Smart Women Courted By Barclays

By Alison Steed

BARCLAYS Stockbrokers has launched a new initiative designed to empower female investors, as two thirds of women say they are not confident investors, and lack the knowledge to make informed decisions.

Smartwoman is designed to encourage more women to make the most of their money through investing, especially as women are often more successful investors than their male counterparts.

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.”

Most women feel they lack the knowledge to make investment decisions, said Ms King, and often lack the time they need to invest. However, a third of women question for a survey by Barclays Stockbrokers said they considered themselves to be quite experienced, compared to half of men.

While women are traditionally more risk averse than men when it comes to investing, seven in 10 women said they would be happy to take risks to generate good returns.

Ms King added: “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: http://www.barclayssmartwoman.co.uk/