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07.03.2017 

International Women's Day 2017

  • Women currently save EUR 217 per month
  • 7 of 10 women remain financially dependent on their partner
  • Every third woman wants to learn more about securities

Issues like the wage gap and part-time work are financially detrimental for women and hamper them with regard to saving and providing for retirement. Women nevertheless show great interest in financial topics and are gradually coming closer to the goal of achieving financial independence: in the past two years, the share of financially dependent women has declined by almost 10%, the average amount saved by Austrian women rises consistently, and their interest in online banking keeps growing. On occasion of International Women's Day 2017 Erste Bank presents a representative study by IMAS and shows what role finances play in the lives of women.

Every second couple has separate bank accounts

Good old money continues to provide plenty of fuel for discussions in partnerships: 64% of all couples state that they make financial decisions jointly. Male partners are the main breadwinners in 6 of 10 relationships (59%), a fact that leads to financial dependence of women: 69% of the latter are unable to secure their standard of living on their own. In spite of these dramatic figures, a positive trend is emerging. In the time period 2015 – 2017 the percentage of financially dependent women has decreased from 78% to 69%. In order to be able to act with financial independence, it is crucial to have access to a bank account of one's own. Half of all Austrians in partnerships are well aware of that (51%) and have strictly segregated bank accounts. “Having separate financial lives is important in order to enable women to accumulate financial reserves of their own. That provides security and one isn't left empty-handed if a partnership breaks up”, says Daniela Wipplinger-Thaller, branch director at Erste Bank.
 

The desire to save remains strong

Persistently low interest rates remain incapable of spoiling women's desire to save: the amount Austrian women save per month has increased by 43 euro over the past three years and currently stands at 217 euro. A small upward trend is detectable among male savers as well: they are currently saving 252 euro per month, but have increased the amount only by 27 euro in recent years.

The main goals women pursue with saving are the accumulation of a rainy day fund (30%) and retirement provision (36%). Every fifth woman frequently ponders her financial future (21%), while only every sixth man does so (16%).

Where are Austrian women putting their money? Women continue to save in a safety-conscious way and favour traditional forms of saving such as the savings book (84%) or building savings contracts (72%). The awareness of the need for retirement provision is also evident in their investment choices: 50% save to fund life insurance policies, 42% to fund pension plans. More than a third of women invest in securities – a level that has remained unchanged from the previous year (35%). “Stocks and similar securities are essential for long-term financial provision. We recommend broad diversification of one's wealth and to avoid putting all one's eggs in one basket. Securities are simply a part of this strategy”, Daniela Wipplinger-Thaller recommends.


Bank advisor: preferred source of information

Every third woman enjoys speaking about financial topics and is comfortable doing so (35%). When information regarding financial matters is needed, 8 out of 10 women are turning to their personal bank advisor (79%). Most are visiting the latter at least once in a time period of two years (68%). The internet is also an increasingly popular source of information for women: 26% state that they are searching for financial information on the web. That represents a 6% increase compared to the previous year.


Greater knowledge makes securities more attractive

27% of Austrian women who own no securities yet would consider such an investment if they had the required knowledge. Their understanding of financial terms often leaves a lot to be desired: almost 90% of women were unable to define terms like volatility (88%), exactly half of them knew what the abbreviation ATX stands for (50%), while 43% didn't know anything about investment funds. “This is precisely the area advisors need to focus on. Their job is to speak with customers by meeting them at their level and explain things in a comprehensible manner. Customers need to truly understand their financial lives, this is the only way to work out a sensible investment strategy”, Wipplinger-Thaller is convinced.

With YOU INVEST, Erste Bank makes the topic of securities transparent and easy to understand. YOU INVEST is an actively managed fund-of-funds offering four risk categories. Entry into the fund is possible even with small amounts, and regular investment – for instance on a monthly basis – in one of the four YOU INVEST funds is a sensible approach as well. The longer one regularly invests in the fund and consistently sticks with the strategy, the more fund units one will accumulate over time. In this way a capital cushion for future use will be gradually built up. “With YouInvest one is able to configure many features individually, and specifically tailor them to one's personal investment goals”, branch director Wipplinger-Thaller adds.