I'm an Investor and You Should Be Too
Most women don't describe themselves as investors. It's not surprising when the news is full of crazy stories like "investors" losing billions in short sales of Tesla stock. It sounds a lot like gambling.
When you spend as much time as I do reading financial information, you start to notice that the investment information is designed to appeal to men. Money blogs aimed at women are focused on spending less money, creating budgets, being frugal, or making money from a side hustle.
That's crazy considering 2017 study by Fidelity showed that women actually get better returns on their investments. Too bad women aren’t investing more.
A 2019 study by UBS found that slightly over half of U.S. women are deferring to their spouses on important financial decisions. The statistic is shockingly higher for millennial women than for boomer women.
This doesn’t come as a surprise to any woman who’s gone to a meeting with a male financial advisor (over 70% are men) and had most of the conversation directed toward her husband. The way the men talk to each other makes it seem like they all understand these matters and women often feel stupid for not knowing how it all works. But, as my high school history teacher used to say, I’ve got news for you: most men don’t actually understand it either.
Okay, yes, the financial advisors do and maybe some men understand at least some of it, but a lot of it is a show. They’ve turned the discussion into something like talking about sports.
When I worked in an office, I used to pay attention to sports news just enough to make a simple comment when my male co-workers were talking sports and let me tell you, it was amazing how far I got without actually ever watching a game. I’d simply repeat some line I heard on the news about a particular player or team and suddenly I was conversing like a knowledgeable sports fan.
This is exactly what happens when men start talking about investing. I can guarantee that most of them can’t explain their investment strategy or tell you how to calculate the bond equivalent yield. They’re just really talented at faking it.
It’s easy to just give up when you’re at the advisor’s office trying to figure out how it all works and you just leave feeling stupid and uninformed (I know from experience), but this is the last thing you should do.
If this is your situation, here’s what you’re going to do:
Get a new financial advisor. Talk to women you know to track down a financial advisor who won’t talk down to you. Interview a few. Your future depends on your money so this is really important.
Learn more. The best way to build confidence is by increasing your knowledge. Follow my blog or read one of the many excellent and accessible books available.
Just start. Much of what I’ve learned about investing has been through doing it. You actually don’t need to talk to anyone to begin investing because you can do it all on your own online. Major investment companies all have tools to help you select a good mix of mutual funds or ETFs. Or, you can just choose a low-cost target date fund and let it do it’s thing.
You can do this!