A new report has found that while the vast majority of women are actively involved in managing daily household finances, a persistent confidence gap remains when it comes to investing. Research by St James's Place, drawing on a survey of 6,000 people, found that more than four fifths of women are actively involved in managing everyday money, yet only 44% feel confident changing their investments alone, compared with 63% of men. The findings are illustrated by the experience of Sarah Reeve, a 45-year-old insurance worker, who told how she gave her fiance an ultimatum to clear his GBP 2,000 car loan before she would marry him. "I told him I wouldn't marry him if he had any debts," she said, and after the debt was cleared she took charge of the couple's bills, saving and budgeting. She described the arrangement as "very much our money rather than mine or yours," which she found reassuring, particularly as she took four years off work when the couple had children. Reeve also spoke of the psychological barriers that deter many women from seeking financial advice, recalling that she had assumed she did not have enough money to see a financial adviser and had wrongly believed such services required substantial wealth. The report highlights how everyday financial management by women coexists with a lingering hesitancy around investment decisions, and points to a need for better access to advice to close the confidence gap.