Why it’s not too late to take control of your finances, even for women in their 40s  

Women’s financial liberty and autonomy have come a long way in just a few decades. It was only in the 1970s that the first Australian bank allowed women to take out banking loans without a male guarantor.

Since then, the gap in economic independence has been slowly shrinking, with more women than ever entering entrepreneurship, finance, and actively investing their money.

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)’s 2023 Australian Investor Study confirmed the increase in Australian women with active holdings, which is now at 42 per cent of active investors.

Despite these promising indicators, inequities persist. Women tend to have smaller portfolios, less diversification, and report uncertainty about who to trust for investment information.

These results highlight the potential benefits of greater access to investor education programs to build confidence and overcome barriers and gender stereotypes.

This is where people like Andrew Woodward come in. Woodward is a wealth coach and founder of The Investor’s Way, an organisation that teaches Australians how to manage and grow their money to provide a secure financial future.

His business came about somewhat by accident about 10 years ago, after raising almost $500,000 through cycling charities for cancer and in honour of his mother-in-law.

The connections he built through this experience helped him realise his passion for supporting people to engage in effective wealth management.

Overcoming barriers to financial empowerment in your 40s

Since beginning his career in wealth education, Woodward has helped hundreds of people improve their financial skills, the majority of whom are women.

“Greater financial literacy not only equips women with the tools to make informed decisions but also fosters a mindset that can transform financial anxiety into empowerment,” he said.

Woodward said that women who feel more confident managing their money are more likely to negotiate salaries and secure their long-term future through effective wealth strategies.

“This empowerment becomes especially crucial for women over 40, who may be balancing career transitions, caregiving responsibilities, and planning for retirement.

“Enhanced financial confidence also helps in shifting the narrative from being passive recipients of financial advice to active managers of their financial destiny.

“However, several unique barriers still stand in the way of financial empowerment for many women.”

Woodward explained how persistent gender inequality impacts women’s financial wellbeing in a myriad of complex ways; from the gender pay gap to career interruptions as a result of parenting or caregiving responsibilities. These and other factors may hinder consistent investing and limit lifetime earning and saving potential.

He also said that broader gender norms contribute to the financial confidence gap, with some women reporting hesitance to enter traditionally male-dominated spaces like finance. Breaking down these barriers requires more than tailored educational strategies, it demands broader societal and cultural shifts.

“For women over 40, who may not always have taken an active role in managing their money and now find themselves in a position where they have to, building the confidence in their decision making is the best reward,” he said.

“When I see them empowered with knowledge and the tools to make repeatable decisions, that they came to, it is very gratifying for me as their coach, and such a confidence builder for them.”

He also said that women make better investors than men, both statistically and in his anecdotal experience.

“The great thing about working with women is that when you craft a plan with them, they will just implement it – there is no ego, just the understanding that if they do implement, they will get the results they want,” he said. 

Different strategies for different stages of life

We often hear about the importance of investing in our 20s or 30s, when strategies have more time to accumulate earnings. But for those who, due to lack of opportunity or confidence, start later in life, Woodward explained the unique challenges and opportunities of investing in your 40s.

“Everyone should make smart investment and spending choices, no matter their age,” he said.

“However, the younger you are when starting your investing journey, the more time you have to recover from any mistakes or market fluctuations.”

He said that this means younger investors can afford more conservative approaches, as they can rely on compounding over time.

Some hold an opposing view; advising taking greater risks in your youth, when there is more time to recover. However, time spent bouncing back from rash or unsuccessful investments is not always time well spent.

“For the older generation, who may be coming to the realisation that they need to make smart investing decisions and spending choices, the issue becomes the amount of time they have to create the future they want,” he said.

“With a shorter horizon, often that means having to take a higher overall level of risk across their portfolio to make up for lost time.

“Ultimately, my clients face two main challenges – time and knowledge – and it is my role to show them how to solve both, by providing them with the system, tools and resources to make smart investment decisions within a money management system that ensures success with money.”

Woodward said that a lack of confidence is usually remedied by increasing his clients’ knowledge. Rather than an inherent trait, confidence is more like a skill that can be built through education and a proven history of successful endeavours.

“We aren’t taught these skills at school, and if you haven’t had experience in the past, then your confidence will suffer,” he said.

“Understanding risk is a huge factor for why people don’t invest, especially in the stock market. However, once people understand how it works and how to make repeatable decisions, the fear resides, and confidence grows.”

This particular factor in women’s comfort with ‘riskier’ investing reflects a broader cultural phenomenon about women’s relationship with risk in general.

Some people take it for granted that women are inherently more risk averse than men, but emerging research suggests this is a learned behaviour, as persistent sexism means that women face greater consequences for taking the same risks as their male counterparts.

That said, the opportunities for women in their 40s wanting to invest will come down to making calculated, informed decisions that have the right balance of risk and security for their situation and goals. Woodward stresses that with the right assistance, it is not too late for anyone to make great investments and accumulated wealth.

“It is never too late to get started,” he said.

“If you are in your 40s you have at least two property cycles before your typical retirement age, and there is a lot of wealth that can be created in that time.”

From floundering to flourishing: it’s never too late to get started

Glenys Harrison, one of Woodward’s clients, came to him in her 40s when she realised her long-term relationship was unlikely to continue. During this period of transition, she began to feel concerned for her financial future, both in terms of what she had helped create in the relationship and how she could grow her own wealth in the future.

While she had always had an interest in finances, she took a step back when she got married and had children. During her separation and divorce proceedings, Harrison was reminded of her interest in investing and was motivated to get more involved as she needed to find a path towards financial independence.

She had dabbled in various strategies over the years and tried to self-educate as much as possible. But she recalls feeling like she was “floundering”, and unsure if she was on the right track.

“I’d had a couple of little successes and I had also failed a little bit in some of them,” Harrison said.

She decided to pursue some formal education and coaching to help her build her skills and confidence in investing. She considered a financial advisor, but decided against it as she wanted to play an active role in making decisions about where to invest her money, rather than following the advice of someone else long-term.

Woodward helped her understand how to review information, explore options, make decisions and pivot as necessary.

“You feel like someone’s got your back and it’s educating, it’s not saying ‘you must do this’,” she said.

Harrison enjoyed having the time and support to cement her existing knowledge, learn new things and feel empowered in her decision-making, all while knowing she had someone he could trust if she needed guidance or more information.

“I would certainly recommend coming to somebody like (Woodward) if they are interested in making the decisions themselves,” she said.

“You’ve empowered yourself to be able to make the decisions, and if they don’t turn out the right way, it’s on you. I think this way it broadens your mind to a lot of different avenues.”

Woodward challenges the myth that successful investment requires a large starting balance.

“The simple truth is that everyone starts with nothing – you just have to be consistent and take action to get results,” he said.

Woodward recounted how some of his clients began investing in their 50s with limited resources and managed to create a positive outcome for their retirement.

“For anybody that is thinking that it is too late to start or start over, I would encourage them to visualise what they want to achieve and then create the plan to make it happen,” he said.

“When we focus on what we want, instead of what we don’t have, we are far more likely to achieve our goals, no matter our age.”