Often when I discuss my investing strategies with male friends (yes, guys, women can have strictly platonic male friends), the most debated topic is the use of investment advisors. Namely I use them and my male buddies often don’t. I always thought I was the odd gal out in the high net worth club until I read Millionaire Women Next Door.
Here’s what Thomas J. Stanley says about the differences between female millionaires and male millionaires… (the we, he mentions, being female millionaires)
“We are significantly more likely than our male counterparts to: develop a detailed accounting system for tracking all household expenditures; research more thoroughly the stocks we are considering as additions to our portfolios; hold stocks longer; use the services of investment counselors, especially those affiliated with trust or commercial investment companies and fee-based financial planners; have a well-defined set of both short- and long-term investment-return goals.”
So there you have it. We, women, like to use advisors (maybe because we play nicer with others?). We also are slow to buy and slow to sell (could have to do with having set goals).
We are different investors. That doesn’t mean our returns are better or worse. They might be exactly the same but how we get there is different. That’s why E and I started this blog. There are many great male financial bloggers out there, talking about their own investment strategies. But there aren’t as many personal finance blogger sisters and we DO invest differently. We think about money differently.