Women & Investing Survey Finds: Widows = Model Investors

Single, Married and Divorcees Can Benefit From Their Financial Approach

 

Retirement On the Mind Yet Half of Women Respondents Do Not Participate in a Retirement Plan

 

 

NEW YORK, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ — A newly released national survey finds that whether women are single, married and co-habitants, divorced or widowed can have key differences in their attitudes and behaviors with regard to investing.

The OppenheimerFunds, Inc. 2007 Women & Investing Survey (1), released today, found that attitudes about investing differed among marital demographics, especially in the case of widows. Widowed women had more confidence when it came to managing their money, with nearly 65% of widowed respondents giving themselves a rating of 8 or better on a scale of 1-10 when asked how good of a job they are doing managing their money. This compares with nearly 40% of married/co-habitants and single respondents and 52% of divorced respondents who answered in the same way.

“It makes sense that women who are responsible for their own finances through a major life event such as widowhood or divorce have more confidence in their money management skills,” said Lauren Coulston, Assistant Vice President, Advocacy and Training Manager at OppenheimerFunds. “One possible reason for this confidence could be because we see more widows working with financial advisors. Widowed women are often forced to deal with their own finances and appear to approach financial planning methodically. Often financial planning occurs in a time of crisis but it does not have to.”

Widowed respondents were also more likely (almost 68%) to list retirement as their primary investment goal followed by divorced (59%), married/co- habitants (57%) and single (54%), and least likely to cite a lack of extra money as the reason they are not currently participating in a retirement savings vehicle or plan. When asked which source of information they relied on for investing advice, widows accounted for the highest percentage (40.5%), that relied on a financial advisor followed by divorced (17.3%), married/co- habitants (16.7%) and single (11%), and were the least likely group to rely on no source of investment information.

“The fact is, eighty to ninety percent of women will be solely responsible for managing their own finances at some point of their life due to longer life expectancies and higher divorce rates, said Coulston. “Regardless of marital status, financial advisors should bring women into financial conversations as early as possible.”

Rent-to-own risks, rewards

November 12, 2007, Inman Blog

Some home sellers are turning back the pages of an old playbook in offering to turn renters into buyers. The market slump has resurfaced contracts that can bring rental income to sellers and give renters the ability to work toward the purchase of the home they are renting.

These rent-to-own contracts, which are also known as lease with an option to buy or lease-option deals, typically allow prospective buyers to rent a property for a designated period of time while providing an option to purchase that property at a specific price, according to real estate columnist Ilyce R. Glink. Prospective buyers are typically asked to pay an option fee, and the deals can be structured so that this fee and a portion of the rent count toward the down payment in the purchase.

Is buying home today a good investment?

Answer depends on whether goals are short- or long-term Monday, November 05, 2007 Inman News

Up until the recent slowdown, homeowners in many parts of the country saw the value of their homes rise rapidly. Home prices, in many areas, seemed to move in just one direction: up. A combination of record-low interest rates and rapid price appreciation turned many homeowners into serial refinancers. When interest rates dropped, one mortgage was exchanged for another, sometimes several times within one year. As home values rose, cash-out refinances allowed homeowners to pull equity out of their homes to remodel, send children to college, take vacations and buy new cars. It was good for the economy while wiping out billions of dollars of homeowner equity. Tapping into home equity seemed like a great idea until the housing market softened. Now there are millions of homeowners around the country who can’t sell their home for enough to pay off the loans secured against the property. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Buying a home is still a good investment if you can afford it, if you are ready to put down roots in a community, and if you want to invest in your personal happiness. Profit potential shouldn’t be your only reason for buying a home, even though in most cases your home will appreciate in value if you maintain it and if you own it long enough. The housing market, like any economic market, is cyclical. There are periods of robust activity followed by periods of sluggishness. Prices can go down as well as up. Now that the market has softened in most areas, it’s time to look at owning your home as a way to gain control over your personal domain — not as a source of quick cash.

The New ‘Wealth Management Exchange’ Website Helps High Net Worth Investors Gain Control Of Their Portfolios and Estates

NEW YORK, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ — High net worth investors now have the opportunity to exchange investment strategies and ideas as well as tap into the knowledge and experience of some of the world’s foremost financial advisors, writers and market experts.

Wealth Management Exchange (http://www.wealthmanagementexchange.com/) is a new online community for affluent investors.

