10 Tips from Women Investing Experts

As a woman in the financial industry, which was (and still is) male-dominated, I loved working with other women! I found they were receptive to my advice, smart, savvy, and forward-thinking. Always open and candid. Best of all, women are intuitive. When women trust their gut, it never steers them wrong.

Male clients, generally, would ask big questions. They wanted to know my qualifications. They wanted to know how to grow their money fast. They often came in swinging with this “how much more wealth will I gain?!” King Kong mentality.

One important thing to consider when investing is your financial planning. Make a financial roadmap considering the investment you’re about to make and how much balance you’ll be left with. You need to understand your capabilities of financial risk tolerance based on a roadmap. This will also guide you well about financial management, which will come in handy for business dealings in the future.

Our natural inclination is to buy during the hype and sell out of fear at a market low. This is the opposite of profitable investing, but is unfortunately difficult to overcome. My strategy is to automate a specific investing dollar amount each month, and then invest additional money when the market dips. I’m currently holding almost all investments indefinitely.

There are many complex investment strategies used by investors today. Most of these strategies have to be appropriately studied before being used. Some of the most popular investment strategies include:

Growth investing – Growth investing involves buying the stock of a company not on the potential of the stock alone but the company’s growth. The stocks of fast-growing companies are purchased in the belief that as the company grows, so will the value of their stock.

Value investing – This involves investing in stocks that are perceived to be undervalued and waiting for the value to increase.

Investors should avoid over-leveraging themselves when financing because they can easily fall into debt. I had an opportunity to acquire two more units to my portfolio, but that would deplete my cash reserves, which are dedicated to unforeseen expenses with my properties.

The earlier you start investing, the sooner compounding interest will begin to work in your favor. I believe you should have paid off all of your high-interest consumer debt (such as credit card debt) before you build an investment strategy. You should also have some level of cash saved up in case of emergencies. On principle, you need at least one month of expenses saved. I would recommend, however, at least three months’ expenses are saved.

The power of compounding is significant. The more you can invest now, the more you will have later. If you can make sacrifices now, such as not going out to dinner every week, it will pay off in the long run when you start to see those investments grow.

Before committing capital, it’s important to create a well-defined investment strategy. Part of that strategy should include diversifying your portfolio to protect it from market volatility. Alternative assets, like agriculture, can provide a hedge against inflation. These investments are usually negatively correlated to the overall stock market, and produce solid returns compared to other asset classes.

Women are great at playing the “long game”, so a great strategy (that’s conservative) is investing in INDEX funds. Basically, you buy a little bit of everything and hold it for decades. Don’t mess with it, just let it ride through all the storms, and in the end, you will have benefitted from the overall increase in the market, without the worry or the time spent managing it all. Slow and steady wins the race (especially with investing)!

Women should avoid a sales pitch. Seek advice from a Certified Financial Planner professional. These advisors comply with a code of ethics in order to maintain the credentials. Along with a code of ethics, they follow a standard of conduct that includes a fiduciary duty, integrity, professionalism among other standards. Interview multiple advisors to find the best match for you. As far as what to avoid as an investment, I would recommend avoiding high risk investments unless they have money to gamble. Like the story of the tortoise and the hare, sometimes you can be more successful doing things slowly and steadily (or in the investing world – investing for a long-term) than by acting quickly and carelessly.

It’s okay to ask questions. You work really hard for your money, and developing a strategy to grow that money requires asking questions, gathering information and making investment decisions that make sense for you and your goals. Your individual goals are not going to be the same as someone else’s, so ask questions that are relevant to your needs. Share your goals with an advisor or broker, and don’t stop asking questions until you’re satisfied that you are armed with all the information you need to invest wisely.