Women investors outperformed their male counterparts in 2025, achieving approximately 3 percentage points higher returns on average, according to a fresh analysis by brokerage firm Trade Republic.
The study, released in advance of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2026, revealed that women demonstrated a more diversified investment approach and a greater tendency toward regular, time-weighted investing. This finding comes as the financial services industry increasingly focuses on closing the gender investment gap.
Specifically, women allocated roughly 20% more of their portfolios to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)—low-cost, passively managed index funds—and were 9% more likely to utilize dollar-cost averaging, a strategy of investing fixed amounts at regular intervals.
“Men more often seek the excitement of individual stocks and cryptocurrencies,” explained senior advisor Erik Mauritz. “When women do venture into crypto, they relatively more often choose the more established Bitcoin.” This preference proved beneficial in 2025, a challenging year for the broader cryptocurrency market.
Trade Republic’s research also connects these investment patterns to the wider gender pension gap. European women, on average, have pensions that are approximately 30% lower than those of men—roughly €7,500 per year and around €9,000 in the Netherlands. This disparity is attributed to factors including lower wages, as well as women’s tendency to begin investing later in life and less frequently.
Mauritz emphasized the importance of women proactively managing their financial futures, noting that data consistently indicates their superior performance as investors. Previous research, including studies from Trade Republic two years prior, as well as analyses by Barclays and Fidelity, corroborate these findings.
The brokerage firm’s report underscores the potential for improved financial outcomes through strategic investment choices and highlights the demand to address systemic barriers that may hinder women’s participation in the market.
