More women are generating their own wealth and they are learning more about investing and planning for retirement. A global survey this year of 600 wealthy women with investable assets of more than US$200,000 by Barclays Wealth and the Economist Intelligence Unit found that most respondents from Asia attributed their wealth to earnings and business ownership (80.5 per cent collectively) or from personal investments (34.1 per cent). This compares with those who said their wealth came from marriage (24.4 per cent), divorce (2.4 per cent) and inheritance (26.8 per cent). While these sources were once perceived as the primary sources of a woman's wealth, they are now less important, the research shows. The results were published last month in Barclays Wealth Insights: A Question of Gender. The survey revealed that wealth from women entrepreneurship was highest in Asia, with 26 per cent of respondents citing income from a business as their main source of wealth. Almost 70 per cent of Asian women indicated that they had invested in individual stocks and shares in the past three years, followed by bonds (at 31.7 per cent). The survey found that Asian women were less willing to invest in riskier financial products, with only 4.9 per cent investing in private equity and only 2.4 per cent in derivatives. Didier von Daeniken, chief executive, Asia-Pacific, Barclays Wealth, said of the results: 'Women are purpose-driven in their investment pursuits, whereas men tend to look for income and growth. We have noticed that women alter their approach as they reach their goal and will often act to protect what they have built up.' Women in Asia also reported the lowest levels of confidence about certain types of personal finance. Many said they did not feel confident about investing in products such as hedge funds, venture capital or the bond and debt market. Elisabeth Scott, managing director of Schroder Investment Management (Hong Kong), said women's wealth was increasing in certain groups. But she felt women were not necessarily more conservative than men when it came to investing. 'It really comes down to education and their degree of familiarity with financial markets. It's not that women don't want to invest in private equity or derivatives. They may not know much about it,' Ms Scott said. Women tended to have control over family finances so they were 'inclined to think more broadly' about the management of family wealth and not just about their own financial situations, she said. Ms Scott said it had been heartening in recent years to see men and women taking a long-term approach to investing. 'We're seeing more people investing sensibly in funds and longer-term investment vehicles rather than gambling on the warrant market,' she said. She said that in planning for retirement it was critical to start saving early, and to continue saving regularly. 'Everyone understands in saving for retirement that relying on an MPF [Mandatory Provident Fund] is probably not going to be sufficient,' she said. She urged people to start saving for retirement as soon as they began earning a living. 'The overriding problem in Hong Kong is that people are not planning soon enough. It's far less painful to start in your early 20s, and the chances of accumulating a good pot of wealth are much greater the earlier you start.' She said it was difficult to calculate how much should be set aside each month. 'It's hard to give a percentage because everyone has different needs, different amounts of wealth and different aspirations.' Ms Scott said that a financial adviser could help work out a plan. Mr von Daeniken said the findings of the survey 'serve to reiterate that it is crucial that the wealth management industry understands that the motivations and needs of women have [changed] and will continue to'. 'Financial institutions need to appreciate that the investment approach of men and women can be different and that a one-size-fits-all approach to managing this increasingly influential audience may not work,' he said.