“Our estates and investments are too important to completely hand over to someone else,” says Wayne Cooper, CEO and cofounder of Wealth Management Exchange. “We can delegate select functions like money management to those who have the training, and experience but ultimately we must monitor them, make sure that they are performing well, executing our plans and charging reasonable fees. We must retain the quarterback position.”

Stereotypes of Wealthy Women Challenged In New Study From Asset Management Advisors

PALM BEACH, Fla./PRNewswire/ — Wealthy women today are not only wealthy, but well educated and working too. They give education and work a high priority, manage their own money and careers, are philanthropic, and want to give their children equal shares in their wealth, a recent study sponsored by Asset Management Advisors (AMA) concluded.

AMA’s CEO, Mel Lagomasino, remarked on the importance of the study findings stating, “Women are key decision makers, making up 46 percent of top wealth holders in the U.S., so understanding their needs, views and approach to wealth is critical to helping families successfully manage their wealth.” With a 20.7% response rate, over 100 women with a combined minimum net worth exceeding $2 billion participated in the study sponsored by AMA. The study focused on women’s approach to wealth management, including their attitudes, values, practices and wealth transfer intentions.

“The study’s findings help debunk some prevalent myths, particularly around affluent women’s involvement, awareness, education and employment,” said Kirby Rosplock, vice president of research & development, who conducted the research. The study is part of a larger, multi-institutional study conducted with Fredda Herz Brown, Ph.D. and Dennis Jaffe, Ph.D., principals at Relative Solutions.

Some of the myths challenged by the study’s findings include the notion that affluent women are not that educated or employed, that they are not interested or involved with the management of their wealth; that women are not communicating about their wealth, specifically their estate plan and wealth transfer intentions to the next generation and women are not interested or focused on legacy planning. On the contrary, many of the research findings provide insights that challenge some of these stereotypical generalizations.

Some key insights gleaned from the study are: 

 
    -- Surveyed affluent women are not only wealthy, but very well educated:
       Over 60% of the women indicated that the net worth of their household
       was between $5 and $100 million. When asked about the level of
       education completed, over 80% had at least a Bachelor's degree and over

       40% had a Master's or Ph.D. 

 
    -- A majority of wealthy women work: 53% of the women surveyed are
       employed and manage their own careers.  70% expect family members to

       work. 

 
    -- Supporting family members financially with their education is a
       priority: Not only do the women who were surveyed feel it is important
       to be educated themselves, 70% agreed that it is important to support

       family members financially with their education. 

 
    -- A majority of women concur that they are in control and involved with
       the management of their wealth: When asked to rate the statement, "I
       have control of my wealth," 68% agreed, and over 50% said they are
       actively involved with the management of their wealth.  Women expressed
       the importance of not relying on a man when it came to their wealth,
       and the importance of being educated and knowledgeable about wealth

       management issues. 

 
    -- A majority of women are talking about wealth in their families and have
       communicated to their children about their estate plan and inheritance.
       Seventy-one percent of women indicated that their families are talking
       about wealth. Over 70% of women agreed that they are talking to
       advisors and spouses about wealth, with 62% of women agreeing that they
       have talked with children about estate plans and 64% of women agreeing

       that have talked with children about their inheritance. 

 
    -- A majority of women indicate that their families are philanthropic.
       Over 85% of women indicated that their families are currently
       philanthropic, and interviews indicated that women and families are
       volunteering their time, knowledge and expertise as well as their
       dollars. Of special note, 43% of women indicated that they serve on a

       community board(s). 

 
    -- A majority of women anticipate having their children inherit equally.
       Almost all women with children indicated that some portion of their
       wealth would go to their children, and 95% of mothers surveyed intend
       for their children to inherit equally.

The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women

Every once in a while I’ll pick up Forbes magazine if there is something of interest on the cover that I can relate to and have the time to read.  Last week or so I discovered the special report on The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.   It’s an incredibly inspiring report that I’ve saved it for those moments when I think “what else can happen women?” or “how am I ever going to jump over the next hurdle in my career to help women?”  I’ll turn to those pages and get re-inspired all over again. 

Although this report doesn’t exactly have to do with the housing market or what is going on in the San Francisco East Bay real estate market it is certainly worth mentioning in this blog. Anything that has to do with women and the inroads that we make is worthy of being noted in this blog…and beside, don’t you think that most if not all of these women own their own homes AND include real estate in their investment portfolio? Below are a few snap shots of the women in the top 20 of the list. 

