Wealthtech

Women Are Disciplined Savers but Only a Third Are Invested, StanChart Survey Says

Women are showing strong interest and intention to invest more with their money, with almost half of them (46%) listing investment as their top goal.

However, only 36% of them currently hold an existing investment, according to insights obtained from Standard Chartered Goals Planner, an online financial planning solution that leverages on advanced data analytics and digital capabilities to provide clients with a holistic snapshot of their financial plans.

The study, which covers over 1,000 female users’ unique household income, assets, savings, investments, target retirement age and financial goals, offers insights to better understand women’s financial decisioning, as well as the challenges and gaps in funding their golden years.

Younger women were found to be more proactive in mapping out their financial plans; 40% of those who have started financial planning are 35 years old and below.

Women are also disciplined savers, with 83% of them saving at least 20% of their income per month, and 63% having more than 12 months of emergency funds available.

Additionally, women who hold wealth management products with Standard Chartered have shown a strong preference for endowment products, followed by equities and unit trusts.

Across all age groups, many women are still relying on savings products as their source of retirement income, rather than investment products which may generate higher returns.

This is concerning as more than half of the women (51%) still face a retirement shortfall, based on their desired retirement age and the future value of their savings and investments, with 12% expecting to run out of cash even before retirement.

With women living longer and their wealth drawing down over a longer period of time, there is a big risk that they may have insufficient funds to meet their retirement and financial goals, especially with inflation eroding the real value of cash holdings.

Clare Tang

Clare Tang, Head of Wealth Client Engagement at Standard Chartered said,

“It is heartening to see that younger women are kickstarting their financial planning and having investments on their radar. However, for the majority of us, it is crucial to go beyond saving and start taking action to make our money work harder.

With online financial planning tools such as SC Goals Planner, women can map out their financial aspirations and run real-life simulations to help them gain better control of their finances and grow their nest egg.”

Featured image: Freepik