Women and Online Investing
Women, everywhere, have traditionally been more hesitant to jump onto the online investment bandwagon. As a woman, I understand that we tend to be slightly more cautious with our finances and many of us would rather allow someone else we trust to make our investment decisions for us. Of course, there a few of us who are financially intelligent, but unfortunately, they are the exception, rather than the norm.
Today, we find women being successful in every sphere of life. Come to think of it, why should investing be any different? That sets me thinking. If women were to invest, would we do it differently from men? More importantly, can we be successful?
We know for a fact that day-trading and playing the stock market has always been a male bastion. Yet, over the last few years, more and more women have joined in. The increasing availability of information and online services have helped fuel this trend. One of the main reasons for not investing is the fact that many of us may not have an idea in what or where to start. The beauty of internet is that we can find a lot of great information that allows us to start understanding the nuances of financial markets and hence begin to take our own financial decisions. You can begin by going through some of the articles written by the RKSV team on this website. RKSV even offers plans with zero brokerage that can be beneficial for you as beginners. Click here to know more.
I firmly believe that women and investing are a natural fit as it involves patience and research, both of which comes naturally to us. Remember the hours of shopping, comparisons and research we did to get those perfect pair of shoes? On the other hand, in the testosterone laden male brain, the most important thing is beating the other guy. And more importantly, bragging about it. Asking for advice is blasphemy and thinking about risk is for sissies. No wonder then Wall Street booms and busts every few years.
But, we women put safety first and risk-averseness dominates most of the decisions that we take in our daily lives. We shy away from uncertainty and are less prone to overconfidence, thus giving us all the qualities that a great investor must possess. So, chances are that our portfolios may be less risky, more diversified and better positioned to outperform.
I firmly believe that investing is a goal that can be easily conquered by women and should be looked at as something that we can achieve, if we apply ourselves to it. But, like always, be sure of your financial goals and objective before you decide to take the plunge.