At a glance
- Among men in the same survey, 28% picked investing, and it topped their list.
- Paying down debt led for women at 45%, compared with 28% of men.
- On a 1-to-5 scale of barriers to investing, women gave equal weight to two: keeping cash accessible and not understanding the stock market.
Investing ranked 11th among the financial priorities women ages 25 to 45 named for the coming year, with 13% choosing stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrency or mutual funds, according to a SoFi report. Among men in the same survey, 28% picked investing, and it topped their list. InvestmentNews reported the findings on Oct. 19.
Paying down debt led for women at 45%, compared with 28% of men. Reducing expenses (34%) and building an emergency fund (31%) completed the women's top three. Asked what they would do with money left over after rent, bills and groceries, 6% of women said they would invest it; 18% of men said the same. The figures come from an August online survey of 1,200 U.S. adults ages 25 to 45, with a target household income of $75,000 or more.
On a 1-to-5 scale of barriers to investing, women gave equal weight to two: keeping cash accessible and not understanding the stock market. "Investing is a necessary step every woman can take to build a strong financial future," said Liz Thomas, chief market strategist at SoFi. "It doesn't have to be complicated to be effective, and you don't need to have it all figured out – nobody really does."
Investing ranks well below debt and cash reserves for women 25–45
Share of women naming each as a financial priority for the coming year
- Paying down debt45%
- Reducing expenses34%
- Building an emergency fund31%
- Investing (stocks, ETFs, crypto, funds)13%
Show as table
| Item | Value (%) |
|---|---|
| Paying down debt | 45% |
| Reducing expenses | 34% |
| Building an emergency fund | 31% |
| Investing (stocks, ETFs, crypto, funds) | 13% |
A 30-point confidence gap on retirement
Retirement outlook produced the widest gap in the report: 56% of men said they were highly confident they could retire, against 26% of women. Another 44% of women reported low confidence, double the 22% rate among men. Men ranked "retirement already covered" among their top three reasons for not investing more; women placed it second to last.
About 83% of women hold an investment account and 70% use an employer plan such as a 401(k), against 93% and 79% of men. The gap widens in self-directed accounts, where investors choose their own holdings: 40% of women hold one, compared with 63% of men.
SoFi calls the 31% of women who rate their stock market knowledge a 4 or 5 "investment-forward." Those women are more likely than the least confident group to use advisor-managed investments, 32% versus 19%, and 81% of them hold investments outside an employer plan, against 54% of their more cautious peers.
The account gap widens in self-directed investing
Share of women and men holding each type of account
Show as table
| Label | Value (%) |
|---|---|
| Any investment account | 93% |
| Any investment account | 83% |
| Employer plan (e.g. 401(k)) | 79% |
| Employer plan (e.g. 401(k)) | 70% |
| Self-directed account | 63% |
| Self-directed account | 40% |
Investing is a necessary step every woman can take to build a strong financial future.Liz Thomas, chief market strategist at SoFi
Reported by the Tax & estate planning desk from InvestmentNews. Published . Updated Oct 26, 2026 · 10:51 p.m. ET. Corrections