Stockholm (NordSIP) – “This is a moment when women investors have the chance to be on the right side of history,” writes Jessica Robinson, founder and managing director of Moxie Future. a Hong Kong-based responsible investment consultancy. And preliminary findings from soon-to-be published research from Moxie Future on behaviour related to responsible investment indicates that women as a category are set to play a determining role in the future development of the RI universe. Among other things, Moxie Future’s research finds that:
- 79% of women surveyed feel urgent action is needed to build a better world for our children;
- 69% of women surveyed feel it is important that their investment and savings decisions reflect their personal values and philosophies.
Ms Robinson also cites previous far-ranging studies that correlate with her own, such as a 2015 study by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing that finds that female investors are more likely to factor sustainability into their investment decisions, with female investors almost twice as likely as male investors to consider both the rate of return and positive impact when making an investment.
The emerging facts and figures correlate with a context in which:
- Women represent a growth market over twice as big as China and India combined, based on spending and earning power, according to a Boston Consulting Group study;
- Women will control close to 75% of discretionary spending worldwide by 2028, according to Ernst & Young. In 2015, they held an estimated 30% of global private wealth and their wealth is expected to grow 7% annually;
- The number of women entering the economic mainstream as consumers, producers, employees and entrepreneurs could number 1 billion by 2030.
In addition, women are taking increasingly active roles in making financial decisions, and the bulk of these tend towards responsibility. However, Ms Robinson points out, there are significant challenges ahead. Citing a 2015 study by Calvert Investments, she points out only 4% of women surveyed said they knew how to invest their money in ways aligned with their values, and a full 70% had not yet heard of sustainable or responsible investment, despite women altering their purchasing power to align with their values.
Moxie Future, however, has been involved in drawing up a Responsible Investment roadmap, outlining the following steps:
- Improve education and thereby empowerment of women. An informed citizenry depends on being able to explore options and ask the right questions;
- Identify the issues that form the personal values to provide the basis for investment strategy;
- Striking the balance between what one is willing to and capable of investing and the degree to which financial decisions are influenced by values.
Read Jessica Robinson’s article introducing Moxie Future’s upcoming research findings here.
Picture (c) – Billion Photos—-shutterstock
