TMCnet News
Women Demand More from Their Money: 7-in-10 to Take Steps in the Next Six Months to Make Their Money Work Harder and GrowFidelity Investments® today shared the results of its 2018 Women and Investing Study which finds that nearly three quarters (72 percent) of women across all ages plan to take steps within the next six months to make their money work harder and grow1. This should come as no surprise, as a majority of women embrace the role of CFO of their households, confidently managing day-to-day finances and making large purchases (e.g., buying new homes, cars). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181115005114/en/ See how much you can earn by investing (Graphic: Business Wire) Today, nearly half (44 percent) of women are already taking action by investing savings they have outside of retirement accounts and emergency funds in stocks and bonds, but compared to 59 percent of men who invest, there's still opportunity for more women to grow their wealth. With more than half of women (56 percent) still not investing, and leaving nearly all their savings in cash or bank accounts - which on average earn less than a one percent return - many may be missing out on thousands of dollars in potential earnings. The good news is that more women are recognizing that it's time to take action and demand more of their money. Millennial women are leaning in most, with nearly half (48 percent) already investing, followed by approximately 40 percent of their Gen X and baby boomer counterparts. "Women need to demand more from their money, so they can control their financial futures," said Kathleen Murphy, president of Fidelity Investments' personal investing business. "Women deserve to have their hard earned savings work just hard as they do every day. Fidelity is challenging the traditional financial services industry approach to how to best serve women, to help them grow their wealth and achieve their goals." To get off the sidelines and become more hands-on in growing their money, women will need additional support and education to help reframe how they think about investing, and ultimately take that next step. Still today, only one-in-four (24 percent) say they are comfortable with their knowledge about investing. In fact, if given $25,000 to invest today, less than half (44 percent) say they would know what steps to take to do so. Two-thirds (65 percent) believe they need to learn more about picking individual stocks before they can get started. It's important to remember that there are many options to getting invested. There are simple approaches and tools to help choose investments appropriate for your goals, and abundant help to ensure confident decision-making.
What's the Opportunity: Calculating Potential
Putting an End to Sleepless Nights Due to Money Concerns "It's encouraging to see women taking greater control of their finances, and so many starting to make the move from saver to investor," said Lorna Kapusta, vice president of women and investing at Fidelity. "We know from Fidelity's own analysis of millions of customers across the country, when women do take steps to get invested, they see positive results. We believe that progress begets progress, so we're committed to bringing more attention to the opportunity investing offers to make our money work harder, and to create that 'ah-ha moment' that really brings to life how investing can help reach goals faster, encouraging women to take action."
Four Tips to Rethink Investing and Make Your Money Work as Hard as
You Do 1. Take inventory of what you own and what you owe, and see where you may have opportunities to do more with your money with a 10-minute Financial Wellness check-up. 2. Rethink investing at your own pace by checking out Fidelity.com/DemandMore. This new site was designed to provide more clarity around investing and help women build their own financial roadmap to reaching their individual goals.
3. Maximize the opportunity to grow your money by creating a plan now. Fidelity retail account owners can go here to visualize how different saving and investing options can help reach your short- and long-term goals. Not a Fidelity customer yet? Answer seven easy questions here to get a recommended strategy and suggested next steps to reach your personal goal. 4. Leverage an expert. Everyone has questions, so don't hold back from asking for guidance. Just like you visit a doctor for medical advice, why wouldn't you take advantage of a financial professional for investment advice? There are many free seminars, webcasts and other educational opportunities available to fit into busy lifestyles and help guide you to your best next financial step, whether through your workplace, investment companies like Fidelity, or other sources online. Fidelity representatives are available to answer questions 24/7 at 1-800-FIDELITY, or online at Fidelity.com - whether you're a client or not.
About the Study
About Fidelity Investments Fidelity, Fidelity Investments, Fidelity Investments and the pyramid logo are registered service marks of FMR LLC. The third party trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners. Keep in mind that investing involves risk. The value of your investment will fluctuate over time, and you may gain or lose money. Diversification and asset allocation do not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss.
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC
Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company, Inc.
National Financial Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC
865837.1.0
1 Ipsos Omnibus Survey of 553 working women, 651 working men,
18 years and older, October 19-21, 2018
For investing returns, calculations are made by computing the 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10-year average annual returns based on monthly
historical performance of stocks, bonds and short-term instruments from
1926-2017, obtained from Ibbotson Associates. Past performance is no
guarantee of future results. Returns include the reinvestment of
dividends and other earnings. The assets are rebalanced monthly to the
stated asset mix. Any chart is for illustrative purposes only and does
not represent actual or implied performance of any investment option.
Stocks are represented by the Dow Jones Total Market Index from March
1987 to latest calendar year. From 1926 to February 1987, stocks are
represented by the Standard & Poor's 500® Index (S&P 500® Index). The
S&P 500® Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of 500 common
stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group
representation to represent U.S. equity performance. Bonds are
represented by the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index from January 1976
to the latest calendar year. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a
market value-weighted index of investment-grade fixed-rate debt issues,
including government, corporate, asset-backed, and mortgage-backed
securities, with maturities of one year or more. From 1926 to December
1975, bonds are represented by the U.S. Intermediate Government Bond
Index, which is an unmanaged index that includes the reinvestment of
interest income. Short-term instruments are represented by U.S. Treasury
bills, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S.
government. The average market return corresponds to the 50th percentile
of the returns, the below average market return corresponds to the 25th
percentile of the returns, and the significantly below average market
return corresponds to the 10th percentile of the returns. Savings
returns are calculated using a national average savings account rate
from FDIC. Locked rate savings returns are calculated using national
average CD rates for 1-, 2- and 5-year CDs from BankRate. CDs are
assumed to be purchased once and are not being rolled over upon
maturity. When purchasing CDs from within a savings account, all
additional monthly contributions into the savings account, as well as
continuing savings with the proceeds of a CD after it matures, are
assumed to be earning a national average saving account rate from FDIC.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181115005114/en/ |