Women are the largest, fastest-growing, and most underserved target market in financial services today
Reports show that women appreciate mobile investment apps that facilitate collaboration and sharing
Online investment clubs appear to be an ideal tool to meet the top three needs of today’s investment firms: Financial education, client acquisition, and adding value over robots!
Women are the largest, fastest-growing, and most underserved target market in financial services today. To find out how and why a mobile app is an ideal platform for women getting started in investing, Vancouver-based Voleo Trading Systems Inc (TSXV: TRAD, OTCQB: VLEOF) is used as a case study and three female leaders of investment clubs are interviewed.
“Don’t think about making women fit the world—think about making the world fit women.”
— Gloria Steinem
What is Voleo, and how does it work?
Currently available in the U.S., Voleo is the reigning queen of mobile investment clubs and nearly half of their investors are women.
The app lets women trade individually, join an existing investing club or create a new one. They can invite friends, family and colleagues to join the platform, link accounts and begin investing together. Inside the clubs, members propose investment ideas, discuss, then vote on whether the group will purchase the security or not. If a predetermined percentage of members approve, then the order goes to market. They then track their investment club’s performance and compete against other investment clubs around the world if desired. Each time a user votes for a trade that the club does not approve, the hypothetical decision is tracked, known as an “I told you so” feature!
Essentially the app creates a collaborative environment for women to step into the investing space on their terms.
How does Voleo incorporate women into the investing space?
Women have careers, run corporations, are the heads of their households, and are savvy when it comes to investing money, making them the number one target market for every financial services firm. Plus, many of the features that get women to invest work just as well for Millennials: Half of Voleo users are under 40!
Voleo founder, Thomas Beattie, states, “As natural connectors, women have substantial networks. Generally speaking, they consider the implications of actions more carefully. Building communities is essential and we believe women will be influential users of our unique collaborative stock trading platform.”
“Women are excellent communicators and their input and messages are integral to the future success of the financial industry.”
Women should feel as though they are represented in the investing space and Voleo is here to make sure they feel welcomed.
With over 800 women interviewed globally over the past decade of diverse ages, professions, backgrounds, and personalities, the three biggest takeaways are:
Women want investment forums that facilitate collaboration and sharing
Women prefer to invest in businesses that have a social impact
The process needs to be simple
Why sharing and being accountable in mobile investment clubs’ matters
One of the first female leaders of investment clubs interviewed was Randiesa Spires, the President of Florida Stock Sisters, a Voleo African American women’s investment club with eight members who meet online monthly. Spires learned about investing from her parents, but over time she started to think more seriously about taking control of her financial freedom.
She explains, “I was motivated to form the group after I started following a Facebook community of female investors and immediately had the sense that this is where I needed to be.”
She continues, “I had found my community of women who look like me, and I felt comfortable. Florida Stock Sisters has become that sisterhood we all needed and the eight of us know we can count on talking money every Wednesday at 7:30 pm. Each week one of us analyzes two companies and then presents our recommendation. Being accountable to the group helps so much – we have to be fully prepared for our meetings.”
The second leader interviewed was, Barbara Brantley, who runs Diversified Divas. Her inspiration to join a club came about when she retired after 25 years as a police sergeant for the Metro Police Department in Washington, D.C.
“I decided it was time to get serious about my money. I followed an investing Facebook community for about a year and then I joined an investment club that was starting in my area. I was drafted as the President by another member and became responsible for getting our club up and running.”
“I thought why not? What a great way to learn! We have 13 members (from diverse walks of life) ranging in age from 25 to 56. The cardinal rule is that all members have to do their own research analysis, propose stocks and be invested.”
The last woman interviewed was Angela Salley, President of Voleo’s MidWest Money Makers – she always wanted to invest, but never knew how to start. “I was apprehensive about the unknown. Three years ago, I stumbled across a women’s investment community in my Facebook feed and I started scrolling through all of the comments and watching some videos. Seeing real female investors resonated with me. I felt I could trust their advice and I loved their enthusiasm.”
“As an investor you are more accountable when you are part of a club; you have to trade. It is a must.”
Taking an inclusive approach to investing
Brantley notes, “Before I started Diversified Divas, I used the Voleo app just to practice — you can set up scenarios and track the stocks you would have bought to see how things would have played out.”
“Now I feel very confident using real money! Getting involved with a club makes investing affordable for anyone but the main reason I think women should get in is that it forces you to learn as opposed to standing on the sidelines. As a group you can cast a vote by investing in businesses that you feel are aligned with your values, you can save the world in some way.”
Additionally, Spires says, “We vote through the app at the end of the meeting. All of us have the same vision — to make money so that we can leave our families with our legacy rather than a financial burden. We are working towards common goals and it is so rewarding to look at our portfolio and see how it has grown.” Although the clubs get together, you can be anywhere at any time.
How Voleo provides a simple solution to help introduce beginners to investing
“The biggest surprise in all of this for me has been how easy it is to have an investment club using only your mobile phone. Buying stocks sounds like a lot of work but once you get into it you can do it without even thinking — just set it up and let it go. Using the app, we can keep in contact as a group, propose our ideas, vote on our stock suggestions, and review our investment portfolio,” Brantley explains.
Voleo believes that investing doesn’t need to be intimidating, difficult or overwhelming.
“I guess I’m pretty obsessed with my Voleo app — I look at it at least three times a day and I feel very competitive with the other clubs. I want us to be number one.”
Spires states, “We each set up an auto-deposit of USD$100 per month via the app. The Voleo app is so simple: I can be on the phone with the members and simultaneously be looking at a pie chart showing the percentage of stocks we own in each sector. If I can do it and not get frustrated, then anyone can do it!”
How will mobile investment clubs pave the way for the global investment industry to attract female investors?
Online investment clubs appear to be an ideal tool to meet the top three needs of today’s investment firms: Financial education, client acquisition, and adding value over robot.
Financial education
Firms will have the ability to offer practical financial education. By using the app in a small group setting it makes learning about investing a social, fun and interesting experience for women. Hands-on trading also builds skills, confidence and competence.
Client acquisition
Attracting female investors is easier: Women love to share, and happy customers are the best advocates. They will act as ambassadors for investment clubs and inspire others to start their own, reducing customer acquisition costs.
Value over robot
Advisors who embrace the tool and set up small investment clubs with likeminded clients will now have a way to:
Share investment ideas and discuss collaboratively
Communicate with women in a language that makes sense to them via group storytelling
Meet women where they are, on their smartphones
Voleo Trading Systems Inc is a publicly traded fintech company that provides retail investors an innovative, gamified investing experience via its iOS, Android and web applications. Voleo operates as a discount brokerage in the U.S. and is FINRA-licensed in all 50 states. The company offers a bespoke, as well as turn-key white-label solution for financial institutions around the world looking to enhance their brokerage offering and engage customers in a unique and gamified way. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Learn more about the company by visiting their website here.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
