Most women feel financially secure because they rely on their partners. Few dare to invest their own money in the stock market and to make provisions for old age. Though they have more chance of success in the stock market than men.
In their mid-twenties, many think of freedom, vacation or love instead of how they want to live 40 years from now. Why think about retirement now? We're not getting anything anyway! – You often hear that from young people when it comes to the topic of pensions. One thing is clear: savings accounts, home loan and savings contracts and Riester pensions only throw away small amounts, if at all. But saving money as an alternative today is enough to secure a living. Because many single women are not doing well financially in old age. Old-age poverty is female, as shown by figures from the Federal Statistical Office.
Taking savings into their own hands, investing them on the stock exchange and not letting them float on the savings account without interest is too big a risk for many. But, "that there is currently no more interest and that there is more to be gained on the stock exchange, you have to know first," says Natascha Wegelin, better known as "Madame Moneypenny", in the ntv podcast "Learned again".
Shares, ETFs, certificates and the like – there are many ways of investing money on the stock market for the long or short term. Nevertheless, most Germans are relatively cautious when it comes to investing. Only one in five in Germany invests in stocks. For women, it is barely one in eight, according to a survey by the Deutsche Aktieninstitut. According to "Moneypenny", why so few female investors dare to take their money on the stock market has a lot to do with classic role-based thinking.
Turn 50 euros into 500,000 euros
"There can be various reasons for this: on the one hand, perhaps the reluctance to deal with the topic at all, and certainly also a certain lack of clarity. Then there is our socialization as women on top of that: Finances are men's business. I don't dare to do it, '' says" Moneypenny ". For some, however, this is just an excuse, because it is often easier, of course, to hand over the finances to an advisor, father or husband.
The stock business can be worthwhile. Since the financial crisis twelve years ago, interest rates have been low almost everywhere in the world to stimulate the economy. That hurts the savings account: Either hardly anything comes together at the end of the year or customers even have to pay negative interest so that their money can lie around unused. On the stock exchange, on the other hand, small amounts can yield a lot in the long term. However, a little patience is important, according to "Moneypenny": "If I invest 50 euros, maybe 100 or 150 euros, per month over the next 40 years, then in the long run there is a lot on the edge. We'll probably talk like that around the 500,000 euros that one saves. "
Many women have no choice but to start with small amounts. Many women work in systemically important but still poorly paid professions – often part-time. Nevertheless, according to a representative survey by the banking association, a good two out of three women feel that they are well or even very well protected for their time after their job. However, this is not because they are well protected professionally, but because they trust their partners: when it comes to financial issues, more than 60 percent of women rely on their husbands.
A survey by financial consultancy UBS has shown that this is particularly the case with millennials, i.e. young people between their early 20s and their late 30s. Often there is a lack of self-confidence. Almost three out of four married women in Germany said in the UBS study that they did not feel encouraged by their partner to deal with such questions. In the event of a breakup or divorce, this can be painful.
"I don't really care what Wirecard did"
In order to be prepared for any eventuality, the stock exchange can help. Because there is a large selection of financial products, "Madame Moneypenny" recommends beginners to invest in a basket of stocks instead of buying individual stocks. While this lowers the chance of a large return, it also reduces the risk of losing everything in one fell swoop. Many investors have just painfully experienced this at Wirecard. "I didn't really care what Wirecard did because I didn't invest directly, but because I invest ETFs in around 3,000 different companies," says "Moneypenny".
ETFs refer to Exchange Traded Funds. So mostly passive funds that track an index such as the Dax. With a Dax ETF, investors simultaneously invest in the shares of all 30 Dax companies. There is a fund for every taste with dozens, hundreds and thousands of companies. The feeling of security when saving ETFs resonates with many women: ING Diba found in an analysis that around a quarter of women's custody accounts consisted of funds such as ETFs last year. For male investors it was only 18 percent. This strategy has another advantage: It is not only very simple, it is also very quick to set up and also inexpensive: depending on the bank, there is a savings plan for as little as 50 cents a month. The rest then happens automatically, as with a standing order.
"Women have demonstrably better returns than men"
So that it can run almost by itself, you need a little preparatory work. Information is not only available from banks, in financial blogs, on YouTube, in podcasts or in the traditional way in newspapers or magazines. "A big warning, but above all that somehow smells like crash profit, something like 'The financial tsunami is coming, buy my book now'", recommends "Moneypenny".
But if you are properly informed, you will find out relatively quickly: The money will be more without having to do much. And statistically speaking, if in doubt, men should even ask their wives which funds are worth investing in. With a return of 24.11 percent, they were more successful last year than male investors, who made a plus of 23.5 percent. "I think that's because women put less ego into the topic, that it is not so important to them that they have now made about 200 percent profit. They approach the topic a little more carefully and maybe even more neutrally ran. "
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