Teleri Evans used her investments to put a deposit down on her first home<\/p>\n
Women who invest their money get slightly higher long-term returns than men, new analysis suggests.<\/p>\n
But only about a quarter of UK women have investments, compared with about 40% of men, a separate report shows.<\/p>\n
We've looked at the data behind these trends, which reveal some surprising differences in how men and women approach investing.<\/p>\n
Teleri Evans was 25 when she began saving into a Help To Buy ISA then a couple of years later she took out a stocks and shares Lifetime ISA. By 33, she had \u00a340,000 saved – with \u00a38,000 of it returns on her investments.<\/p>\n
"I saved aggressively, and lived at my mum's for half of that time, so I could save as close as possible to the maximum \u00a34,000 per year into Lifetime ISA," she says.<\/p>\n
The civil servant from Cardiff used the money towards a house deposit earlier this year with her partner.<\/p>\n
Only 26% of UK women invest, but that this falls to 23% for those under 45, according to a study by consumer finance website Boring Money.<\/p>\n
In contrast, 41% of all men invest, which holds steady at 40% of those under 45.<\/p>\n
So why are fewer women investing than men?<\/p>\n
It can be "largely attributed to culture", according to Gillian Fleming, co-founder and managing director of UK-based Mint Ventures, a women-led angel investment firm.<\/p>\n
"Men historically have been more likely to make family investment decisions, and women have also historically not owned the balance of wealth, but that is changing now," she says.<\/p>\n
"Also, money and wealth creation is not a topic that women often discuss, and we would like to change that."<\/p>\n
Teleri says she has noticed a shift of late. "Investing is definitely something that women are talking about more, which is always a good thing," she says. "That's the case with my friendship group."<\/p>\n
When women do invest in stocks and shares, analysis by Fidelity International found that over three years its female personal investing customers recorded cumulative returns of 50%, compared with 47% for men. The analysis does not identify the reason for the difference, but why may it be the case?<\/p>\n