Women invest in women three times the rate men do, investors are turning to safe haven assets, Maven raises $45m investment, and check out investing app Robinhood.
Weekly newsletter for women who want to be smart about money: financial news, personal finance and investing
Welcome to our #8 weekly newsletter in 2020.
Every week we curate key articles and content so you can stay informed and inspired about money and investing without the boring bits!
This is your weekly go-to place to read up on all things money-related.
We spend hours sifting through content every week and apply a female-lens to news and content about money and investing so that it is meaningful to you.
Ultimately we want to support you in making well-informed financial decisions, grow your net worth and ensure your financial security.
Photo by JuanCarlo Castillo
From The Purse…
Editorial from the Founder
New data shows that women invest in women three times the rate men do.
Globally women receive slightly more than 2% of venture capital (VC) funding and in the UK, female entrepreneurs receive 1p for every £1 investment.
Given that 20% of tech VCs in the UK are female, it’s no surprise that it continues to be a struggle for female entrepreneurs to raise funding for their startups.
However we are starting to see a correlation between the rise in the number of women who have access to capital or can invest and the number of start-ups led by women receiving funding.
These women-led companies are addressing often underserved or overlooked markets which cater to pain points experienced by the female consumer.
Whether we are VCs or not, as women we are driving the majority of all purchasing decisions globally. And therefore where we decide to spend our money and how often has enormous impact.
We can take the same approach to how we choose to invest our money for growth.
We can choose to invest in start-ups which have at least one female founder, or which have at least 50% of women on their board. Or we can choose to invest in companies that have proven pay equity and HR policies which support women. And the list goes on.
There are investment vehicles that exist today that allow us to make these conscious investing decisions for better business and better society in general.
The good news is that we are just at the beginning of this trend and as women, we are increasingly in the driving seat to make these investing decisions.
I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter. Until next week!
Jana
The Big Picture
Global markets and economy news, trends and indicators
Japan is on the brink or recession: it suffered its worst quarter end of 2019, since 2014.
The world’s third largest country, could fall into a recession this year as the coronavirus hits companies exposed to China.
UK PMI: Manufacturing grows at fastest rate in 10 months despite coronavirus
Companies paid record $1.43tn in dividends in 2019
The record-breaking annual dividend payout from listed companies was driven by strong performance in stock markets in North America and emerging economies.
The total payment was 3.5% higher than in 2018.
Warren Buffet published his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. Read it here and here. He says that it’s ‘almost certain’ stocks will beat bonds long if rates and taxes stay low.
Looking Ahead in 2020
Their base case scenario is that China’s growth rate will fall to just 3.0% year-on-year in the current quarter, down from 6% in 2019, with a firm risk of an even bigger slump.
That would be the worst performance since the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
Nomura’s base-case scenario is that Britain isn’t particularly affected by the outbreak. But in its ‘severe scenario’ of a long, global, pandemic... growth would be almost wiped out this year, and there would be 70 deaths.
In the Spotlight
Is there a topic you'd like us to Spotlight? Please email jana@jointhepurse.com or tweet @jointhepurse
What is gold and why are investors buying?
Gold is a highly liquid yet scarce asset. It can be bought as a luxury good or as an investment. Gold is becoming more mainstream and since 2001 has averaged 15% return per year.
Institutional investors have started to embrace alternative investments such as gold as it is regarded by some as a 'diversifier' because it is not correlated to most mainstream assets.
This means that if the stock market falls or there is systemic risk (eg think financial crisis 2008) gold can be a hedge against this risk which limits losses. And because gold is a liquid asset, investors can access it easily in times of market stress.
Amid global trade tensions and political uncertainty, buying gold diversifies risk away from their larger holdings of dollar reserves.
(Source: FT & gold.org)
Have You Seen This?
Female-focused news, reports, research, campaigns
Savvy women are getting on the property ladder earlier than men – here’s how
New research from Barclays shows that the average woman buys her first home at 31, a whole year earlier than the average man.
