THE GLOSS and Goodbody are committed to championing female financial wellness and making investment more inclusive. That’s why a year ago, we established THE GLOSS X Goodbody Investment Club. Today, we look back on the last 12 months….
Activist Malala Yousafzai once said: “We cannot all succeed if half of us are held back.”
In October 2021, THE GLOSS and Goodbody joined forces to launch THE GLOSS X Goodbody Investment Club to promote education about investing and to support dialogue on topics that matter to women, such as pensions, inheritance, divorce and illness. We wanted to provide women with the knowledge and confidence to take control of their financial and investment decisions – and in doing so, play a small part in helping to close the gap in financial literacy.
Along the way, more than 2,000 women joined our Funds Night In Investment Club events, 600 are now Investment Club members, over 2,000 trades were made as part of our first fantasy portfolio trading competition earlier this year, and next month, some of our members will join us at The GLOSS GALA 2022 in association with Goodbody. If our unique community sounds like something you'd like to be part of, you can sign up to become a member by clicking here.
In the meantime, as we reflect on the last 12 months, here are some of our reflections and learnings:
The future of wealth is female
In Western Europe, women investors now control roughly a third of total assets under management (valued at some €4.6 trillion), according to research by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. And by 2030, that’s expected to reach 45% of AUM – a total of €10 trillion.
Through their careers, women are building up significant personal and pension wealth. More are pursuing entrepreneurship, building businesses, being bought out at levels that make them very wealthy and taking control of more board seats than ever before. What’s more, women are also the largest beneficiaries of the current transfer of wealth: they live an average of five years longer than men.
For years, women investors were viewed as less financially confident – and often overlooked by financial advisors – and because of that, the financial literacy gender gap remains a challenge. Nevertheless, as the research shows, the future of wealth is female, and so, we’re committed to making investing more inclusive and equipping women with the financial knowledge they need to prosper and to help women build their wealth for the long term.
So, where do I start?
When it comes to investing, we are often asked: where do I start?
We recognise that investing can feel intimidating at first, but as with everything knowledge is power. That’s why earlier this year we put together a simple guide to help you understand the basics of investing and to show you how to get started.
From the language of investing to choosing your first stocks, our How to Invest guide should equip with you with the basics you need to start investing. We also outline the three simple steps that will guide you on your investment journey and help you identify the investment strategy that best matches your needs. Explore our guide here.
Step away from the noise, it’s all about time in the market
It’s been a challenging 2022 but it’s important to step away from the noise and volatility of financial markets. Investing really is all about time in the market, not timing the market.
Because ultimately, investing is about helping you achieve what you want out of life. Often, that’s a comfortable retirement, ensuring your children are financially secure, or providing for future generations. These are long term goals, for which we need time in the market.
Pensions: long-term planning is key
It doesn’t matter how many times we are reminded of the importance of starting a pension plan early, many are unsure of where to start.
Research by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission recently found that 38% of people surveyed have no pension in place. When asked the reasons for not having a pension in place, 32% of consumers said they have yet to get around to it, while 20% said they feel too young.
But when it comes to pensions, long-term planning is key. After all, a pension is the best savings vehicle for your future – and being informed helps take a lot of the uncertainty out of what is one of the most important decisions of your life.
Our pensions event earlier this year was one of our most popular seminars – and so, we put together an article on our hub Everything women need to know about pension planning and retirement – read it here.
It’s time to talk about inheritance
Another one of our most popular events focused on inheritance, but for many families, a discussion about what happens in the event of death never really happens until after the fact.
Talking openly and being prepared to receive an inheritance can have significant benefits: with some financial planning and structuring, families with significant wealth can reduce their tax bills, more easily transfer an asset, or speed up and simplify the inheritance process.
Under current legislation, parents can give a child a gift or an inheritance of up to €335,000 tax-free and the standard rate of Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) for gifts and inheritances received above this threshold is 33% which needs to be paid in the year of the receipt of the gift or inheritance. So, planning is essential to ensure there are adequate resources to cover this (potentially large) tax bill. Do you need to sell or mortgage assets to cover it? If so, what are the best assets to sell? What planning tools are available to help with those CAT liabilities? We tackle these questions in our inheritance series.
Aligning your money with your values
From tackling the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, to gender equality and human rights, female investors are increasingly seeking to better align their money with their personal values to benefit their portfolios, society, and the planet – for current generations and those to come.
A 2022 study by Calvert/Investment News found that the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds is up 25% year-on-year, and that the trend of ESG investing is more pronounced in women, with 53% doing so currently.
Meanwhile, according to a UBS survey of 1,400 women investors, 92% of women believe involvement in long-term financial planning can enable them to make a greater impact in the world – and 82% believe they can pursue a more meaningful life without having to sacrifice their own financial well-being.
The introduction of disclosure rules around sustainable investing has also put a spotlight on the sustainability agenda.
To help you understand the concepts of ESG and sustainability, we put together a short article on the Investment Club hub – read it here.
Connect with our experts
While the financial services industry is often seen as a male-dominated, women are a major force in wealth management.
Our female experts from Goodbody have been with our Investment Club members since we started on this journey a year ago, sharing practical tips on investing and insights on pensions and inheritance tax, among other topics.
And while many of Investment Club members have connected with them through our events, we thought our members might like to get to know them a little better. That’s why we launched our Women in Wealth series – it’s a chance to find out what it’s really like to work in the industry. Read our Q&A with Goodbody Director Laura DeVoy here – and explore the remainder of the series on our hub.
Please note: to access the Investment Club hub articles, you must be a member of THE GLOSS x Goodbody Investment Club.
