Administration August 3, 2002

Female Execs Want More Workplace Investment Ed

March 8, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Women executives may often earn more than their spouse and invest an average $300,000 annually - but that doesn't mean they like doing it, a new survey found.
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The survey of women senior corporate officers including chief executive officers and presidents, found that half were, at best, “fairly comfortable” with choosing their own investments while another 11% weren’t comfortable at all. Sponsoring the survey were Citigroup’s Women & Company and FORTUNE magazine.

Among those given to worrying about investing:

  • 46% said they don’t understand investing issues
  • 18% don’t have the time
  • 14% rely on their spouse for money decisions.

Just under half of the women surveyed reported that their companies don’t have an investment education program, but seven out of ten would like to see one started covering:

  • financial planning and investment advice;
  • personal counseling;
  • stock option planning; and
  • 401(k) education and investment options.

The lion’s share of respondents said they had no problem going online to research financial issues. But only 43% described themselves as “very” or “fairly” comfortable in trading online.

Finally, 30% of the women execs surveyed described themselves as “risk-takers” while a quarter said they were conservative in outlook. 

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