Playing It Safe: Women, financial services and advertising

BritainThinks | Private and Confidential
britainthinks.com
Playing it Safe
November 2016
Women and investing

Key Takeaways
2BritainThinks | Private and Confidential

Key takeaways from this work
Key takeaways
1
The financial role that women play is changing – yet their levels of investing remain lower
than men.
2
Women feel less knowledgeable generally, and specifically lack confidence about investing.
Security is the by-word for good financial planning for many.
3 By contrast, men are more likely to place ‘making money’ as a priority.
4
Women tend to see investing as ‘not for them’. Instead, it is thought to be the preserve of
‘older, wealthier men’.
5
Advertising for investment products often reinforces this, with many ads focused on growth
potential and lacking a compelling female context (i.e. reassuring).

What did we do
Key takeaways
Expert Interviews Workshop
Nationally
Representative
Survey
• Online
• 2084 participants across
the UK
• Questions run between 13
and 15 May 2016
• With 12 female participants
at the forefront of women’s
changing relationship with
the financial services
industry
• 4 single parents, 4 women
who ran their own business
and 4 women who were the
main breadwinners in their
household
• Explored their views of how
the FS industry treats them
• Interviews conducted with 6
experts
• Mix of industry
representatives, financial
journalists, academics,
think tank experts
• Provided an overview of the
issues at play and informed
workshop design

The Context

Women are increasingly in control of household finances
The context
Research suggests that a
majority of women of all
ages will be in charge of every
household financial
decision by 2020.
1 in 3
women admit that if they were
separated from their partner they
would need help to get up to speed
with their personal finances
But many women feel less confident when it comes to finances
Between 1998 and
2013, the number
of working mothers
who are the main
breadwinner rose
by
80% And now one in five women in the
UK are the main breadwinner
Fewer women than
men feel confident
making investment
decisions
53% 38%

The context
Our experts felt that the industry has not reflected the change in
women’s roles yet
Women’s role in society
is changing…
…but financial services
remains constant in its
approach
Women are increasingly
making decisions about
financial products…
…but industry is
dominated by older men
Products are unisex…
…but ways of talking and
visualising them often
aren’t
”…the rise of the professional,
independent, high net worth woman
has only really come about in the last 35
years, which compared to how long
financial services has been around is
a drop in the ocean”
Economist
“…the more you go into the bank, the
more detailed and complicated the
products get…the more older men are
in charge of those products”
Economist
“[FS Companies] are still talking to
women like they’re a little bit
irrelevant.”
Consumer Champion

How differently do women and men feel
about financial services?

How differently do women and men feel about financial services?
Maintaining financial security is important
• You are providing for family – and children above all else
• You can respond to emergencies quickly
55%
62%
Security
Men Women
When it comes to planning my finances,
the most important things to me are:
(n:2084)
” You have responsibilities. The
key thing for me was what if
something happens
tomorrow?”
” When you have children, it’s
vital to plan your money – it’s
their future at stake”
” I worry about money and our
finances, our future, I take that
stress on”
“If you don’t there are
implications, charges, you lose
money, you’ve got to be savvy
about it”
The need to feel safe defines women’s approach to financial
planning to a much greater extent than men’s

Which the women in our session rejected and
critisised as an approach
• Framing their approach as much more sensible
“There’s more of an understanding
with women, you have to wait for
things patiently, I always save
through the year. My husband just
says ‘let’s get a loan’”
“I was taught very early on ‘look
after the pennies and the
pounds will look after
themselves’”
”Men are more inclined to short-
term gain over long term profit
and sensibility”
“They [men] don’t think of the
risks”
When it comes to planning my finances, the most
important things to me are:
(n:2084)
24% 24% 24%
18%
16%
15%
Growth Returns Profit
Men Women
While men are significantly more likely to choose elements that relate
to ‘making money’ as important in their financial planning

And when women think about financial services, confusion
and worry is top of mind in an alien world
“I’d like things to be simpler, if things
weren’t allowed to be so variable…
jumping through hoops, that’s what it
feels like”
“Unwelcoming, patronising, full of
jargon”
“Not very accessible to the everyday
person, not just women, the everyday
worker”

Their response is to develop a set of techniques to help them to
take back control
Embedding money
management
practices in their
day to day lives
Controlling as much
as they can in their
own household
They take great
pride in their role
and contrast it with
their friends’ or
partner’s approach

Their response is to develop a set of techniques to help them take
back control
Embedding money
management
practices in their day
to day lives
“It consumes me, it’s part of
me, keeping up my own
finances is something I
think of multiple times a
day”
“Because I use my banking
apps, it’s essential. I’m
literally standing on the
school run making
payments to people”
“I manage my money in my
sleep. I wake up early, 2 in
the morning, the first thing I
do, pick up my mobile, make
sure the money’s there”
Controlling as much
as they can in their
own household
“I’ve always managed my
money…we’ve got our joint
account, we’ve got our
separate accounts…I’m
just better at it”
“The way I manage finances,
I make sure all the bills are
paid, the savings are dealt
with and have a little bit
extra to have a treat.”
“Because I know exactly
what’s coming in and going
out, I manage everything. He
doesn’t like to admit it, but
it works”
Taking great pride in
their role and
contrasting it with
other people
“Women have upped their
game. I still do more with
the kids and I’m the
breadwinner, and I do more
round the house and I deal
with the money”
“It’s being really stringent
that money is in the right
place, being disciplined”
“My friends and I are quite
competitive about our
finances, being savvy”

How do women think about investing (in a
world where they are striving for control?)

