Blokes more aggressive investors
Men tend to take on more risk than women when it comes to choosing a Kiwisaver fund, according to newly-released survey results.
Blokes are more likely to invest in aggressive and growth funds, which tend to be more volatile because they have more assets in shares and property.
The findings were announced by Claire Matthews, director of financial planning at Massey University’s Centre for Banking Studies, from an online survey of 1001 people by UMR Research. Matthews analysed the results for the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and the Institute of Financial Advisers and the first tranche of results was announced last year.
The survey found women, young people and older people were more likely to choose conservative funds, which favour more stable assets such as cash and bonds, than men middle-aged savers.
Income and education also affected people’s choices, with people holding a bachelors degree or higher and those from households earning $100,000 or more before tax being more likely to choose an aggressive or growth fund.
The finding that younger Kiwisavers were more likely to be invested conservatively bolstered the argument KiwiSaver provider ANZ Bank has made for younger savers to be automatically put in higher-risk funds, said Matthews.
Conventional advice from the funds industry is that younger people do better in growth funds, despite short-term spikes and troughs.
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