Men, Women, Investing, and Shopping

In the 21 years that I’ve been married, I’ve never heard my husband utter four of my favorite words:  “Honey…let’s go shopping.”  It’s not like he doesn’t like stylish new clothing or the latest tech gadgetry—he does—but for him, spending time meandering through the mall ranks right up there alongside going for a dental check-up. (And the harried husband is one of those guys who actually enjoys shopping.  If he didn’t, I would’ve had to use a root canal for my dental analogy.)

Guys will be guys, and dolls will be dolls.  Or, as John Grey more aptly put it, men will be from Mars, and women will be from—you know where.  It therefore should come as no surprise that researchers at the Wharton School recently discovered that men and women react differently to the retail shopping experience.  According to the study, women generally enjoy the entire outing, and thrive on personal interaction with sales associates.  Men, on the other hand, want to park close to the store they’re visiting, locate the item they need expeditiously, and get the heck out of there as quickly as possible.  It’s just like intimacy—women enjoy the emotional commitment, while for men, it’s just another instance of wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.

Perhaps that’s why, when it comes to investing, men tend to trade more often, while women tend to hold their investments long-term.  According to research by business professors Terrance Odean and Brad Barber, “men trade 45 percent more actively than women.”  (Yet another nod to the wham-bam theory.)  This may be because women are generally considered to be more patient, tenacious, and pragmatic then their y-chromosome counterparts.  (And I thought hormones only controlled mood swings.)  Women understand long-term commitments, which makes them excellent long-term investors.  They know that for any relationship to succeed—including one with their money—there will be ups and downs along the way.  They’re willing to overlook short-term bumps and pullbacks in favor of focusing on the long-term reward—a stable financial retirement.

Men have often been slapped with that “fear-of-commitment” label.  This holds true in investing, as well, as women are more likely to seek the aid of financial advisors.  If the stereotypical man won’t ask for directions when lost in a strange place, why would he ask another man for advice about stocks?  Men prefer to use the Internet for investing information.  According to a study by Iowa State University (“ISU”), men surveyed felt that financial advisors exerted too much pressure and charged way too much for their services.  And, not surprisingly, men are more willing to take investing risks with their money.

Personality differences don’t stop there.  In the ISU study, more men than women found investing exciting, whereas a majority of women found it stressful.  And, many fewer women than men described themselves as being knowledgeable and confident about their financial futures.

In reality, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman—unless you’re at a dance or in a locker room.  What matters is that you take control of your financial life and your retirement planning.  If you don’t have a thorough understanding of your investments, there’s no time like now to get educated.  Women, especially, need to take an active role in their financial futures, since they tend to live longer and earn less than men do during their working years.

In closing, I’ll leave you with two thoughts from the Wharton study.  One woman interviewed said, “I love shopping. I love shopping even when I have a deadline. I just love shopping,” while a man in the same age group said, “We’re going to this store and we buy it and we leave because we want to do something else.”  Clearly, women and men should take control of their financial lives, but always shop separately—she to the Venus Designer Outlet for three hours, and he to the Mars Hunting and Fishing Store for three minutes.