As one study shows female investors come out on top, are millions of people potentially losing out by keeping their cash in savings accounts?

Confidence, not competence, is what’s holding women back when it comes to investing.

With regard to how we treat our money, the differences between the sexes is striking. In the UK, men are far more likely to invest than women. There are 3.3 million more male investors, according to recent research from Boring Money, and men have £678 billion more invested than their female counterparts.*

You might expect a similar story when we look at savings accounts.

Women still earn less than men in equivalent full-time roles, three quarters of part-time jobs are held by women, and women are more likely than men to take on unpaid family commitments.

But, despite these hurdles, women are better savers than men. One million more women than men have cash ISA accounts and they’re putting away significant amounts of money too. The majority of savers with over £20,000 in cash are women, according to Barclays data.

So, what’s holding women back from investing? 

It’s not a lack of ability. Women outperformed their male peers by 1.8 per cent per year in a study of 2,800 Barclays Smart Investor customers buying and selling shares over a three-year period. 

The answer is often a lack of confidence, and a sense of not knowing where to start. Barclays found 48 per cent of women who invest said one of the reasons they hadn’t started earlier was because they didn’t feel they knew enough about it. And just like the weights section at the gym, investing is often seen as a male-dominated zone when, in reality, it’s for everyone. 

Remove the worry of trying to pick a good time to invest by drip-feeding your money into the market monthly

Fear of losing money is another common reason for women not wanting to invest – 43 per cent said that’s what had stopped them investing sooner, according to the same research.  

Although all investments come with some degree of risk, sensible investors manage it by spreading their money across a range of investments, focusing on those that suit their goals and taking a long-term view.

Stock market wobbles can also add to feelings on uncertainty about investing. Again, this risk is straightforward to manage.

You can remove the worry of trying to pick a good time to invest by drip-feeding your money into the market monthly. That way you don’t have to worry about the day-to-day ups and downs.

You could also view stock market dips as a savvy time to invest. We all want to buy when stocks and shares are relatively cheap and sell after their value increases.

Thinking of any stock market wobbles as an opportunity to invest while prices are lower could produce very positive results. Plus, the longer your money is invested, the longer you’ll have to ride out market fluctuations and give your investments more time to grow.

When you consider the risks of investing and the fact women are better at saving, you may believe the gender investment gap doesn’t really matter. Women are better at saving, so they’re still building up nest eggs and securing their financial futures – right?

It’s not quite that simple. While saving is great for building up your cash – and not spending it – investing is how you can really grow your wealth.

By not taking the next step and investing, women are losing out.

Women are losing on average £1 million over the course of their lives by saving rather than investing, according to research from WealthiHer, a network of women in the finance industry.**

This is because inflation erodes the buying power of cash over time, while investing offers the potential to grow money above the rate of inflation.

Women have done the toughest part and put their money aside for their future. Now they need to get their money working as hard for them as they have been for building up their savings – and that means investing some of it. 

*boringmoneybusiness.co.uk/learn/articles/the-gender-investment-gap-increases-for-second-year-in-a-row

**telegraph.co.uk/women/business/financial-anxiety-loses-women-1-million-course-lifetime