Welcome to our #85 weekly newsletter.
“For women taking control of their financial future”
-Jana Hlistova
From The Purse
In this week’s newsletter, we focus on a report on ovarian aging published by think tank, First Longevity.
The ovary is the earliest aging organ in women and is considered a ‘pacemaker’ of the female body aging. The implications on women’s lifespan and quality of life are therefore significant.
So why haven’t we seen more scientific discovery and investment in this space?
And according to Age UK, one in five female pensioners is living in poverty. We know that women, on average tend to have one fifth of the pension men do and their cost of care is much higher.
And don’t forget to listen to The Purse Podcast interview with Mary Waring, an independent financial advisor. We talk about how to manage your money in marriage and divorce.
You can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.
I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.
Until next week,
Jana
Ovarian aging: an underinvested market. Can you delay menopause?
Women’s health has been underresearched and underinvested. Time for change.
Women don’t have many options when it comes to extending fertility and delaying menopause. This is in part due to women’s health still being considered a niche market which has led to less scientific discovery and less investment over time.
Today’s solutions focus on addressing the consequences of infertility as opposed to the prevention. Think assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF and hormone replacement therapy (which also carries high cancer risk).
But according to a new report on ovarian aging by think tank First Longevity, 32% of women aged 18-44 years would take a form of treatment or intervention drug to delay menopause and extend fertility.
Here are a few key facts:
Women’s life expectancy has increased by 30 years but menopause onset only by 3 to 4 years
By 2018, the number of women having their first child after the age of 35 has increased ten fold since 1970
Women may live 34% of their life in poor health compared to 26% for men.
During the first year of menopause, women lose 80% of estrogen.
The ovary is the earliest aging organ…
… in women and is considered a ‘pacemaker’ of the female body aging-and the implications are significant.
The withdrawal of hormones during menopause often impacts a woman’s health in later life.
Menopause has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and could even increase the risk of Alzheimer's Disease.
Shocking, right?
The costs to women and businesses (are real)
13m women are currently in menopause (UK)
1bn+ women globally will be in menopause by 2025
Every woman will experience menopause which lasts 4-10 years
It costs women an average $20k in trial-and-error spending on prescriptions, doctor visits, treatments, devices and products.
Many senior women leave the workplace in their 50s because of the menopause- whether they are aware of it or not. Ironically, this is often at the peak of their career.
Meanwhile businesses haemorrhage experienced female talent and money (because of it). And often remain in the dark about why senior women are leaving the workplace.
A 2019 survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found almost 900,000 women in the UK left the workforce due to menopausal symptoms.
And the highest rates of suicide and divorce is for women aged 51-54 years-the menopausal age.
But, even though women control 80% of all healthcare buying and usage decisions in a $3.5tn healthcare industry…
…the menopause market is hugely underinvested.
80% of health VCs (mostly male) have never invested in women’s health. And reproductive healthcare still makes up 95% of the femtech investment space.
The menopause market only makes up 5% of femtech investment (despite it being valued at $600bn+, according to the Female Founders Fund).
This is one of the many reasons why…
… we need more female investors making decisions about where to allocate capital. Research proves that gender-balanced investment teams outperform.
But crucially, women apply a new lens to investing and represent the lived experience and perspective of 50%+ of the population.
Ovarian aging research and interventions
According to the First Longevity report, most interventions have been tested on ‘model organisms’ (only) such as mice, but very few have gone to clinical trials and tested on human beings:
Supplementation: for example, curcumin, the active ingredient extracted from tumuric, has been shown to prevent rat ovaries from damage.
Caloric restriction: a dietary intervention which is generally considered to prolong lifespan, could delay ovarian aging.
Repurposed drugs: for example, a hormone that is available on prescription in the UK, melatonin, could be promising treatment for ovarian aging due to its antioxidant properties.
New methods in longevity: including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been implemented in regenerative medicine in the last 10 years. Stem cell treatment is another method that is being investigated. Molecular targets could also be used in targeting ovarian aging.
What next?
Listen to The Purse Podcast interview with Heather Jackson about the menopause.
Listen to The Purse Podcast interview with Sergey Young about longevity where he also talks about women’s health.
News in Brief
Financial news
Last Monday, the S&P 500 suffered its worst day since May and European markets suffered their worst day since July. Concerns that China’s indebted property group Evergrande could default on a debt payment, anxiety over the ongoing pandemic and the Fed tapering back on asset purchases hit stocks.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank could start scaling back asset buying as early as November (and the process could end by mid-2022). Interest rates might go up in 2022.
Chinese property firm, Evergrande missed its crucial $83m bond interest payment on Thursday. China's central bank, however, injected $17bn of cash into the banking system Thursday.
The Bank of England (BoE) has warned this week that surging energy bills will lead to inflation topping 4%+ this winter. The economic fallout from the pandemic and Brexit is pushing up the cost of essentials.
Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum & DeFi
Last Monday, Bitcoin fell below $45,000 in a broad crypto sell-off driven by worries about the spillover from Evergrande’s debt default. (See the current Bitcoin price & Ether price).
Crypto millionaire Mike Novogratz says Bitcoin holding at $40,000 shows that the market is in good shape-and recommends buying the dip. Novogratz said he thought Monday's sell-off was also driven by concerns about regulation in the US.
El Salvador bought the dip, adding another 150 bitcoin to its holdings. They now own 700 bitcoin.
China declares all crypto-related illegal and forbids overseas exchanges from seving its citizens. Bitcoin dropped 5.7% to about $41,110 in the wake of the announcement, according to data from CoinDesk. Ether lost 9% to hit $2,788. This wiped out $150bn of value.
Axie Infinity has sold $2bn worth of Ethereum NFTs. Blockchain gaming is a global phenomenon that will create the next ‘paradigm shift’, according to Alexis Ohanian.
Female pensioners: 1 in 5 live in poverty
Age UK released the findings as MPs prepare to debate the suspension of the triple lock in Parliament
According to Age UK, one in five female pensioners is living in poverty, as reported by The Independent.
In fact, the number of female pensioners living in poverty has increased from 14% (2012/13) to 20% (2019/20).
Age UK released the findings as MPs prepare to debate the suspension of the triple lock in Parliament (the triple lock ensures that pensions grow in line with whichever is highest out of earnings, inflation or 2.5%).
Based on the survey, here are some key stats:
1.25m women in this group are now living below the breadline
Single female pensioners are at much higher risk of being in poverty than single men and pensioner couples
Pensioners from black and Asian communities (including men and women) are around twice as likely to be living in poverty as white pensioners
Male and female pensioners who rent their homes are also much more likely to be in poverty than those who own their home outright.
Based on research, women on average, tend to have one fifth of the pension men do and their cost of care is much higher.
However, according to the Department of Work and Pensions, ‘..pension reforms including auto-enrolment has helped millions more women save into a pension, many for the first time. Pension participation among eligible women working in the private sector has risen from 40% in 2012, to 86% in 2019’.
Read more here:
Check your state pension age
The Purse Podcast
Marriage and divorce: how to manage your money
We cover the following in our conversation:
Income vs net worth
Common money mistakes
Managing your money in marriage and divorce
Financial advisors: how they can help
How women can build their wealth
and more
Listen on all podcasting channels including iTunes and Spotify.
Coffee Break? Read This
We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.
The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2021 & All Rights Reserved.
The Purse provides content for informational purposes only, we do not recommend products or services or provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial advisor.
Ovarian aging: an underinvested market. Can you delay menopause? 1 in 5 female pensioners live in poverty. Listen to our podcast with Mary Waring about how to manage your money in marriage & divorce