The Women Investing Now poll, conducted by Harris Interactive, surveyed 900 adult financial decision-makers, ages 21-79, with investable assets of at least $5,000 and either active brokerage accounts or privately purchased mutual funds. The sample included GenXers (21-35), Boomers (36- 54), Matures (55-64) and Seniors (65-79), according to Schwab.

Despite the increasing affluence of each generation, creating a disparity between GenXers, who are most likely to be relatively well off, and Seniors, who are most likely to have struggled, family discussions about money focused on the general importance of saving, 76 percent of respondents said. Only 37 percent said that conversation made the leap to talking about the importance of investing.  When financial matters were discussed within the family, gender stereotypes prevailed; the men were more apt to be included in discussions about the stock market (23 percent of men versus 16 percent of women) and estate planning (25 percent of the men versus 12 percent of the women), Schwab reported.

"It appears that women in our culture, from childhood through maturity, have routinely but subtly been denied exposure to, and training in, personal financial planning," noted Carrie Schwab Pomerantz, Vice President/Consumer Education and leader of Schwab's Women Investing Now program.  "When it comes to making investments, many women are still not as confident as they might be, a reflection, perhaps, of the traditional attitudes that shaped their upbringing."

"Women have made such incredible strides over the past three decades in the workplace, it's surprising they haven't kept pace by taking a pivotal role in planning their family's financial future," Schwab Pomerantz commented. "But our data show they are very open to learning, especially from other women who have already broken ground on the field of investing."

Regardless of age, money is still a taboo subject, falling between sex and drugs as the topic least talked about by parents with their children, according to most respondents.  Actual dollar amounts of family savings and investments were never or rarely talked about, according to 55 and 30 percent of respondents, respectively.  The majority of all respondents (53 percent) agreed that their parents felt talking about money was too personal for children.  This perception held true even for GenX women, more of whom agreed than did their male peers:  31 percent of GenX women versus only 13 percent of GenX men. 
"This finding could perhaps be interpreted as an indication that many boomer parents have not yet let go of the gender bias their generation rallied against in so many other ways," Schwab Pomerantz said.

Nearly three-quarters of men (73 percent) said investing is fun and 82 percent were confident in their abilities, while only 52 percent of women said investing is fun, and a similar percentage expressed confidence in their investing skills.

More than half of the women surveyed (57 percent) indicated they would prefer to delegate investment management to a professional.  Twice as many women as men (48 percent versus 24 percent) indicated that investing is scary for them, and a majority of women (54 percent) likened investing to gambling. In addition, GenX women were just as likely as senior women to respond that they find investing scary (51 percent and 50 percent, respectively) in stark contrast to the men of those generations (19 percent and 18 percent, respectively).  Among married investors, over half the wives (51 percent) said investing is fun for their husbands, and 64 percent of husbands said investing is scary for their wives.
 
According to the survey results, women are much more likely to be motivated to invest by "life events":  the looming specter of retirement (44 percent of all women versus 34 percent of all men); marriage, which is a major factor for GenX women especially (35 percent of GenX women versus 20 percent of GenX men); and inheritance, a major influence for senior women (26 percent for senior women versus 9 percent of senior men).  

Each successive generation has embraced investing earlier, according to the poll, and males have always begun sooner than females -- until now, Schwab reported. GenXers of both genders began investing at about the same age (by age 23), in stark contrast to seniors, who averaged out at 38 years for men, 45 years for women.  The disappearance of this gender disparity is a rare example of substantive change over the years.  "GenXers are investing at an earlier age than their parents and grandparents, and findings show that this is being triggered by their earlier exposure to 401(k) plans in the workplace," concludes Schwab Pomerantz.  "So even though GenX women may be intimidated by investing, the power of the 401(k) is motivating them to start."

In addition, women are open to learning more, and in different ways than men. Approximately 64 percent of all women respondents said they might be more interested in investing if they knew more about it, versus 49 percent of men.  Gathering information through shared learning experiences such as investment seminars and clubs hold great appeal for women, while men tend to be much less interested in such channels.

Gender-based seminars appealed to 65 percent of women, versus 42 percent of men; and 52 percent of women viewed gender-based investment clubs favorably, while only 26 percent favored them.  Men prefer to hunt for their resources, via the Internet, books and tapes.  Both men and women look closely at performance data as the best evaluation tool, but women are more likely to be "hands-on," according to the poll. More women tend to attach importance to using and liking a company's product or service before investing in the company; only 20 percent of women do not consider it important, compared to 32 percent of the men.

-- SmartPros News Staff

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