Less than half of ladies absolutely belief recommendation from monetary corporations

A lack of trust and confidence in financial firms could mean that women are suffering financially compared to men, data shows.

As few as 43 per cent of women say they are confident that guidance from their financial services providers is in their best interests, compared with 56 per cent of men, according to figures from The Investing and Saving Alliance shared exclusively with This is Money.

The result is that women are notably less likely to engage with their personal finances.

It comes as the Financial Conduct Authority announced last week that new ‘targeted support’ rules will come into effect from April next year, giving financial firms the ability to provide generic financial recommendations to their customers.

Targeted support will allow financial firms to make recommendations to consumers based on what people in similar situations do with their money. This could include suggesting that those who hold ‘too much’ money in cash invest instead.

The move is intended to help close the advice gap, with many not seeking financial advice due to the costs involved.

Women are notably less likely to engage with their personal finances than men

Women are also less likely than men to feel confident when using AI search engines like ChatGPT or Copilot in order to help with their personal finances, with 27 per cent confident in doing so, compared with 43 per cent of men – though advice provided by these tools may not be correct. 

Carol Knight, chief executive of the TISA, said: ‘Clearly, there is a growing split in how people deal with their money.

‘Many – especially women – may be unsure where to turn for support and mistrustful of the industry, while others, more often men, are already leaning on AI tools that freely admit they can be wrong. That isn’t something a single new rule or product can fix.’

Men have some £567billion more invested than women do in the UK, according to figures from King’s College London, while they are twice as likely to have a stocks and shares Isa. 

In The Investing and Saving Alliance’s survey almost a third of people, 28 per cent, said they were ambivalent towards guidance provided by financial firms, while ten per cent were uncertain and 13 per cent said they didn’t trust their financial providers.

Knight said: ‘Targeted support will be crucial to reaching disengaged consumers who no longer trust the system, as well as building the retail investing culture the Government is quite rightly aiming to foster.

‘TISA strongly supports this ambition to make growth more inclusive and improve consumers’ financial wellbeing.

‘However, it needs to sit alongside simpler, decision-useful disclosures, clearer risk warnings, and more inclusive marketing that normalises money conversations so people can get the help they need from credible, stable and trustworthy providers.’

TISA says Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations need to be updated so that targeted support can operate on an opt-out basis.

This is because many choose not to receive marketing communications from the financial services firms they use.

Sophie Legrand-Green, head of policy at TISA, said: ‘We are hurtling towards a major roadblock to targeted support’s success. 

‘Under PECR, financial services firms will be limited in their communications and potentially only able to offer targeted support to one in four customers.

If we are to reach those who are most disengaged, we need to urgently fix this, or we risk millions of consumers being left languishing in the advice gap. 

‘This is beyond the scope of firms or the regulators, and we need Government intervention to unlock the full potential of targeted support.’