The top 100 includes:  

#25. Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Senator, is trying to make history as the first female U.S. president.

#26.Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House, House of Representatives Pelosi made history as the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives when the Democrats reclaimed control of the U.S. Congress.

#29.Susan E. Arnold President, global business units, Procter & Gamble is the highest-ranking woman in P&G’s 170-year history.

#30.Andrea Jung Chairman, chief executive, Avon Products The first female head of the world’s premier direct seller of beauty products.

#34.Zoe Cruz Co-president, Morgan Stanley Cruz is the most senior woman on Wall Street.

#36.Ann Livermore, Executive Vice President, Hewlett-Packard She heads HP’s most critical business, its Tech Solutions Group, a $34 billion division.

#39. Tzipora Livni Foreign affairs minister is now increasingly touted as possibly the next Prime Minster of Israel.

#61. Susan Desmond-Hellmann, President, product development, Genentech is widely considered the most powerful woman in biotech.

#64. Sharon Allen, Chairman, Deloitte & Touche, became the highest-ranking woman in the company’s history.

#70. Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chairman, Ernst & Young, is the global vice chair at Ernst & Young, one of the Big Four accounting firms. She helps manage one of the largest private companies in the world.

#74. Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s Chief international correspondent, has captured worldwide respect for her relentless pursuit of scoops. There’s a reason why she is one of the most honored TV journalists in the U.S.

#89. Luisa Diogo, Mozambique’s Prime Minister has made her mark as an anti-poverty and health advocate and has recently focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment.  

#95. Mary West Cofounder, West Corp, is one of only ten self-made women billionaires.  

#100. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia is the first female president of an African nation to get the war-torn country back on track and on the international investment radar screen.

To read the whole report click on the following link, 100 Most Powerful Women. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Statistics about women vs men

As I was perusing the web today I came across an intersting article about how single women are buying homes in record numbers. It goes on to say that if you’re a single woman who wants to buy a house, the good news is the market is wide open for you. The stats from the Joint Center for Housing Studies say:

• More than one in five home buyers is a single woman.
• Twice as many unmarried women are buying homes than single men.
• Single women make up more than one-third of the growth in real estate ownership since 1994.

Top Three Reasons Unmarried / Single Women Buy a Home

1. Strong desire to own her own home.
2. Need more space or want smaller home.
3. Relocate closer to job, school or family.

It’s a fairly good read and worth mentioning on this blog.  To read the whole article click on the following link, women buying homes.

Women Help Explain Sub-Prime Mortgage Jitters

Run Date: 03/05/07

By Sandra Guy WeNews correspondent

Rising fears of sub-prime mortgage defaults spooked the financial markets last week. One woman’s story and recent studies show how women are disproportionately vulnerable to this financial liability. Advisors recommend pre-mortgage counseling.

(WOMENSENEWS)–U.S. financial markets were rocked last week by worries about the soundness of the “sub-prime”–or higher risk–mortgage market. Doris Douglas can tell you from personal experience what the jitters are about. The 55-year-old mother of three grown children signed her first mortgage without reading the fine print seven years ago. “I thought it was a 30-year mortgage,” said Douglas, whose house is near Chattanooga, Tenn., in the Appalachians. Based on a less-than-perfect credit score at the time she negotiated her mortgage, Douglas was paying an 11.95 percent interest rate on her mortgage and she wanted to lower it. But late last year–when she tried to refinance her mortgage and get a lower interest rate–she learned that she had actually signed a 10-year mortgage.

Women and Wealth

A new study finds that most of today’s wealthy women inherited their wealth and take a backseat to their husbands or advisors when it comes to their investment decisions.

The study, conducted by Asset Management Advisors and scheduled for release later this month, polled 555 women, most with net worths of $1 million or more. The survey found that 36% of the respondents inherited their wealth, while another 29% made money from their husband’s employment. Only 7% made their fortunes from their own businesses and less than half of the women surveyed were employed full-time.

Doing It For Themselves – women investors aid women entrepreneurs

Woman investors are changing business.

Woman investing is booming. Just look at angel investing.

From New York to Seattle to Los Angeles, high-net-worth women are creating both informal and formal networks, and often the beneficiaries of this financial muscleflexing are woman entrepreneurs.