Women Found to Be Better Informed About Investing

Most women know more about investing than they did five years ago, according to a securities industry executive.

The increase accompanies a rise in investing, said Bridget Macaskill, president and chief executive of OppenheimerFunds Inc., citing statistics based on a survey by her firm that showed as many women as men are buying mutual funds.

“Five years ago, women still believed their financial future was going to be secured by the government, a corporation, or, most typically, a spouse, preferably armor-plated and riding a white steed,” Macaskill said.

That’s no longer the case, as most women and men now recognize that “no one is going to secure their future for them,” she said.

The Oppenheimer survey found that many more women, about 65%, are more interested in investing than they were five years ago.

Not only are more women buying mutual funds, but they also know more than ever about the benefits and risks of different securities, Macaskill said.

Oppenheimer’s survey, which included 1,007 women nationwide, found similar results to one recently compiled for Fidelity Investments that found women are more likely than men to take retirement-planning steps other than 401(k) and other company-sponsored plans.

Women, for instance, more frequently contribute to individual retirement accounts, according to the Fidelity survey, which included an analysis of the investing habits of 504 adults who have had 401(k) plans for an average of more than nine years.

The findings of the Oppenheimer and Fidelity surveys come as women’s life expectancy is growing. Also, changing demographics have found women more often than not the ones in charge of household finances, because more women are heads of their households than ever before, the survey showed.