He said she said
LEAD IN:
Coming up in “focus on your finances” Certified Financial Planner Rick Van Der Noord discusses
some interesting data that suggests that when it comes to investing - woman and men are quite
different.
SEGMENT:
Good morning and welcome to “Focus on Your Finances. It is often said that men are creatures
of reason while women are creatures of emotion. And with the emotions of FEAR, HOPE, and
GREED being firmly established as the arch-enemy of sound investment behavior, it should stand
to reason then that men would be better investors than women. But, a study published by
MSMoney.com suggests that just the opposite might be true.
Despite the fact that women think that they are less knowledgeable investors and enjoy investing
less than men, they tend to make fewer mistakes on average.
For example, of the investors who reported buying a stock without doing any research more than
once, 47 percent of women repeated the mistake compared to 63 percent of the men.
When it comes to holding onto a loser too long, 35% of women said they were guilty compared to
47 percent of the men.
And when it came to trading a security too often, men were over twice as likely to commit this
mistake as women.
Since the Nobel Prize in economics was given to Dr’s Markowitz, Miller and Sharpe for their
research into portfolio theory, diversification has been a foundational piece of sound money
portfolio design. Yet, both men and women continue to make the mistake of putting too much of
one investment in their portfolio. Nevertheless, the men in the MSMoney survey committed this
mistake nearly 40% more frequently than the women.
Finally, regardless of gender, the life we are given is not a dress rehearsal for the next time. We
ALL need to make the most of the one life we have. So any help that we can get to avoid making
money mistakes is valuable. Well in this matter, the women trump the men again. In the survey,
70 percent of the women reported having a primary financial advisor as opposed to only 50% of
the men.
So the next time I’m looking to make an investment, I think I’ll ask my wife first.
THE VOICE: To have your questions answered on the air or to get more information about any
financial planning topic, send an e-mail to focusonyourfinances@WBSC.com.
Advisory Services offered through Van Der Noord Financial Advisors, inc. Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through ProEquities Inc, a
registered Broker-Dealer Member of NASD/SIPC. ProEquities’ home office is located at 2801 Highway 280 S. Birmingham, AL 35223, (800) 288-3035.
Van Der Noord Financial Advisors, Inc. is independent of ProEquities, Inc.
The information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be considered as offering specific tax, legal or investment advice. Please
consult with a professional regarding your individual circumstances.