Why Women Are Emerging as the Better Investors

She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. The good old book must have perfectly foretold how the modern woman would once have the sharper edge when it comes to real estate investing.

Women all over the world are literary taking over many aspects of life, including the investment space and according to a recent study titled Women and Money Survey and done by Fidelity Investments, their investment gains surpassed those of their male counterparts by 0.4% last year. This was based on an analysis done on more than 8 million client accounts at this Boston, Massachusetts based multinational financial services corporation.

The same study did an analysis of 14 million employer retirement accounts that are serviced by Fidelity and found that women saved 9% of their salaries in 2016, while men only saved 8.6% for their retirement days.

Much as those differences do not seem considerable, the blending of better returns and higher savings can add up to bigger account balances in the future. For example, according to this Fidelity survey a woman with a $75,000 salary who starts to invest at age 30 and saves 9% each year and earns a 6.4% annual return would have a portfolio worth nearly $200,000 more at age 67 than a man who saves 8.6% with an annual return of 6%.

Here are 7 reasons why women are emerging as the better investors:

1. Disciplined, more Patience and more grounded: Women, really, are better at making long term goals and sticking by them. This means that they are able to focus on capital intensive investments such us acquiring property.
2. The 21st Century Woman of Intellect: Today’s woman has really sharpened her edge. Most Universities classes in Kenya are currently filled up to the brim - by women. Many Kenyan women are now either holding a Master’s degree or currently pursuing one. This knowledgeable lot is very informed on the right investment choices and they are already taking the bull by its horns.
3. Banding Together: Many progressing women are pooling their resources together in the form of investment clubs. Call it Chamas or whatever name, but bottom-line, these investment outfits are taking up huge investments in areas like the real estate.
4. The huger population: Kenya’s sex ratio favours the female gender. Here is an example of some three adult age structures in this East African nation: 15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female; 25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female and 55-64 years: 0.82 male(s)/female.
5. The Networking Mavens: Women are better in networking amongst themselves compared with men. They can easily tap crucial investment information from such networks.
6. Longer Life Expectancy: Here is a hard fact, according to the latest WHO data (2015), male life expectancy at birth is 61years while female life expectancy at birth is 66 years. Given this piece of information, many women will end up managing their family’s wealth portfolio at some point in life.
7. Finally, just like Diane Mariechild once said, a woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.

By Muchiri Muchoki, Optiven Limited

Optiven Limited can be reached on: Email: info@optiven.co.ke or diaspora@optiven.co.ke  Website: www.optiven.co.ke or https://www.youtube.com/user/OptivenEnterprises/featured