The one-year anniversary of the historic 2017 Women’s March made me stop and think about what gender inequalities still exist in America today. One of the most talked about gaps is the gender pay-gap. 83% of women agree that the pay-gap exists, but only 55% of women acknowledge that we suffer from another financial gap as well when compared to men – the investment gap.

According to the BlackRock Annual Global Investor Pulse Survey a whopping 71% of assets controlled by women are kept in cash compared to 60% of the assets controlled by men. Hard earned money sitting in cash is not only not gaining in value it is potentially losing value due to inflation and taxes, thus putting women even further behind men. The investment gap further widens the total financial gap that exists between men and women that begins with the pay gap. The pay gap can be harder (but not impossible!) to overcome for any one women alone, but she does have control over the investment gap. Investing is a choice.

There are fundamental differences in how men and women invest. Men tend to like buying and selling more frequently, with men trading on average 45% more than women. This tends to eat into their returns. Women tend to stick to long-term goals which means they are great “buy and hold” investors, which can improve their long-term returns.

The biggest investment mistake women make is never investing to begin with and this has a significant impact on their long-term financial goals. Fear of risk and lack of confidence are two reasons many women tend to stay on the side lines. At WestView Investment Advisors half of our staff is female (like our population) and we get it. We are a fee-only Registered Investment Advisory and financial planning firm in Hilton Head Island, SC. Pat Sokolowski is a Certified Financial Planner™ and she can help you feel confident about your finances, reach your financial goals and close the financial gap. Every journey must begin somewhere, you can start yours by contacting Pat at pat@westviewinvest.com or (843) 271-6088