This is because they are piling into government schemes designed to help people buy their first homes.
The bank said the number of first-time buyers taking out a mortgage jumped by a third last year, with many making use of schemes such as Help to Buy and shared ownership.
Also check out the Help to Buy ISA: the government will boost your savings up to 25%. For every £200 you save, the government will pay a £50 bonus.
Female-led CapitalT launches fund of €40 million for early-stage European startups with strong teams
Founded by duo Eva de Mol and Janneke Niessen.
CapitalT’s data-driven model of analysis removes bias of what the ideal founding team should look like, and makes sure that all founders, regardless of whether they already have a foot in the door, can be reviewed by the fund.
What We’re Tracking
Female-focused products or services, crowdfunding campaigns, start-ups led by female entrepreneurs & investment, research.
Maven: (US)- “is the leading women’s and family healthcare company, providing end-to-end coverage for all paths to parenthood. We partner with employers and health plans to improve maternal outcomes, lower costs, and attract and retain more parents in the workforce.”
Female founder: Katherine Ryder
The New York based company offers healthcare services to individuals, health plans and employers.
The start-up has just raised $45m investment in Series C, one of the largest funding rounds for a female-led women’s company.
It has attracted celebrity investors including Reese Witherspoon and Natalie Portman.
Ohne:-female-founded organic period product brand and is heading into its second round of investment.
Female founders: Nikki Michelsen and Leah Remry-Peploe.
Since the soft launch in February 2018, the brand has experienced on average a 30% month on month growth, fulfilled over 20,000 subscription orders and seen its revenues grow by 200%.
ohne will be using technology to highly personalise its products, community and content to each individual.
In 2019, $800m of funding went to femtech startups.
The sector remains one of the fastest-growing in the technology space and is predicted to become a $25 billion industry within the next 5 years.
Meet The All-Female Angel Group Making Profitable Bets On African Entrepreneurs
While the fund is focused on building a network of female investors, Rising Tide Africa will invest in both male- and female-led companies, although they prefer and do actively search for female-led companies.
Rising Tide Africa members are required to invest a minimum of 5M Naira (around $14,000) annually into the fund and that money will be distributed across all deals that the network makes.
Money Habit of the Week
Do you have a money habit you would like to share with us? Tweet @jointhepurse
It’s better to spend weeks or months researching what to do with your money than to fall victim to ‘fads’ or ‘opinions’ of others who may have a completely different set of criteria for how and why to invest.
Always do your research and be clear on why you are investing your money.
Caught Our Eye
Digital tools for managing your money and investing
Robinhood: (US/UK)-is a free-trading app that lets investors trade stocks, options, exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrency without paying commissions or fees.
Invest in global companies in a whole new way: there is no commission or foreign exchange fees and no account minimums ie you can start investing with as little as £1.
It is due to launch in the UK early 2020 and you can sign up to join the waiting list.
We’re Applauding
Female role model in politics, finance, business, money, or investment
We’re big fans of Katherine Ryder, founder and CEO of Maven in the US.
Katherine previously worked as an early stage investor at the venture capital firm Index Ventures based in London. Prior to joining Index, Katherine worked as a journalist, writing for The Economist from Southeast Asia, New York, and London.
She founded Maven back in 2014 ‘with a big mission.’
I found it alarming how difficult and confusing it was to get basic support for one of life's biggest and most profound events. I heard over and over—and I eventually experienced myself—the gaps in care that women and couples face, particularly around fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum care.
What We’re Reading
The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing: The greatest investment advisor of the twentieth century, Benjamin Graham taught and inspired people worldwide.
The Intelligent Investor has become the stock market bible since 1949.
Coffee Break? Read This
Why Goldman Sachs push for diversity is unlikely to drive real change
Am I plankton? Why older women feel they're at the bottom of the food chain
Legendary designer Diane von Furstenberg’s morning ritual is the perfect way to power up your day
We’d love to hear from you. Do you have feedback? Have we missed anything? What would you like to see more of? Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.
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