ETF Instead of Excuses: You and Your Money Deserve a Better Life

The biggest economic risk for women isn’t inflation, unemployment, or the state of the economy — it’s the fact that millions of women go years without investing.

Patrizia Laeri

While men are earning returns in the capital market, women’s money traditionally sits in savings accounts — where it shrinks in real terms. The result? Structural wealth gaps with no biological causes, but plenty of cultural ones.

Yet the solution is neither exotic nor speculative. It’s called an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund): a transparent, low-cost instrument that grows reliably over the long term. And still, far too few women use it — simply because no one has shown them that even small amounts can lead to big outcomes.

Back to : they are broadly diversified, exchange-traded funds — essentially baskets filled with different assets such as stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, or other investments. With them, every woman can start investing with small amounts while spreading risk across many different holdings.

Patrizia Laeri

«In today’s financial system, ETFs have evolved into a turbocharger for economic equality.»

Today, there are ETFs for virtually every asset class. Because they are automated, they are low-cost, transparent, and resilient. They grow with the trend — with the economy as a whole — rather than relying on rumours, opinions, or emotions. They simply track the market. Which means it is impossible to underperform the average. Especially considering that more than of professional fund managers fail to beat that average — while charging far higher fees. ETFs are therefore the fairest financial instrument for building long-term wealth.

ETFs have become a turbocharger for financial equality in today’s system — if women actually used them. So what still holds so many back? The reasons are multifaceted (and explored in depth in the ). Girls are socialised differently and receive different financial upbringing than boys. They are conditioned to save and budget. Hardly anyone talks to them about stocks at home. Later, the financial industry largely ignores them and fails to address them.

And yet women want to invest — the data is unequivocal. A recent shows that over 50% of female clients consider investment solutions essential. Still, only 22% of women use the investment offerings of their bank. This is not because they lack interest, but because they are addressed poorly — or not at all: too complicated, too confusing, too irrelevant.

tell a similarly clear story. When women do invest, they are often the better investors. Evidence shows that women achieve more stable and often higher long-term returns — about 0.4 percentage points more per year. Again, this has much to do with socialisation: women tend to act with long-term discipline and less impulsivity.

And these traits align perfectly with ETFs.

Patrizia Laeri

«Savings plans are the most unglamorous yet powerful financial innovation of recent decades. They work because they do something few humans can sustain on their own: they automate discipline.»

Why ETF Savings Plans?

The Most Underrated Financial Innovation

Savings plans are the most unglamorous yet powerful financial innovation of recent decades. They work because they do something hardly any human can sustain on their own: they automate discipline. Instead of waiting for the «perfect moment» (spoiler: it doesn’t exist), a savings plan invests regularly — no matter whether markets twitch, wobble, or boom.
This principle is known as cost averaging: sometimes the investor buys at a higher price, sometimes at a lower one, and over time this creates a balanced average cost. That protects investors from emotional mistakes — mistakes that, , destroy billions.

Savings plans may seem boring, but in everyday life they are brilliant. For women in particular, this matters: the reality of part-time work, care responsibilities, and the double burden of job and family rarely leaves room for daily «market monitoring», «day trading», or hours of economic news. A savings plan keeps investing even when there isn’t a single spare minute between childcare, salary negotiations, and overtime. And it makes the hardest part easier: getting started and sticking with it.
To build wealth over the long term, you don’t need luck — you need habits. And that’s exactly what a savings plan creates.

Watch Out for the Strong Swiss Franc!

In Switzerland, another factor comes into play: the strong Swiss Franc. For investors, this means that currency hedging can make sense in many ETF categories — and that having a Swiss allocation (Swiss equities, bonds, or real estate funds) can add long-term stability and help preserve purchasing power.

Another key principle: Most women benefit from accumulating ETFs, which reinvest dividends and strengthen the power of compound interest. Distributing ETFs, on the other hand, may be better suited for women who prefer regular cash flows, depend on additional income (e.g., in retirement), or simply want clear, visible payout lines. Both types are valid — what matters is your life, not the theory.

So let’s finally drop the stereotype that women are «too cautious» or «not financially literate enough». Women fully understand historical stock market returns and can assess risk perfectly well. The real issue? The mountain of products has grown — and many wonder: Which ETF fits which phase of life?

ETFs for Every Stage of Life

Babies – the ultimate advantage: time

What do newborns have that adults don’t? Time. Decades of it.

