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WOMEN SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR INHERENT INVESTMENT INSTINCTS JEANETTE MARAIS offers some guidance for women wanting to start their investment journey. IN A world where a financial disparity between men and women still exists, women have some distinct advantages when it comes to investment. We cannot deny there is still a financial earnings gap between men and women, especially when it comes to money. Yet, when it comes to investing, women have inherent advantages over their male counterparts. In an episode of the money show Geldhelde on Via (DStv channel 147), we addressed this topic, looking at some of the traits women have that make us good investors and, importantly, how to harness them. As a woman who has built her
career in this field, I can confidently say women should use their natural born talent for investment. A 2019 study by the Warwick Business School found women outperform men by 1.8% on investment returns. They did this by analysing the behaviour and returns of 2 800 investors over three years by looking at a range of differences between the genders and investment behaviour. The study shows that, generally, women tend to take a longerview perspective and trade less frequently. This reveals a more considered approach by women, with greater focus being placed on the realisation of a financial goal, rather than the thrill of investing.
If women opt to play to their strengths, they would soon realise these qualities have resulted in our superior investment prowess and form the basis of Momentum Investments’ underlying philosophy of outcome-based investing. Staying invested over the long-term produces superior returns, which is why we follow an outcomes-based investment philosophy that aims to shift investors’ focus away from tracking performance and towards their personal investment objectives. And when we consider the fact that we’re already on the financial back foot in terms of earnings, that we tend to outlive our male friends (so our money needs to last longer) and that we often need to juggle
