Why Australian women are creating their own paths to wealth

T hey’re young, they’re women and they’re ethically motivated – they are the new face of investing.

While the COVID pandemic was a growth period for new investors in general – there were more than three times as many new investors during 2020 than before – young female investors were already there.

They had been closing the gender investor gap long before we donned face masks and lined up for Covid vaccinations. Women make up 45 per cent of all new investors, according to the ASX Australian Investor Study 2020 – that’s a 31 percent increase in the past decade. And they’re not stopping there; women account for 51 percent of those who plan to invest.

“Females aged 55-plus are the group that have had the biggest growth in homelessness and I think hearing things like this in the media has made young women feel that they need to do better in the long run,” says Elizabeth Moran, director of the Australian Investors Association. “Young women are very connected and these types of conversations are constantly happening among them.”

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The chat is happening mostly via social media, with the rise of ‘finfluencers’, says Andy Darroch, an independent financial adviser with Advise Me Today.

“These finfluencers have had a huge impact,” he says of the growing rate of young female investors. “Social media as a whole, but fundamentally podcasts, has been largely responsible for getting these conversations going amongst young females.”

There’s people like financial advisor Victoria Devine from the popular podcast She’s on the Money, whose tagline reads “one stop destination for millennials who want financial freedom…without skimping on brunch.” Sydney content producer Queenie Tan has a YouTube channel called Invest with Queenie where she shares her journey to financial freedom with her almost 35,000 subscribers. Rounding out the trio is Kate Campbell with her multimedia platform, How To Money, that includes podcasts, articles and an active online presence.

But just as we have seen with the beauty and the health and fitness industries where non-professionals were often giving advice outside their abilities and qualifications, so too with finfluencers.

While some of these queens of finance social media are accredited financial advisors, some are just sharing their personal journey. And ASIC has warned followers need to be wary of who they’re getting their financial advice from. 

The ASIC Young People and Money survey found 33 percent of 18 to 21 year olds follow at least one financial influencer on social media and a further 64 percent 

had changed at least one of their financial behaviours as a result.

Also growing is the number of finance apps have come onto the market to make investing easier.

“For 40 years the formula for independent success was save up, buy a house, rinse and repeat,” says Darroch. “But with house prices growing at one percent a month, you can’t do that anymore and people are looking elsewhere for a new formula for success.

“But the (finance) industry makes it so complicated – there’s over 40,000 investment options for your super alone. Tech-reduced barriers like apps are helping people navigate this complicated world.”

Pearler and eToro are two popular apps which promise to make investing easier.

But a new kid on the block is the Blossom app, co-founded by millennial Gaby Rosenberg, which promises to plant a tree in a bushfire-affected region for every new account opened. While anyone can use it, it’s clearly marketed towards millennial females with an ESG focus.

An environmental focus is something that resonates strongest with women, says Anil Sagaram, founder and CEO of Acacia, a free app that allows users to upload their financial information to find new options for their savings, energy, superannuation and home loans that are more financially rewarding and sustainable.

“The bushfires, floods and the pandemic have driven an accelerated awareness of social issues,” Sagaram says. “And sustainable propositions is something that really resonates  with young women.”