Women often demonstrate the best long-term investment behaviours, so why is the advice gap not closing?

3 Mar 26 Jasmine Pandey, Paraplanner

In the wake of this year’s International Women’s Day, it is important to recognise the incredible strengths women bring to personal investing. Women often show great patience and discipline when it comes to their investment decisions, which allows them to stay focused on their goals even in times of market upheaval. Recent studies support this, suggesting that women tend to trade less, hold their investments for longer, and often see returns that are just as strong, if not stronger, than those achieved by men. Yet, despite this, the stubborn advice gap remains. Too many women still feel less confident when it comes to making financial decisions, and even fewer reach out to advisers for guidance. Should the advice industry look at itself rather than placing the responsibility on women for their perceived lack of confidence?

Evidence of outperformance

Studies such as this one by Warwick Business School demonstrate how women are able to outperform men when it comes to long-term investing, making the fact they feel less confident making decisions independently all the more puzzling. In an analysis of 2800 investors, they found that portfolios owned by women outperformed men’s annually by 1.8%. If this performance were replicated over 30 years, women would be up 70% more overall!

Confidence and advice engagement

Despite the data supporting their investment ability, women continue to report low confidence in the area and are less engaged with financial advice. According to Intelliflo’s 2025 Advice Map, 69% of women reported a lack of confidence in investing, compared with 56% of men. Men are also more likely to receive financial advice, and Intelliflo’s figures also highlight how married couples are the biggest receivers of advice. For some of the women in these couples, though they do officially receive advice as part of the couple, it is arguable that they do not receive the same level of proactive care as their husbands, skewing the advice gap further in the favour of men than what appears on the surface.

Understanding why the advice gap persists

The paradoxical position between the strengths women have in investing and their lack of confidence and engagement with advisers raises the question of why the advice gap persists. The answer has nothing to do with capability, but is more about how advice is delivered, framed and engaged with. It is also extremely important to note that discrepancies between the way men and women relate to their finances do not start at the point in which they receive advice; there are often hidden systemic, social and situational factors affecting them throughout their life that place them at a disadvantage. Recognising this and accounting for it should help close the gap, and be the goal of any adviser.

Financial agency and representation

Access to a financial adviser doesn’t guarantee that women have financial agency. Women deserve to shape the conversation, set their own ambitions, and gain real clarity on what their financial future could look like. The industry has traditionally catered to men or used marketing and language that does not resonate with women, making the environment feel less accessible or welcoming. Too often, advice doesn’t speak to women’s experiences or priorities, leaving many feeling left out or hesitant to fully engage. So many aspects of women’s lives, from taking time out for family, moving into caregiving roles, or planning for longer lives, are brushed aside or left out of the equation altogether. It’s time for that to change.

How Finura is responding

At Finura, we have published a number of articles directly aimed at women’s experiences and how they impact their financial journeys, we have women represented at all levels of the advice process, and we make every effort to include wives in the way we include husbands; and we have a large proportion of women who are simply clients in their own right.

Driving meaningful change

It’s clear that closing the advice gap demands far more than superficial fixes and pink-tinged marketing gimmicks. This is about driving genuine and lasting structural change, making sure women are not only included, but are actively participating in the conversations that shape their financial futures. Advice needs to level up and offer guidance that mirrors the realities and diverse financial journeys of women.

The role of advisers going forward

We must recognise that women are already exhibiting the qualities and behaviours of top-tier investors. The real task facing advisers is to ensure their advice acknowledges this and is able to instil confidence through meaningful engagement, not patronising assumptions. More female advisers would undoubtedly help to close the gap, but with women on the verge of owning more UK wealth than ever before, it is in the interest of everyone involved that advisers are prepared to move in a way that can genuinely serve everyone.

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