| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : DECEMBER 13, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| BUSINESSWEEK INVESTOR
Making the Street Wise to Women When Oppenheimer Funds CEO Bridget Macaskill commissioned a survey in 1992 on how women and men differ in their attitudes toward money and investing, she had no idea of the profound impact it would have. But she is now widely credited with waking up Wall Street to gender differences. Macaskill spoke with Personal Finance Editor Toddi Gutner. Q: What's the biggest problem facing women in investing? A: Women worry far more about losing money than the risk of doing nothing--which is a much greater danger. I believe passionately that women are victims of their own reluctance to take financial control of their futures. As a result, they get in hot water. Q: How do attitudes toward investing differ between genders? A: When a woman loses money, she absorbs the guilt, saying: ''I should never have made that investment.'' Men, on the other hand, don't often feel as bad because they tend to deflect the blame and say, ''My broker is an idiot.'' Q: How do men and women perceive the role of financial advisers? A: Women choose a financial adviser for a long-term relationship with someone they can trust. They see the adviser as in control of the investing decisions. Men see themselves as in control of investment decisions, so building a trusting relationship is less important. Q: How did you get started on the issue of promoting financial independence for women? A: Like most women, I grew up in a home where my mother didn't deal with the finances. In my professional life, I observed women climbing the corporate ladder and doing well in their careers but still questioning how to make investment decisions and deferring that part of their lives to their husbands. I thought: ''Why was it that women, myself included, could overcome so many obstacles but couldn't get around this issue of investing?'' Then I realized, when I became a mother, that if a woman could take care of children--the hardest thing of all--she should be able to do her finances. Q: What's the most important advice you would give women? A: At the very minimum, invest as much as they possibly can in a plan for retirement, such as an IRA or 401(k). If possible, invest up to the maximum allowed. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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RELATED ITEMS Women and Retirement: Time to Get Aggressive TABLE: Investor Guidance TABLE: Why You Don't Want to Stop Saving Making the Street Wise to Women INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