How do women think about investing (in a world where they are striving for control?)
Women generally feel less confident about investing than men do –
seeing it as an unnecessary gamble
Investing is…
• Risky, a gamble
• Short term, quick wins
• For ‘spare’ cash
• Full of confusing language – tracker funds, percentages, FTSE?
” [Investing] would be too risky
for me”
“I suppose we are more risk
averse”
-8%
13%
NET: Agreement
NET: Agree
I think I am less knowledgeable than other people when it
comes to investing my money (n:2084)
”When you look at trading stocks etc, it’s a male orientated industry. So
when it comes to investing, men know a bit more than the average women”

Not one of the women in our
workshop of highly financially
engaged and confident women
knew what a dividend was
“What is a dividend?!! We’re
meant to be financial queens but I
don’t know”

Instead they count on ‘safer’ options: long term, tangible, easy to
understand, sensible…
PROPERTY
Their own
Buy to Let
SAVINGS
Cash ISAs
Premium Bonds
Instant Access
PENSIONS
Workplace
Personal
• Sensible to have one – even if
you don’t trust them
• Understood and simple
• Secure – can’t lose
• Accessible and can be
repurposed in an emergency
• Tangible asset
• Feels long term - can pass on
to children
• Have experienced inheriting
property
• It’s the ‘done’ thing
“I have no faith in pensions at all,
the time where you used to pay into
a pension scheme and it’s secure
and guaranteed is gone”
“Save as much tax free as you can,
take it out, move it to the next
place, you got to be savvy about it”
“I’ve invested in property, but I
didn’t look at it as an investment. It
was something for the kid’s future”

In fact investing is for someone else
“Men buzz off that, that’s the reason it’s
always been a male dominated
industry, men are egotistical, it’s all
about the win”
“Most of my friends are in banking,
most of them are male, when it comes
to finances, it’s down to them”
“I associate investment with wealthy
people so it’s hard for me to relate
to. Investment is out of my reach”

Communications about investing often reinforce the sense that it’s
risky and for someone else with both language and imagery
I assume investing is risky and a gamble…
• Investment typically described by:
• Returns
• Profit
• Percentages / anticipated growth
• Risk warnings
• And describe it as a game
I assume investing is for older, wealthier
men…
• Investing is typically illustrated with:
• Men
• Lots of technology
• In ‘rich’ settings
• Posh, historic settings
• Traditional corporate

An example in practice
20
“Looks like you would have to have
a substantial amount to invest”
“Looks like it’s aimed at older men”
“I don’t understand…why hunters
so literally?”
Snap reaction from the room…

An example in practice
“This is targeted to everyone”
“This could be me and my
husband, although we’d be on the
couch at my house”
“Looks quite simple, easy to
understand”
Snap reaction from the room…

How can the industry better engage with
women?

How can industry better engage with women?
Five rules for engaging with women
1
2
3
4
5
Celebrate the role that women take great pride in – reflect the role they have taken on and
the success of their approach to money management
Respond to women’s need for security with a tangible account of what happens to their
money
Make it clear that the outcome is more than just profit: This is preparing for their family’s
future
Recognise women’s need to have control: choose words carefully, rejecting vocabulary that
celebrates the risk
Become that trusted advisor

How can industry better engage with women?
The Parent Trap Tracker Fund – ‘Free your future, invest for your
children’
Key Features
• Low risk
• Guaranteed return
• Flexible for getting cash out in an
emergency
• A financial mentor to help you be
sure you are getting the most for
your money
A product designed for:
• Parents
• Families
“Are you one of those parents that stays
up late at night worrying about your
children’s future…?”
“…opportunity to invest that allows you low
risk, a guaranteed return, a mentor and a
safety blanket for your children”
“It’s designed for families who
want to save and invest in their
children’s university fees or a
deposit for their future property”

How did we use this?

What was the response?
Fit with a campaign
focus
Broader financial
education
Confidence in
decisions…?
• Not just women who are
confused
• Are those who are confident
making decisions, making the
right ones?
• Personal finance and investing
• Careers in finance
• Female fund managers
• Female investors

Questions…

Playing It Safe: Women, financial services and advertising

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