More women are investing in Hong Kong, US amid a surge in online brokerages
Women might continue to be a minority among investors, but their numbers are growing at a faster pace then men, brokers said.
Nasdaq-listed Futu Holdings, which offers online securities trading in Hong Kong, mainland China and the US, said its female clientele in Hong Kong had increased five times year on year as of March this year, while its male customers had grown three times over the same period. It, however, continues to have 30 per cent more male than female customers.
Women investors were doing well, the brokerage said, adding that 20 per cent of its female customers had seen 50 per cent returns. "The power of women in investing cannot be underestimated, their investment preferences are of great [importance] to the market," said Leaf Li Hua, Futu's founding chairman.
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The onset of online brokerages is attracting many women and younger investors. These brokers allow trades to made on mobile phones and at much lower costs than traditional banks and brokers.
"The many online trading platforms nowadays allow women, who may be busy with work or family duties, to still find the time and invest - easily so by just using their mobile phones," said Gordon Tsui, chairman of the Hong Kong Securities Association, the brokers' industry body.
Female investors in Hong Kong favour technology stocks, Futu says. Photo: Iris Ouyang alt=Female investors in Hong Kong favour technology stocks, Futu says. Photo: Iris Ouyang
About 57 per cent of all stock transactions in 2019 in Hong Kong were made online, according to the latest data available from bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. In 2015 and 2009, this number stood at 38 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively.
"I used to trade stocks through Hang Seng Bank, but then I switched to Futu last year, as online trading costs are cheaper. Banks tend to charge a lot of fees," said Katie, a female investor in her 20s. "My mother used to call up her broker to trade stock, but now I have taught her how to use the Futu mobile app to trade," she added.
Internationally too, the number of women investors is rising - US online broker Robinhood said its female customers quadrupled year on year in February and made up a third of its more than 30 million customers. Fidelity, another US investment firm, said its female customers in the US rose 9 per cent last year to 14.5 million, compared with a 7 per cent increase in its male clients.
Robinhood says its female customers quadrupled year on year in February and made up a third of its more than 30 million customers. Photo: AP alt=Robinhood says its female customers quadrupled year on year in February and made up a third of its more than 30 million customers. Photo: AP
But while their numbers are rising, women were less confident and more conservative when it came to stocks. A survey of 2,200 adults in the US conducted by Robinhood in September last year found that about 86 per cent of women were worried that they would lose money. A separate poll by Fidelity found that women were more conservative in investment strategies, said Charlotte Chan, head of distributions, Hong Kong workplace and personal investing business at Fidelity International.
In Hong Kong, female investors favoured technology stocks, according to a study by Futu on its female clients trading in the seven months until May this year. Among the top 10 traded stocks were Tesla, Futu itself and GameStop.
Other darling stocks included Chinese electric vehicle start-up NIO, mobile smartphone maker Xiaomi, theatre chain AMC Entertainment, big data software company Palantir Technologies, GCL-POLY Energy, US mobile phone giant Apple and e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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