Insights

Women are looking for new ways to invest.

Posted on
18th August 2021
Author
By Mark Sherwood

Women are looking for new ways to invest.

How to diversify your investment portfolio. (By Mark Sherwood, 18th August 2021)

A recent Australian Investor Study undertaken by the ASX, identified a significant increase in female investors trading for the first time. Women were identified as 45% of total new investors over the last 12 months. Whilst this is still below half the new investors, it does indicate a pickup has occurred in listed market activity by women. The question then becomes is the same occurring in the unlisted markets or the private asset investing arena? We see a definite need to close the gender investing gap in alternatives.

Interestingly, recent ATO statistics indicate that 47% of SMSF members are female with an average balance of more than $620,000. However, the Australian investor study indicates that women have a lower risk tolerance, tend to invest in more conservative assets and don’t invest as often as their male counterparts. We believe there is a compelling case for the inclusion of alternative assets in an investment or SMSF portfolio, especially during the heightened uncertainty of Covid-19 as alternatives can help offset market volatility.

At iPartners, we look to educate the broader investment community on the benefits of alternative assets and where they fit into an investment portfolio which will help investors gain diversification benefits. We have found that over time, our investors tend to re-invest and often increase their investment size, presumably as they become more comfortable with the clear and transparent structure of our investment platform for alternative investments.

Traditionally, due to a large minimum investment, alternatives have been available to family offices or institutional investors. However, iPartners digital infrastructure provides access to unique alternative assets on exactly the same terms regardless of the amount invested by individual investors with a minimum of $10,000 per investment and our Funds, which include the  iPartners Investment Fund and iPartners Core Income Fund, give investors new to alternative assets a choice for more active management of their investments with iPartners. For example, the iPartners Core Income Fund offers a diversified portfolio across the iPartners co-investments, cash, private credit, asset backed debt, property and a selection of 3rd party alternative funds and assets with a target return of 6 - 8% (after fees).