Women and Investing

While studies have shown that women tend to outperform men at investing, women tend to shun the stock market, which leaves men to reap the gains to be found there. What does that mean? It means that when you compare the average single man and the average single woman, the woman’s net worth is three times smaller. Consistently, men and women have different investment approaches. Individual strategies vary, of course, but in general, men tend to be more aggressive and invest more frequently, while women tend to be more methodical and embrace a buy-and-hold strategy. Over the long term, women may be more successful investors. But women do not invest as much or as early in their lives and may be overly cautious. Women tend to keep more assets in cash than men do, which will result in the loss of purchasing power over time. Inequality in pay does play into the fact that women tend to earn less in their lifetimes than men, as does the fact that women often pause their careers to raise a family. In short, compared to a man with no workforce interruptions, the average woman will earn nearly $1 million less in her lifetime. Women also fall behind men in participation and contributions to 401(k) and other retirement accounts. Women tend to have completely different investment strategies than men, who want more than anything to beat the market and outperform the indexes. And women are more interested in reaching milestones and goals like retiring with a certain income, having enough to live on throughout their lifetime, having the ability to start a business or buy a home.

Let Jon Rosenthal help you determine what your milestones are, then work with you to create investment plans that will allow you to achieve your goals.