Number of women investors on rise - Bursa Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR – The number of new women investors in the stock market is rising, according to Bursa Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift.

Muhamad Umar said that women represents 36% of new Central Depository System (CDS) accounts opened year-to-date in Malaysia.

The number saw an increase from 32% in 2020 and 34% in 2021.

He revealed that female investors contributes 30% of the total trade value in 2021. The total trade volume made by women also saw a significant increase of 194.1% between 2018 and 2021.

“Women have become more actively involved in their investing activities,” he said at the annual Ring the Bell for #EqualityforEquity Campaign.

The event was held in conjunction with the International Women’s Day 2022 celebration on Mar 8.

Muhamad Umar further added that there were numerous studies showing that investment portfolios managed by women would perform better than those managed by their male counterparts.

“In 2021, a study by Fidelity Investment showed women investors achieved positive returns and surpassed men by 0.4% on average in terms of annual performance between January 2011 and December 2020,’ he added.

Despite that, he believes that there’s still a lot to do to further encourage participation of women investors.

He added that this was among the reasons why Bursa Malaysia launched the #MyFirstTrade campaign specially for women investors from now until Mar 31.

This campaign invites women to share their stories to inspire other women to try investing.

During this campaign, Bursa Malaysia and other collaborating brokers will waive portions of the opening fee. This is limited to the first 4,000 CDS accounts opened by women.

Muhamad Umar said that Bursa Malaysia’s intention is to provide a fair and open platform for everyone, men or women, to join the capital market and corporate space.

“We have implemented rules for more women representation on the board of directors and we will continue with our efforts to reduce the gender equality gaps in the workplace,” he noted.

For more info about the #MyFirstTrade campaign, check out the website here.

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