I think it's safe to say that on the whole, women are AWESOME. We're fierce, capable, successful, caring, empathetic, curious, intelligent, supportive, compassionate, and have tons of other redeeming qualities. Unfortunately, what most of us lack is confidence and time…and these are two of the main reasons why women tend to shy away from most financial tasks – especially trading or investing.
Across the globe, there are 2 men trading for every female trader. When it comes to the professional realm, the gap is even greater; in the venture capital (VC) world, only 4.9 percent of venture capital partners are female. In the private equity world there's a bit of improvement, but women still only make up just under 10 percent of private equity partners.
Why women aren't trading:
Lack of knowledge
Lack of experience
Lack of time
Fear
Lack of confidence
Inability to seek help (no time to seek help, or lack of confidence to ask for help)
Certainly, all of these are valid reasons to prevent women from getting involved or taking 'unnecessary' risks. However, I would like to argue, investing isn't 'unnecessary'. It's entirely necessary.
Why women should be trading:
Women live, on average, 5 years more than their male counterparts. It's incumbent on women to plan for their longevity and to make sure they'll be financially secure at all times.
Putting your money to work for you will help ensure that you will have the resources to enjoy your later years and to afford healthcare or long-term care if needed.
Keeping your money in cash, with low or no interest, when inflation hovers around 3 percent, will actually cause your money to devalue over time. Not only will it not earn money, but it will actually amount to less money by the time you want to withdraw it.
Studies show that while women trade less than men, women tend to produce better results from their trading than men, by approximately 40 percentage points.
Advantages of female traders over male traders:
Women are less impulsive than men, which allows them to make smarter, more successful trades (studies from the NIH, Caltech and the Economist all confirm that male's higher testosterone levels contribute to higher rates of impulsivity in men over women)
Women by nature tend to be planners, and there's no question that planning trades yields better results.
Women tend to place fewer trades than men, and fewer trades tends to increase profitability (studies into the trading habits of their traders by Vanguard and Fidelity support these findings).
Ready to start putting your money to work for you?
Here are some steps to get started:
1 – Learn the difference between investing and trading (I've expanded upon this in the full webinar)
2 – Arrange to transfer a set amount of money each month into your trading account.
3 – Learn about how the market works, and what trading strategies will help you reach your financial goals.
4 – Don't be afraid to practice on a demo account to test your strategies before investing real month.
In fact, don't be afraid of anything – YOU CAN DO THIS!