In the very first of our 'WTL Welcomes' guest blog series for 2020, I am absolutely delighted to have the super talented Lisa Conway-Hughes (aka Miss Lolly) with me.

Lisa is a qualified Financial Advisor with fifteen years' experience, and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society. She blogs and speaks publicly on financial issues and has appeared in the Guardian, Financial Times, Telegraph, Independent, Glamour and Citywire as well as on BBC News. Lisa started a podcast called 'She's On The Money' in 2018 and her brilliant first book 'Money Lessons' was published last year.

Lisa’s website misslolly.com is written for women and is full of jargon-free useful articles about understanding your finances and getting them under control to give you the life you want.  

Lisa often discusses the huge gap between the number of women vs men investing their hard-earned money in the stock market, and today we are going to delve (professional to professional!) into just why women prefer saving over investing and what can be done to help encourage more to take the leap into the world of stocks and shares and start building a lucrative investment pot.

In 2015/16, the last year for which data is available, 892,000 women invested in the government’s stocks and shares ISAs (which allow you to invest up to a fixed amount with potential tax-free returns) against 1.1 million men. In contrast, when it comes to much safer cash ISAs, 5.2 million women invested in the same year against 4.4 million men.

I have advised many female investors over the years but my male client base is almost double and I've always wondered what more could be done to encourage more women to invest their cash rather than (or as well as) save it.

So, just why are there so fewer women investing their disposable income? Let's talk to Lisa about some of the key blocks and life stages influencing this and how to close this gap once and for all as we enter a new decade.

1. What are the key life stages that can have a detrimental impact on women's earnings, investing and savings potential?

Unfortunately, there are too many!
Becoming a parent is the most common. Evidence from a variety of countries show that the longer new mothers are away from paid work, the less likely they are to be promoted, move into a management position, or receive a pay raise once their maternity leave is over. They are also at greater risk of being fired or demoted. This also becomes prevalent when women take on the role of looking after ill, elderly or infirm parents.

Divorce can also pose a serious financial burden, and these tend to fall disproportionately on women. A 2017 report by the Chartered Insurance Institute found that divorce and separation pose a significant financial risk to women left “vulnerable” by joint decisions made while they were in a long-term relationship. On average, a divorced woman has less than a third of the pension wealth of the average divorced man, while 10% more divorced women expect to rely on the state pension than men. To compound this issue, women are more likely to have more caring responsibilities, and to suffer mental health problems.

1. What more can be done to reduce the gap between males and females who invest their disposable income to help secure their future?

Education is so important especially as women usually need to know the whole picture before they invest.  This all starts at school, but needs to be reinforced at college and university, and in the workplace.

Stereotyping also doesn’t help. For example, there is a perception that women do well out of divorce, but this is such a minority and tends to be those who were married to ultra-high-net-worth individuals. The reality for the majority of women is that they have often created homes, raised children and supported their partners while their own careers have been put on hold, ceased, or progressed at a considerably slower rate. The money these women could have earned – and consequently their potential to save for their own future needs, including retirement – has therefore been significantly compromised.

1. What trends have you noticed over the past year with your female clients when it comes to investing?

I have noticed far more female breadwinners and also a much more positive attitude to education with women actively seeking to further their knowledge on their finances. Our ‘She's On The Money’ events have been very well attended, and my new book Money Lessons has done far better than I (and my publisher!) expected!

1. Share your top 3 tips to help improve your financial wellbeing?

Delete shopping apps on your phone.

Do a budget plan.

Get a money buddy to support each other and to be accountable to.

1. What's your best and worst investment stories (clients or yourself!)?

Best -
Looking after the pennies and doing good things regularly. Some of my wealthier clients haven't got to the position they are in by selling a business or winning the lottery, they have done it by being sensible and starting investing as soon as they possibly can - i.e. their first pay day!

Worst -
Taking money out of investments just after the credit crunch and investing in 2018. Listening to friends/money gossip and get rich quick schemes.

1. Working in an industry still dominated by men in grey suits, how do you sell a career in financial services to aspiring young females looking to explore that path?

Believe it or not, working in financial services is a fun career that isn’t all about numbers! The key skills that an adviser needs to have are ones that women tend to find come naturally -  listening, approachability and empathy. However, it's no secret that the financial services sector still has a gender diversity problem - women only account for 9% of the asset management profession in the UK.  So come on ladies, let's get that figure up and join me in the fabulous world of finance!

You can find out more about Lisa on her website https://misslolly.com/.

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