Investment: French trading enthusiasts take more risks than men

Women are increasingly imposing themselves in the world of investment. According to an XTB study, the share of French clients has increased since 2020. As a bonus, they seem to take more risks than men.

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They are no longer content to save: they invest, and taking risks. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of French women registered on an investment platform like XTB. According to a study by this fintech on the occasion of International Women’s Rights Day 2025, and revealed exclusively by Capital This Thursday, March 6, women represented only 7.1% of the customers of the platform in 2020. A figure in constant increase since: in 2023, 8.3% of XTB customers in France were customers, and 8.6% in 2024. The share of women in new investors also increased from year to year, since women represented 9.2% of new customers of the platform in 2024, compared to 8.4% in 2021.

Investors buy and resell their shares faster

If they remain largely in the minority, women, on the other hand, tend to take more risks than men, at least for some of them: “It is estimated that around a third of our customers have a rather prudent, even pessimistic profile, with a large part of investment in Refuge values ​​such as precious metals»»Note Antoine Andreani, research manager at XTB France. Conversely, two thirds of XTB customers take risky positions, being twice as much invested in shares than ETF, “And this without being afraid of volatility, since they risk on values ​​that move a lot, especially in the tech sector (Nvidia and Atos in mind)”, specifies Antoine Andreani.

Another sign of an increase in “trading” behavior: the duration of detention of these financial securities. According to XTB, French customers hold an average position 31 hours before separating, against 54 hours for men. The women of the platform therefore seeming to indulge more to “day-trading” (trading with purchase and resale during the same session, for example) than their male counterparts. And they are doing well, since according to a study published by Trade Republic last year, the performance of their wallets are also better.