Why the Growth in Female Investors Will Make a Difference

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Kamie Zaracki, Chief Executive Offer of BetterInvesting, explained that women are growing more confident with personal investments – which is good for women themselves, as well as companies.

BetterInvesting is a volunteer-based nonprofit dedicated to providing individual investors with the tools and education they need to make smart investments. While the organization helps people organize into investment clubs, it also offers volunteer-led and staff-led educational events and, now, a robust offering of web-based courses and services. Founded in 1951, the group now boasts over 100,000 community members and is powered by over 1,300 volunteers, supported by a small home office of professional staff.

Zaracki said, “Individuals tend to be long term investors. If publicly-traded companies have a significant portion of their holdings owned by groups of individual investors, that could mean greater stability in our overall economy.”

“There’s no empirical data on this, but I would suspect that as women become more empowered as investors, and examine where their investments will do the most overall good, we will see a change in the way companies behave,” she continued. “In the long term, the market is going to reward those companies that consistently perform well. And society has a changing definition of what ‘consistently doing well’ means.”

Leaving a Legacy

Both Zaracki and BetterInvesting’s Director of Membership Development, Kathleen Norton-Schock, pointed out that the investment landscape is evolving. Changes in pension plans and entitlements mean women may not be able to live on their retirement savings alone going forward.

Zaracki noted, “Women need to take responsibility for retirement – as well as for the potentially unexpected high costs of future health care.”

But, she said, many women wish to do more than provide for their own future or their family’s future. She explained, “I want to be able to leave a legacy to the organizations that have had a huge impact on my life. I want to make a major financial gift before I go.”

“I can’t do that with the money I put aside for retirement – I plan on using up all that money!” she said, with a laugh. She continued, “The stock market is still the place where you can make the best return over time.”

Zaracki said that women who would like to leave a legacy gift can benefit from the methodical, long-term focus of BetterInvesting’s investment philosophy. Currently, many feel skittish about investing in stocks, she said, and helping them overcome that fear through education the organization’s primary mission. “There will be blips, but at BetterInvesting we love bear markets. We think of it as high quality companies being on sale. And our members, who do thorough studies, can benefit from that!”

Norton-Schock also noted that BetterInvesting encourages members to do their own independent research on companies. To do that the organization provides research and educational tools, including its online Stock Selection analysis tool, its biweekly FirstCut newsletters, and its online Mutual Fund Analysis tools.

Zaracki said, “This is a hallmark of our organization – people who love to share what they know. We have a strong culture of learning and sharing what we learn.”

Generations of Women Investors

Zaracki said that BetterInvesting provides many ways for women to get involved. For example, she described one female member – a “military wife” who had lived in quite a few locations over the years. “When she discovered BetterInvesting, her club members did not have a lot of money. She and her club members each began investing about five dollars a month – which she has built into quite a substantial portfolio.”

She continued, “She’s now a board member, and has quite a passion about helping women get control of their financial futures, as well as the financial futures of their families.”

Norton-Schock described another investor – a 23 year old woman who got involved with BetterInvesting as a 14 year old. “She is so involved in the community that now, as she is pursuing her master’s degree, she is going around speaking to college and high school students about the benefits of investing and joining our association to learn.”

She added, “She’s built a six-figure portfolio. At her age, I find that amazing!”

Zaracki explained, “BetterInvesting is all about helping people become more informed investors – and this is going to drive the future.”