The Market’s Female Ambassadors
Happy International Women’s Day! It’s a good thing that in Western society, gender roles are always open for reexamination and redefinition. It gives women free roam to open trading accounts, unapologetically beat a male-dominated market, and take charge of their financial futures!
Some of the most famous for having done it include Geraldine Weiss, a dividend-focused investor who signed off her newsletter, Investment Quality Trends, as “G. Weiss” to avoid gender discrimination in the 70s and 80s. She’s revered today.
Then there’s Muriel Siebert, who founded a revolutionary discount brokerage in the 60s. It was heavily resisted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but she beat the odds and later moved into politics.
There’s billionaire Abigail Johnson of Fidelity, former Fed member Abby Cohen, and many others from the ‘Forbes Most Powerful Women’ list. Womankind clearly has the “right stuff!”
Natural Born Investors
Women are said to be more risk-averse than men, which might explain their higher cash balances. Some speculate that a lack of confidence is what really holds women back in the investment game, though, as well as the lifetime earnings differential of $250,000.
Learning about an investment product, how it works, and what the fees are, matters more to women than to men. They feel compelled to prove their place in finance, but should have no problem doing so as they’re more patient and disciplined investors than we’ve ever seen before.
In our fantasy finance game, female users’ portfolios are heavily composed of slow and steady financials and services sectors (around 11% each). China Online Education is the second-most popular stock, $1.64 billion invested!
However, there’s a definite appetite for growth, too. We see womens portfolios being 44% invested in tech ($6.5 billion). Amazon is the all-time most popular stock among a female demographic, Netflix, Facebook, and Google not far behind!
Lots Done, Lots to Do
From the bond market to the stock market, to venture capital to real estate, women are outperforming.
However, statistics collected by Empress Investment Group still suggest that absolute numbers aren’t enough. “86% of women do not know how to invest or choose a financial product.” Just one in ten young women have a detailed financial plan in place, but yet 68% are eager to learn and the majority of master’s and doctorates degrees go to the ladies.
This market movement needs to be pushed. This ain’t just a man’s game!
If you want to invest soundly while supporting the movement at the same time, look into #she. It’s the SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index fund, investing in companies that have a high percentage of women in positions as executives and directors. The fees are low (0.20%), and assets under management (AUM) are over $140 million. The best part? It’s up 25% since it began in 2016. Grrl Power!
