The invisible investors

Around International Women's Day, the financial services industry is busy dusting off their "special offers for women" campaigns. Pink-themed brochures, discounted brokerage for "lady investors," and investment seminars "designed specifically for women's needs" flood our inboxes and social media feeds. The marketing machinery works overtime to convince us that women require a fundamentally different approach to money. Recently, I had two conversations that highlighted the contradictory narratives we maintain about women and investing. A senior investment professional who happens to be a woman told me that in her experience, women tend to invest more consistently and often achieve better returns than men - they just don't broadcast their successes on social media or in WhatsApp groups. "Men brag about their multibaggers," she said, "but rarely mention their losses. Women simply get on with it." This invisibility creates a perception gap that the industry is only too happ