Are Singaporean men better investors than women?

Men are more confident and tech-savvy, says BlackRock.

Singaporean women are less confident than their male counterparts when it comes to investing, revealed the latest Global Investor Pulse Survey by BlackRock.

Although the survey showed that women can be just as financially-savvy as men, men enjoy managing their investments more in comparison to women. They also feel more well-prepared for retirement and are more comfortable taking investment decisions while building up their retirement funds, the survey showed.

According to the survey, 72% of women have investments compared to 80% of men. In fact, 25% of women have savings only and no investments compared to just 18% for men.

Women tend to hold more conservative asset classes, such as cash and insurance-linked investments.

On the other hand, more than half of the male respondents hold equities compared to less than two-fifths of women. 20% of men hold bonds compared to 17% of women, and 18% of men are invested in foreign exchange versus 9% of women.

The survey showed that many women lack confidence in their abilities in managing finances and have a lower risk appetite. 55% of women feel that investment is like gambling compared with 47% of men, and only 38% of them are willing to take on higher risks for higher return compared to 54% of men. Only 37% of women feel that they are competent investors, as compared to 54% of men.
“It is interesting to find that Singaporean women tend to cast more doubt over their own investment abilities than men, despite having similar investment goals. More education is needed to shift and improve investment behaviours, for both women and men to become even more confident in managing their own finances,” said Kevin Hardy, Country Head of Singapore at BlackRock.