Monday, Apr 08, 2013
While men and women still differ in their attitudes towards money, the fairer sex is catching up to their male peers in the area of financial planning.
New data released by National Bonds showed that women in the UAE are becoming increasingly interested in saving and investing, with the number of female bondholders growing by 6.7 per cent in one year.
Women traditionally depend on their husband or father not just for financial support, but also for financial planning and investing. But today, more women are making a living for themselves and their families, and taking on more responsibility for financial decision making.
Mohammad Qasim Al Ali said that as of the latest count, their female subscriber size has expanded to 226,751 individuals, compared to 212,500 in March, 2012. At the same time, female bondholders saw a healthy increase of 9 per cent in their savings during 2012.
“We believe that the increase in number of subscribers is due to an increased awareness about the importance of savings among women. It also validates the point that savings is no longer a concern of men alone,” Al Ali told Gulf News.
“Females have traditionally been the person holding the family together and a major part of this role includes managing household budgets and essential finances,” he said. “With more and more UAE women becoming self-reliant and financially independent, it is only natural they would look at prudent financial planning as a key imperative to safeguarding themselves against potential crises.”
The global financial crisis, which saw personal finances crumble, has also influenced women’s financial attitude and pushed more females into taking control of their finances. “The recent economic recession also served as a timely wake-up call in this regard,” added Al Ali.
Ashok Sardana, managing director at Continental Group, earlier said that women need to take control of their finances, particularly in the aspect of planning their goals and retirement, as well as investing, because females tend to outlive men, earn lesser retirement payouts and incur significant medical expenses in their lifetime.
“The life expectancy for women is higher than men,” Sardana said. “Statistics show that, on average, women live five years longer than men, earn 25 per cent less during their lifetime and work 11 years less in their careers. This clearly indicates the importance of [financial] planning for women.”
National Bonds also reported that there has been an ‘exponential growth’ in the number of Arab bondholders in recent years. Among the Arab subscribers, Emiratis comprise a significant proportion.
“There has been a steady increase in awareness with regards to the concept of savings among the UAE nationals,” Al Ali said. “The attitude of prudence in spending has taken seed.”
Asian nationals remain the biggest subscribers of National Bonds, accounting for a total of 322,773. The total number of Arab and UAE national savers has reached 312,618.
By Cleofe Maceda Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
