Women Are Leading More Investment Strategies…Here’s Why
“Money is something we choose to trade our life energy for. Our life energy is our allotment of time here on earth, the hours of precious life available to us….it is limited and irretrievable…our choices about how we use it express the meaning and purpose of our time here on earth.”
—Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life
Contrary to the popular belief, money isn’t a man’s game. More and more women are now making the financial decisions for their family, including investment strategy.
According to the Family Wealth Advisors Council:
- In four of 10 American families, the woman is the breadwinner.
- Nearly 95% of women will be their family’s primary decision maker at some point in their lives.
- Women account for more than 40% of all Americans with gross investable assets of more than $600,000 and 48% of the country’s millionaires.
- An estimated $25 trillion will accrue to women through 2030 via generational and spousal transfers. (By then, at least two-thirds of the nation’s wealth will be in women’s hands.)
Generally speaking, women put energy into the areas they care deeply about.
How they behave with money is a gauge that reflects these values.
Just as women are carefully reading food labels and altering household purchases to keep their families healthy, they are also thinking about the entire path and impact of each and every dollar they spend…especially when it comes to moving larger amounts of their money around.
What kind of company or service do they want to support (or avoid) to reflect their value systems?
The moment they go with either-or is the moment that choice reflects them as an individual, a partner, wife, mother, employee or employer. Many women are curious about the overall behavior of the corporate entity that make specific products, and will actively complete research or seek out companies that exhibit the values and attributes that match their view of the world. These attributes may include treating employees and suppliers honorably, giving back to the local community, and using only their fair share of environmental resources.
Women are currently leading a sweeping divestment-reinvestment shift in finance.
They are choosing to invest in and support companies that hold a triple bottom line philosophy. This means a company not only pays attention to making a profit, it is also socially and environmentally responsible.
The sheer volume of dollars women are making decisions about will shape the future of the investment markets.
This act of consciously investing will affect both sides of the gender coin–it already has in certain governments, institutions, endowments, and financial groups.
Whether you’re a man or a woman, do a check-in with your financial and investment decisions, and see if you’re making choices that reflect your values.
To schedule an appointment with Leesa Sluder, contact us.
