Consider Firing Your Male Broker

Clare Francis, a director at Barclays Smart Investor, agreed with the researchers, who attributed the difference in performance to women’s judiciousness. “The stock market is often portrayed as a high-energy, risky environment,” she said. “But this analysis shows that taking a more long-term view about what to invest in, rather than picking eye-catching and potentially more volatile shares, is actually likely to provide a better return on your money.”

In one of my favorite papers, “Boys Will Be Boys,” published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Terrance Odean at U.C. Berkeley and Brad Barber at U.C. Davis found that accounts owned by women outperformed those of men because women traded a whopping 69 percent less than men and incurred less in trading costs. Why did the men trade more? The research indicates men regularly exhibit overconfidence in their ability.

Christine Lagarde, chairwoman of the International Monetary Fund, was one of many world leaders to remark that the 2008 crisis might have never happened if there had been more women in high-ranking positions to pull the reins on the testosterone-tinged frenzy. Instead, all told, $19.2 trillion of household wealth was lost in America alone.

As a result, finance in general, and the financial advice field in particular, continues to be viewed as an industry plagued with slick con artists. And it’s a shame because as much as we may trust our best friends and close relatives, we rarely disclose to them that most private and sensitive aspect of our personal information: the state of our money. That discretion is instead placed with your financial adviser, who ideally is one of the good guys (or gals) in your life.

He listens first. You can calculate to the penny how much you paid for his services last year. His company adheres to the fiduciary standard of putting clients’ interests first. Your financial plan does not conveniently lean on products that happen to pay him a hefty sales commission. Usually, you’re the one calling back, because he’s anticipating your needs before they arise.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/opinion/business-economics/new-year-resolution-investor-gende-gap.html?partner=rss&emc=rss