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Women Invest Differently
The University of California at Davis has done a study of 35,000 brokerage accounts from 1991 to 1997
and found that men tend to trade 45% more often than women, often hurting themselves in the process. And that was before all the day trading swept the country. Women, on the other hand, tend
to move toward lower risk investing weighted with their particular values. Since far fewer women than men manage mutual funds, it is hard to tell their actual track record. However, according
to Mutual Funds Magazine (April 2000) their performance is equal to, if not better than their male counterparts—they just do it differently.
All this is to say what we already know:
women are just different. So instead of trying to learn and follow the male pattern, why not seek to invest with your social and moral values in mind through portfolio screening and
values-based investing? The widely diverse holdings of some of the large companies makes it difficult to discern all of their interests, but there are lists of companies that support and
promote pornography, gambling, alcohol, abortion, violent entertainment and tobacco. Several well respected market indices have shown that screening such companies out of your portfolio will
not adversely affect income.
If we own stock in a company, we need to know what it is doing. The Bible says, "When you sin against your brother in this way, and wound their weak
conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat (or invest in) causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat (invest in it) again, so that I will not cause him to
fall." I Cor. 8:12-13 ("Eat" is only a metaphor for everything we do.)
To implement changes, talk to your financial consultant and together eliminate those companies
from your portfolio and then reinvest in companies and funds that reflect your values. Don't let criticism or any reluctance of your advisor deter you. Go to the Scriptures and see that God
will give you wisdom (James 1:5), focus (Phil.4:3) and courage (Mark 8:34).
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