International Women's Day 2024: Build up assets with shares and prevent poverty in old age

Women are less likely than men to invest in shares, equity funds or ETFs. They are therefore missing out on valuable opportunities for attractive returns on equity investments. On International Women's Day on March 8, Deutsches Aktieninstitut is therefore encouraging women to start thinking about asset accumulation and private pension provision and to start saving in shares.

"Many women don't yet have the confidence to plan their own finances, but you don't need a degree in business administration to invest successfully," emphasizes Dr. Christine Bortenlänger, Chief Executive and Member of the Board of Deutsches Aktieninstitut. "Trusting in your own abilities and investing regularly pays off. In the past, a long-term and broadly diversified equity investment has yielded average annual returns of six to nine percent.

Equities are therefore the means of choice for building up assets and being better protected in old age." An example illustrates this very well: the average return from dividends and price gains in the DAX was 8.5 percent annually over 20 years. If you invested 50 euros a month during this period, you invested a total of 12,000 euros. This turned into around 30,000 euros, which corresponds to a profit of 18,000 euros. The sum invested has therefore more than doubled.

Prevent poverty in old age with equity investments

Women are more at risk of poverty in old age than men. The reasons for this are lower average earnings, more part-time employment and the resulting lower pension entitlements. Only 4.7 million women in Germany had shares, equity funds or ETFs in their portfolios in 2023. This does not represent an increase on the previous year, as our 2023 shareholder numbers show. "There is still a lot of room for improvement and we are still a long way from reaching our goal," emphasizes Bortenlänger.

The key to success is diversification, i.e. investing in different companies, sectors and regions. It is also worth investing continuously, for example in the form of a savings plan. Smaller amounts that are saved monthly are within the realms of possibility for many women and can grow into an important asset in the long term. 

Long-term investors should not be afraid of losses in the event of short and medium-term price fluctuations. Over an investment period of around ten to 15 years, losses are recouped on average. "Women have already achieved a lot in terms of financial independence. Now it's important to take responsibility when it comes to investing," says Bortenlänger.