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Women are Better Investors than Men

America is still a real concern. Women make less money over the course of their careers than men due to the gender pay gap and the choice some women make to temporarily leave the job force.

For every dollar that U.S. men make on average, women make about 80 cents. When you take race into account, the gap widens. Black women make 63 cents for every dollar white men make. Latinas make 54 cents.

Also, single women are more likely than single men to have the financial burden of custodial parenthood. And a lot of women enjoy less wealth-building fringe benefits (such as employer-sponsored retirement plans) because women are more likely to work part-time, and such benefits are often denied to part-time workers. 

Add to that the fact that women live longer than men on average, putting strain on women’s retirement funds.

But the big picture isn’t always how much you earn, but rather how intelligently you use the money that you do earn. Here’s where the gender gap takes a turn in favor of women. There are real differences between the sexes when it comes to trading and investing.

The conclusion is grounded in repeated findings that women tend to have lower financial risk tolerance than men and make smarter, more calculated decisions about their investments. What’s more, women tend to be less competitive than men, who are disposed to competing even when they’re more likely to lose.

New research from Stash, an investing app, suggests that at the individual-investor level, women may be wiser investors than men. Moreover, the findings dismantle stereotypes about the appetite women have for risk. When users sign up for Stash, they’re asked whether they identify as low, medium, or high risk when it comes to investing their money. Among the sample group, nearly 90% of female Stash users identified as low or medium risk tolerance when they opened their account, as compared to 75% of men. 

Several studies back up that claim that women investing in stocks are better at it than men. Why is that? Reports point to women investors' tendencies to 1) engage in less trading than men, and 2) buy and hold. 

As for financial decision making, currently women are the ones who are in the majority when it comes to household purchases. [4] Women make the decision in the purchases of 91% of homes. When it comes to buying cars or vehicles, 60% of those purchases had a woman who made the decision.

With all this information, it seems that a paradigm shift is on the way. One that sees that more women in more powerful roles when it comes to the economy, making smarter investing decisions and smarter management of money.

 

 

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.

To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law. 

Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.

These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable– we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.

David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC

 

 

 

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