In short, most women can expect to be managing their own finances for some period of time in retirement. While some of you women may wonder if you're capable of doing that, take heart - you may be better at it than some men. And you have plenty of reasons to be.
1. Women are more likely than men to succeed
According to the Dow Jones News Service, about 74% of women reported putting off investment decisions because they didn't believe they had enough knowledge to make successful choices.
But, consider this - in the three years ended Aug. 31, 1997, Money magazine noted that among the mutual funds it tracked, funds managed by women performed better than male-managed funds. If you're not a professional money manager, don't worry - the National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) reported that women-only investment clubs have turned in better average annual returns over periods of years than men's clubs.
It is suggested that some reasons for this success include women's reliance on research rather than "hot tips" for information, their long term-investment outlooks, and greater likelihood of staying with an investment plan.
Whether or not this is an accurate assessment, the point is that fear of failure shouldn't hold you back. And there are plenty of ways to team up with other women to help make your money work. In fact, Money also reported that women make up more than 60% of the membership in investment clubs.
If you're still not convinced, then consider this -
. More than 47% of Americans with more than $500,000 in assets are women.*
. About half of all working wives make more than their husbands.*
. In more than half of households surveyed, investment decisions are made solely by women or jointly between husband and wife.**
2. Women know what it takes to succeed
One key to success may be that women are about as aggressive as men in taking investment risks.
According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the trade organization of the mutual fund industry, the number of women and men who invest in stock funds is about even. The women ICI surveyed reported placing about 46% of their portfolios in stocks, compared with 47% for men.
