Investment Strategies That Define/Divide Men and Women

The differences between men vs. women have provided generations of comedians with a fount of material, but there is no laughing matter when it comes to how wide the Mars/Venus divide is when it comes to investment strategies. Men and women conduct their investment research, make their decisions, change shopping habits and determine with whom to consult regarding their investment strategies much differently and with different mindsets.

Women, for example, are more likely to extensively research their various investment options, according to Millionaire Corner research.  Sixty-three percent of respondents to one investor survey seek out the opinions of a financial advisor or research on their own.  Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of men, however, value their own research far more than the opinions of a financial advisor compared with 57 percent of women. They are also less likely than women to value the advice from friends or family members when evaluating investment strategies (28 percent vs. 38 percent).

Confidence in their investment strategies varies significantly between men and women.  Women generally feel more inexperienced with investing and have more anxiety regarding their financial future than men.  Men are more likely to take action in adjusting their portfolio to stock market volatility than women, according to the same Millionaire Corner study.

Stock market volatility has affected more than just investment strategies for men vs. women. 

Seventy-one percent of women surveyed state that they are being more selective in their shopping habits and are watching for deals, compared to only 63 percent of men who have become more thoughtful and purposeful shoppers.  Women are 10 percent more likely than men to have reduced spending or purchase less expensive products. 

Ask men vs. women who makes the best financial decisions regarding their investment strategies, and the answers stay true to type. Eighty-two percent of men state they make the better financial decisions vs. 62 percent of women.

Women are better team players.  They give more credit to a collaborative effort than men when considering decisions regarding investment strategies. Eighty-three percent reports they financial decisions are made jointly compared with 39 percent of men.

Men and women do share an awareness of the financial state of the overall estate as well as knowing what to do in the event of the death of a spouse.  Ninety-two percent of men and women say that their spouse knows the financial state of their estate.  All investors surveyed said they feel confident that they could locate the necessary financial documents in the event of their spouse’s death.