampering their ability to put money aside for the future. Many women prioritize keeping what they have safe instead of investing in better-returning assets that could help offset these pay gaps. The wider issue here is that risk tolerance typically rises with wealth, for both sexes.
The finance industry also has a longstanding image problem with women. For some, investment jargon is the turnoff; for others it is the sometimes patronizing financial products targeted at them.
Warren Buffett once quipped that part of his investing success came from “only competing with half the population.” In reality, few people are benefiting from the status quo. Women are missing out on a share of stock-market spoils. Asset managers are losing out on the higher fees that come from higher-yielding assets. Robinhood needs female customers to maintain its blistering user growth as the startup prepares for a mooted initial public offering.
When they do enter the stock market, women’s investment behaviours often lead to good returns. They tend to think long-term, spread their risk by buying diversified funds and rack up lower fees by trading less frequently than men. That kind of steady capital might help to offset some of the excesses seen in the market this year.
Currently, women’s share of financial assets globally is estimated at 30% by Credit Suisse, or 40% including real assets such as property, which tend to be more evenly distributed. Those numbers should grow as women join the workforce in greater numbers and accept higher-paying jobs. That may automatically improve the situation, as they have more money to invest and can afford to take greater risks with it. Catering to women’s financial needs is likely to become a more competitive business in future.
Yet the finance sector also has a role to play. Robinhood makes much of its mission to “democratise” the industry, and has indeed turned more women’s heads in a matter of months than some traditional brokerages managed in years. With women still heavily outnumbered on even the most accessible apps, though, there is much further to go. Democratising finance needs to include a better pitch to the other 50% of the population.
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With US$40 million already committed, the Global Talent Fund is attracting investor attention with a strategy focused on building globally scalable consumer brands alongside high-profile talent.
2 min
A new investment fund targeting celebrity-founded consumer brands has secured US$40 million in commitments and is rapidly approaching its US$50 million fundraising target, signalling growing investor appetite for alternative opportunities beyond traditional asset classes.
The Global Talent Fund, which has a maximum raise of US$100 million, focuses on building and investing in consumer businesses alongside celebrities, athletes, and influential personalities who play an active role as co-founders rather than simply endorsing products.
The strategy is based on the belief that changes in consumer behaviour, particularly the rise of social media and digital engagement, have fundamentally altered how brands are built and scaled.
GTF founding partner Jeremy Hunt, who is helping lead the fund’s strategy, said consumers increasingly feel connected to personalities they follow online and are more willing to support products developed by those individuals.
“Consumers are searching for content to engage with, and when a celebrity they like or follow takes them on the journey of creating a product or brand, they genuinely feel part of that process,” he said.
The fund is targeting high-growth consumer sectors including wellness, hydration, beauty and recovery, areas Hunt believes continue to benefit from strong global demand and ongoing innovation.
Rather than backing celebrity endorsement deals, the fund is seeking businesses where talent is deeply involved in product development, brand creation and long-term growth.
According to Hunt, authenticity remains one of the biggest differentiators between successful celebrity-backed brands and those that fail.
“The consumer can see clearly if someone is simply being paid to promote a product,” he said. “The winners are typically the brands where the celebrity has genuinely helped build the business from the ground up.”
The model has attracted support from several prominent Australian investors and business families, reflecting broader interest in alternative investments with global growth potential.
Hunt said consumer brands offered a level of tangibility that many investors found appealing.
“Consumer brands are what we touch, feel, smell and taste every day,” he said. “Our investors understand the growth potential in the model, but they also want to be part of the journey.”
The fund’s rapid progress towards its fundraising target comes amid growing recognition that celebrity influence, when combined with strong commercial execution and scalable business models, can create significant enterprise value.
With several high-profile celebrity-founded businesses generating billion-dollar exits in recent years, supporters of the strategy believe the opportunity remains in its early stages.
