When it comes to picking stocks and beating the market, women are better, says DigitalLook.com. In a study of 100,000 portfolios from July 2003 to July 2004, the company found the average woman's portfolio grew 10%, beating the FTSE All-Share by 3% and the average man's portfolio by 4%.
Women's success, the study says, is due to balanced portfolios, while men put all their eggs in one basket. Women opt for retail and banking, while men go for volatile technology and biotech. Women also did well in a down market. From 2000 to 2001, when UK shares fell by 22% and men's portfolios fell by 26%, the average woman's portfolio produced a positive 2%, claims the study.
Rose Townsend of women's investment club Wily Wye Women, puts it down to mother wit. ?Women are more cautious and use common sense rather than blindly following hot tips,? she says. Another theory is that women shop more than men and so tend to be in the know. Private investor Julie Ralston says: ?They are much more in touch with the retail world.?
