Women Better Investors Than Men?

“According to statistics 72% of women don’t feel confident about selecting financial investments on their own, yet a report by the US-based SigFig found that female investors enjoyed 12% higher returns on investments than their male counterparts. This prompts me to draw the conclusion that women need confidence, but yet have excellent abilities to invest,” says Gustav Neethling, director at financial advisory firm, The Financial Emporium.
The study derived that overconfidence of men, women doing more research before they purchase or sell, as well as men selling off and buying investments (churn) in their financial portfolio 50% more often than women, could be the reason behind the higher returns by women.
“Women traditionally don’t act as aggressively in buying at the first hot tip. They look at more factors before making a selection — they are better shoppers and will usually wait for a bargain when purchasing investments,” says Neethling.
Women also tend to invest in lower risk assets, such as cash and property and tend to avoid investing in the stock market. While this suggests that women are more conservative, it also indicates is that women only invest in assets they understand — similarly than investment guru, Warren Buffet.

“Most women think they are not good investors and don’t want to make mistakes with the little money they have,” Neethling explains, “while men are generally perceived to be better investors because they are more aggressive than women and are prepared to invest in shares — the asset class that outperforms all others over time.”
“Women need to take advantage of their inherently more astute investment instincts and ensure that they are fully informed regarding their financial affairs, so as to take control of their tomorrow. It is only when you know what your tomorrow holds that you can truly welcome it,” concludes Neethling.

