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The weekend Barron’s highlighted the Top 100 Women Financial Advisors. As a woman investor, the first thought that popped into my mind is that there is no award for the Top 100 Male Financial Advisors. Can you imagine the outrage from women, including me, if there was? Is this fair? When Barron’s first came out with this award in 2006, I asked myself if it wasn’t just about finding the best person to manage your money, regardless of the sex of the financial advisor.
I know I can only admit asking this question because I am a woman. I would imagine that there are times when an investor, male or female, wants to work specifically with one sex or the other. This could be especially true after a brutal divorce, or the loss of a spouse. Women, however, do tend to be more intuitive and supportive than their male counterparts; One of the women financial advisors had a master’s degree in theology to re-enforce that point.
Harvard University’s Edward O. Wilson, the “father” of sociobiology, said that females tend to be higher than males in empathy, verbal skills, and social skills, among other things. All of the winners that were interviewed commented on the need to support their clients through difficult times, whether due to stock market corrections or estate issues. The past decade has certainly called for this.
Aside from being there for their client’s in a supporting role, the strategies and suggestions of each of the women interviewed were impressive. Among them was selling put options to provide income, seeking stocks that have a history of increasing dividends at a time when dividends are at an historic low and companies are cash rich, and Master limited partnerships.
I know one thing for certain; I am proud of these top 100 female financial advisors who stepped forward years ago in a field strongly dominated by men and made their way to the top. If they can do this, I know each of us can be involved in the oversight and the management of our money as empowered women investors.