Robo adviser tries to close the gap for women investors

ETFmatic is giving women the chance to invest for free.

There are less women who invest in robo advice than men and one platform is trying to do something about it.

ETFmatic, a European robo advice firm that operates in 32 different countries and three currencies, is offering their services for free for six months to any women who signs up in the month of July.

Only 10 per cent of women have a stocks and share Independent Savings Account, compared to 17 per cent of men, according  to a news report. Less than 10 per cent of ETFmatic’s customers are women, the company reported.

The firm thinks that this could be because of the pay gap. In 2016 there was a 18.6 per cent salary difference men and women of all types of employment in the UK, with the difference going down to 9.4 per cent for full-time work, according to the Office of National Statistics.

The average age of the platform’s customers is 34-years-old, a time when a lot of people start seriously thinking about their future, said Stefanie zu Dohna, client and operations director at ETFmatic.

“This is also an age where many women are likely to be taking time out of full time work to raise children and earnings may decline - any savings put to one side on a regular basis need to work harder to meet long term financial goals,” she said.

“We hope this helps plug any investment gaps, and encourages more women to use digital wealth management platforms as an alternative investment solution that’s quick, easy, transparent and secure.”

This article first appeared on RoboAdviceNews.com.