Women today are smarter, more confident investors:

• 46% of women surveyed consider themselves very or somewhat knowledgeable about investing
• 64% feel more knowledgeable because they are working with a financial advisor
• 50% have invested for retirement
• 64% say that the more money they have, the better they feel about themselves

But there is still progress to be made - women lack understanding of investment vehicles:

• 76% wish they had learned more about investing growing up
• 58% do not understand how a mutual fund works
• Only 40% say they're more knowledgeable about investing than they were five years ago

Financial advisors give women a confidence boost:

• 73% are more comfortable with investing
• 46% are more willing to take risks
• 63% are more confident about having enough money for the future

Bottom line? Women need to take a more active role in investing, and they agree that there are decided benefits to working with a financial advisor. They not only feel like more successful investors, they generally are.

What's the purpose of "Women in Investing"?

Who cares what gender you are? The markets don't for one, and the last time I checked, neither does Zecco, or the buck you made or lost on that last trade. I think these ideas are a waste, through and through. 

Wipe the slate clean, and keep it that way. I don't give a rat's <...> what gender, ethnicity, diabled status, or planet you're from. Money is money, and the only consequence anyone makes out of someone's gender is what they've invented in their own head.

The issue of interest in the stock market between men and women is a Marketing one, and that's not what we're here for.

I am mostly curious, but Ill happily play Devil's Advocate...

rsomazzi:

What's the purpose of "Women in Investing"?

Who cares what gender you are? The markets don't for one, and the last time I checked, neither does Zecco, or the buck you made or lost on that last trade. I think these ideas are a waste, through and through. 

Wipe the slate clean, and keep it that way. I don't give a rat's <...> what gender, ethnicity, diabled status, or planet you're from. Money is money, and the only consequence anyone makes out of someone's gender is what they've invented in their own head.

The issue of interest in the stock market between men and women is a Marketing one, and that's not what we're here for.

I am mostly curious, but Ill happily play Devil's Advocate...

The purpose is general discussion.  This is, after all, a discussion board.  There's nothing to get riled up about in this post, it's simply a point of discussion for members of the Zecco community to either join or ignore.  To that end, thank you for joining!  Fun little tidbits of intellectually entertaining conversation are a welcome distraction from my see-sawing portfolio... HA!

I think these statistics are very interesting, and would like to know where this survey was taken from because that is important.  Sorry for resaying that if you have said where its from.  Women in my opinion will play a major role in the future and there is a great market there for us as investors to take note of.  Not only in what we can see women investing in, but trends of women as well.  If you notice most women love buying clothes/makeup so maybe we should find a company that is managed well and can see growth in that company that it might be a good investment for us.  I find the more well informed people about investing whether male or female the better off as a society we are.  Also, Rsomazzi does bring up a good point money is money and doesn't matter who its from or whatever because money is a universal language.  However, I'm glad to see more women becoming informed.  My saying to lots of ladies is why buy 10 decent shirts and not 1 nice one?  However, women are women and are different then us males, but like i said the more informed that we are the better off we are.

Well, I thought of another potential drawback to having a "women in investing" forum, not that I am hell bent on derailing such an idea, it's just that "community" doesn't give a warm fuzzy inside because it rolls of the tongue nicely... it implies we're all working together and helping however we can to reach our financial goals.

If there's some insightful advice or points made in a Women's Investing forum, I think that many, many of us guys will miss out on it because we might feel that this "girls club, guys stay away" feel keeps us from clicking on the link. Not that I condone or even think this is correct behavior, I Am only speaking out of instictual behavior to leave alone those who want to congregate together. For example, if some gals share information on retail stocks that they favor, many others could miss out on an opportunity because they might feel they aren't welcome in the women's only board.

I kinda use the litmus test: "Would it make sense to have a Men's Only board"? No because it sounds stupid right off the bat, doesnt it? Then why not let the traditional definition of "community" prevail and let us act as such.

For the record, I think all different backgrounds, age groups, men and women alike all have something of use for everyone else that comes here searching for our road to profit. I don't believe in barriers like this, even if I do sound like I am trying to whack at a mosquito with a wrecking ball (and thus overdoing it a bit) hehe!!

I, for one, would love to learn more about the retail markets from experienced women! I have not met a woman yet who doesn't have triple digit pairs of shoes at home (my lady being one)! This is one of life's mysteries I am still trying to unravel.  =)

see ya around,

r