And with that, they hold the most powerful force in finance: compound interest. Long-term, regular investing through ETFs can build meaningful starter capital over the course of 18 years — for education, moving out, or whatever dreams come next. Broadly diversified equity ETFs, complemented by a solid Swiss allocation and currency hedging, can have an enormous impact here.

Teens – first money, first responsibility

Pocket money, summer jobs, the first apprenticeship salaries. Many teenagers save — but they hardly learn how money can work for them. ETFs can offer a simple, low-stress introduction to investing: not speculative, but careful and accessible. If you’re investing on behalf of a teenager with the intention of gifting it to them later as an adult, the time horizon is shorter — so it’s wise to diversify across several ETF asset classes.

Students – little money, big leverage

During university, money is often tight. But small, regular contributions over several years have enormous impact. ETFs make it possible to invest broadly with very little capital. What matters is not the amount — but the consistency. Even tiny recurring contributions into globally diversified equity ETFs, complemented by some Swiss exposure for franc stability, can meaningfully reduce future wealth gaps. Emerging-market ETFs and future-oriented themes like water offer additional growth potential.

Young Professionals – the moment that changes everything

In the first years of a career, women often — without realising it — lay the foundation for whether they will build wealth later on or fall behind despite working hard. In this phase, one principle is key: starting early beats contributing a lot.

ETFs enable a sober, transparent entry into investing. A mix of global equity markets, a solid Swiss allocation, and—if needed—initial lower-risk components such as bond or real estate ETFs creates stability, especially in a life stage full of transitions. Currency-hedged ETFs reduce franc-related risks and make developments more predictable.

Mothers – navigating part-time work, care responsibilities, and financial reality

Mothers carry the most expensive burden in life: care work. They earn less, work part-time, and often lose ground in their pension savings. In this phase, ETFs can serve as a quiet financial safety net: regular, automated, predictable. No time commitment, no complexity — exactly what caregivers lack most.

A more balanced mix — a Swiss ETF safe harbour, complemented by global opportunities and stabilising components such as bond ETFs — provides security. Accumulating ETFs take work off their plate: they reinvest automatically, without needing attention.

Women in Leadership – high income, high potential

Many women in leadership roles save money — but rarely invest. Often because of uncertainty or lack of time. Yet these are precisely the years that matter most: higher earning power allows for larger contributions, which compound exponentially over time. Growth-oriented equity ETFs are an ideal fit here: global, low-cost, efficient — a strategy that works while you lead.
Those who feel bold can add a portion of future technologies or crypto as well.

Retired Women – more time than expected

The myth that retired women «shouldn’t invest anymore» is surprisingly persistent. But many women spend 20 to 30 years in retirement — a period during which money cannot simply sit still without losing purchasing power. ETFs offer a way to keep wealth working quietly, conservatively, and broadly — without speculative swings.

A reduced but still meaningful equity portion, combined with Swiss components, gold, and lower-volatility bond and real estate ETFs, can help protect savings. Distributing ETFs provide transparency and regular income streams.

ETFs: The quiet engine behind women’s wealth — at every age

Across every stage of life, one truth holds: investing is not about the amount — it’s about the mindset. ETFs enable women, regardless of income, age, or life circumstances, to participate in progress and in a growing global economy instead of watching from the sidelines.

There is no single «women’s plan». There are life realities. And life realities change. A divorce, a career leap, a break from work, a child, a caregiving phase — all of these influence how much financial risk we can shoulder.

Before women — especially first-time investors — let more valuable time and market opportunities slip away, they should start small and cautious, and later, when life and income allow, add plans with higher equity exposure.

And that is the essence of financial self-determination: taking your life into your own hands, step by step, decade by decade.

Published: 4th December 2025

ETF Instead of Excuses: You and Your Money Deserve a Better Life

Patrizia Laeri

Patrizia Laeri

Why ETF Savings Plans?

The Most Underrated Financial Innovation

Watch Out for the Strong Swiss Franc!

ETFs for Every Stage of Life

Babies – the ultimate advantage: time

Teens – first money, first responsibility

Students – little money, big leverage

Young Professionals – the moment that changes everything

Mothers – navigating part-time work, care responsibilities, and financial reality

Women in Leadership – high income, high potential

Retired Women – more time than expected

ETFs: The quiet engine behind women’s wealth — at every age

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