etoro’s Loud Investing Challenge can help women overcome investment fears in just seven days

Millions of women may be avoiding investing because they believe it is more difficult than it really is, according to new research from etoro, which suggests that a lack of confidence, rather than a lack of ability, is one of the biggest drivers behind the UK’s £574 billion gender investment gap.

The CFD trading and investing platform’s latest Loud Investing campaign found that 73% of UK women believe they need to learn “a lot” before they can start investing, while 67% think it requires a major time commitment. More than six in ten (62%) also said they find the prospect of learning about investing overwhelming.

However, the findings suggest those perceptions can change remarkably quickly.

Working with former England Lioness Jill Scott MBE and behavioural finance expert Dr Ylva Baeckström from King’s Business School, eToro created a seven-day investing challenge designed to see whether structured learning could boost women’s confidence.

Participants completed just 20 minutes of investing education each day, covering topics such as risk, returns and making their first investment decisions. The initial challenge involved Scott and ten other women before being expanded to a further 141 participants across the UK.

The results showed a significant shift in attitudes. The proportion of women who described investing as “very” or “extremely” complex fell from 50% before the challenge to just 15% afterwards. Meanwhile, those who believed investing was “for people like me” more than doubled from 34% to 71%.

The programme also encouraged action. The number of women planning to start investing immediately almost tripled from 13% to 38%, while comfort with investment risk increased from 35% to 61%.

During an interview with Good Money Guide, Jill Scott admitted she had once found investing intimidating but said the challenge changed her perspective.

“You don’t need to know a lot to get started,” she said after completing the programme, adding that one of her biggest lessons was that “you don’t have to be great to start something.”

Scott also highlighted one of the most surprising things she learned during the course.

“Women do outperform men when it comes to investing,” she said, noting that women are often more patient and willing to research investments before making decisions.

Dr Baeckström said the findings challenge the idea that women are inherently risk averse. Instead, she argues women are better described as “risk aware”, wanting to understand both the risks of investing and the risks of not investing before making financial decisions.

Dan Moczulski, UK Managing Director at etoro, said the message from the research was that people do not need to become investment experts before they begin. Breaking investing into small, manageable steps can make it feel achievable, helping more women take the first step towards building long-term wealth.