There seems to be increasing evidence to suggest that women are better at…well, just about everything, really.
In 2011, author Dan Abrams released a book under the title: “Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else.”
Abrams also argues that women are less likely to be hit by lightning for the simple reason that they’re not foolish enough to stand outside in a storm (I’ve heard similar theories about young men and snake bites in Australia).make for superior soldiers as they tend to complain about pain less.
Women make for better spies because they have the soft skills to get people to talk candidly.
Women, says Abrams, are more practical and more rational, and generally just perform better at stuff than men are.
It certainly hasn’t been such a great time to be a man of late.
Of the 7.5 million jobs that were reportedly lost in the US through the financial crisis, it is said that around three quarters of those made redundant were male.
This was largely due to male-dominated industries such as construction and finance being so adversely impacted.
In spite of this, most of the top roles in the business and political environments are still held by men.
Unfortunately, only a handful of women become listed company CEOs or heads of state in many developed countries.
This will gradually shift over time as the Millennial Generation demands greater flexibility from workplace arrangements.
The good news for now is that women can often be smarter with the money they do earn. Here are five of the reasons why:
1. Overconfidence
Men can often over-estimate their own ability when it comes to investment.
This can lead to unnecessary risk-taking and the making of sub-optimal decisions.
2. Overtrading
Buying and selling investments too frequently can impact returns through generating transaction costs and taxes.
Women tend to trade less frequently than men and often spend more time researching an investment before committing capital.
3. Seeking advice
Research has shown that women tend to be more willing to seek property investment advice than men.
This is related to the previous point on overconfidence. As in so many fields of life it pays to seek expertise and to learn from it.
4. Rationality
Men have an unfortunate tendency to react more emotionally to both winning and losing investments.
The best investors treat investment as a business to be treated unemotionally rather than becoming excited or aroused.
5. Seeking lower returns
Women tend to expect lower returns than men and this may result in more sensible decisions.
Men expect faster returns and thus increase their capacity to self-destruct.
We know that the best investors over time are those who invest for the long term and limit their potential to make destructive decisions.
In this regard, then, men should learn to be more like women and use more common sense.
Then perhaps in the future men will perform in their investments as well as women can.
If we survive long enough to find out that is!
