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Two-thirds of women in a new study say they now invest savings they have outside of retirement accounts and emergency funds in the stock market, a 50% increase from 2018, Fidelity Investments reported Friday.

At the same time, many women may still be keeping significant savings in cash or bank accounts, earning minimal interest and therefore missing out on thousands of dollars in potential earnings, the study found.

CMI Research conducted a survey in July among 1,200 American women and 1,200 American men, all 21 or older with a personal income of at least $50,000 who are actively contributing to a workplace retirement savings plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b). Fidelity was not identified as the sponsor of this study.

Fidelity said it was already seeing a notable uptick in 2018 in women getting more hands-on with their finances, and that momentum has continued as the pandemic has disproportionately affected women.

In fact, it said, the events of the past 18 months catalyzed even more women to make their finances a priority, through building up emergency savings, creating or updating financial plans, and making the move from saver to investor.

Still, a great deal of opportunity remains for those who are not yet investing, as well as for those who may still be keeping significant savings on the sidelines. Taking proactive steps may bode well for the future, Fidelity said.

An analysis of the investing behavior of its retail customers, comparing the annualized return of assets of 5.2 million self-directed retail accounts from January 2011 to December 2020, showed that on average, women not only realized positive returns on their investments, but also outperformed their male counterparts by 40 basis points.

Over the last year, Fidelity said, it has seen an increasing commitment to saving and investing for the future among its own customers as well:

Fidelity expects this momentum to continue, as 9 in 10 women say they plan to take additional steps to get more engaged in the next 12 months. But women will need additional support and education to help reframe how they think about investing, it said.

Although half of the women in the study said they have become more interested in investing since the start of the pandemicand 42% said they now have more to invest, only 41% purported to be comfortable with their investing knowledge.

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Fidelity Finds 50% Jump in Women Investing Outside of Retirement - ThinkAdvisor