The increase in the number of women investors in Brazil is a fact to celebrate: there are more than 1 million women on the stock exchange, according to surveys released by B3. If we compare it to data from 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic began, women's entry into variable income investments grew by an incredible 40%.
Despite the progress - which should, yes, be celebrated - it is necessary to go beyond the numbers. The number of women belonging to the world of Avenida Faria Lima is still shy. The financial market is still mostly made up of men. From fund managers to individual investors, what is perceived is a domination of ties.
But the current movement is one of change, especially in the increase of women who talk about economics and financial education in the main social networks in the country. The stimulus and knowledge disseminated by these specialists in their channels and profiles may be one of the reasons why we have around 1.2 million women on the exchange.
From Me Poupe, from Nathalia Arcuri to Economirna, the namesake of its founder, women advance! As for those looking for specialization in books, in this case I suggest as a reading tip Descomplicando Investimentos, by Fernando Tempel and O Investidor Inteligente, by Benjamim Graham.
Since 2017, when the Stock Exchange became B3, it took almost 5 years for another 1 million women to have their investments in variable income custody. Today we are about 1/4 of the capital market universe, but the good news is: we are not going to stop! Women entered investments to stay and invest better and better.
In all, 5 million individuals invest in the stock exchange, which does not reach 3% of the Brazilian population, a universe of opportunities to multiply assets, acquire financial independence or even use their own shares as a kind of pension. Regardless of your goal and the risk you are willing to take, investing in the stock market is a great option for your future.
The world of investments, when we think about inferences about women and money, is surrounded by some myths and stereotypes that never fit us and now, even more so, it doesn't fit women who do care about finances and financial prosperity.
The time to invest is now, and even if you may feel old-fashioned to start, or even struggling to better understand how to save and invest in the stock market, understand: there is always time to start. The beginning is likely to be the most challenging time to understand market movements and how they affect your portfolio. But, like any apprenticeship, over time what seems to be a seven-headed bug will become something natural in your everyday life and you will have more and more confidence to invest.
You can start with little: it is not necessary to collect a large amount to enter the stock market. You can make monthly contributions and build your portfolio little by little. Before starting to invest, the first step is to understand what your saving capacity is, ideally around 30% of your monthly income, which is not always possible at first, so don't limit your entry into the stock market to just when that amount can be invested.
And remember: always diversify your investments. Thus, the portfolio becomes less volatile and more balanced in the long term. In addition to traditional "papers", invest in real estate funds, BDRs and the like. Also thinking about asset diversification, you can place a portion of your earnings outside the stock exchange, as in the cryptocurrency market.
In general, women tend to be more conservative in their investments. Therefore, ideally, the focus when investing should, in principle, be building an emergency reserve equivalent to 6 to 12 months of your monthly costs, that is, building a portfolio with liquidity so that in the event of an unforeseen event, such as the loss of a job, investments are used during that period.
After building this reserve, we can already think about a medium and long-term portfolio, seeking higher returns: here, you can focus on achieving goals and objectives such as buying a car or property. Already in the long-term portfolio, you can plan your retirement. It is important to carry out a study to understand how much accumulated capital you should have to maintain a monthly income that guarantees the same standard of living before retirement.
There is a blue ocean of investment opportunities to be explored; something far beyond savings, CDB and LCI (products usually more commercialized when talking about investments in Brazil), but it is necessary to go deeper in order to make the right decisions that are more consistent with each profile.
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| From Emília de Castro, administrator and financial manager in the capital market; founding partner of Aspen Investimentos |
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Finance
