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Six Habits Of Smart Women Investors

Not just stashing away cash.
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The hand that rocked the cradle, has been creating a stir in many other arenas. With more and more women entering the workforce and the entrepreneurship brigade, financial empowerment is deepening its roots.

Today there is a growing population of women fund managers handling sizeable assets of at least five mutual fund houses and two life insurers. Financial planners say that the lady of the house is no longer following the shadow of the father or husband when it comes to finances and investing. There are single women in their 30s who are investing to ensure they are able to pay for assisted living spaces when they retire, points an advisor.

Today there is a growing population of women fund managers handling sizeable assets of at least five mutual fund houses and two life insurers

Budgeting and curtailing expenses

Women have an ingrained trait of setting budgets for each expense. As we know, limiting spends is the first step to investing, as inflation tends to snowball expenses and eat into savings. At a leading pharma company, women were asked to choose between shopping, donating and investing their surplus amount for the month. "Nearly 90% of these women between 28-30 opted to save the money instead of spending it," says Mumbai-based financial planner Vivek Damani.

Women have an ingrained trait of setting budgets for each expense

Planning instead of leaving it to fate

Men are optimistic they will be able to meet their goals, say, to build an education fund for their children. Women, on the other hand, want to take definitive steps to ensure the corpus for the goal is built systematically and not leave everything to fate.

Paying off debt

We all have goals — to buy a house, escape to virgin beaches, host a big fat wedding for children. But for women, the first goal is to pay off expensive debt. The BlackRock Global Investor Pulse Survey too reveals that paying off debt was high priority for 40% of the men surveyed, but a steeper 57% women ranked it high in their goal chart.

For women, the first goal is to pay off expensive debt

Not just stashing away cash but investing

Saving a small pie out of the household money for the rainy day has been second nature to women. Now, with awareness that pie is moving into formal investing channels. "Even as we speak, a 25-year old girl has sought my guidance to plan her finances," notes Damani. A statistic that points to the growing investment culture among women comes from the Central Depository Services Ltd, which offers demat account services: Out of the 1.09 crore demat accounts held as on March 2015, 25% were held by women.

Saving a small pie out of the household money for the rainy day has been second nature to women

Don't venture, if they don't understand

If a woman doesn't understand anything, she will not blindly accept it. Take for instance equity. Any one linked to investments and behaviour would tell you that women fret at the thought of equity. Inherently women are risk averse, but if they understand and get the taste of equity, then they groom to be mature and not impulsive investors. Unlike men, once they have reposed faith in an instrument based on its merit, they wouldn't have a constant eye on the portfolio. They would let the money grow peacefully.

If a woman doesn't understand anything, she will not blindly accept it

No heading back

Very few women put a pause to their savings habit. In the words of David Bach, author of Smart Women Finish Rich, "Once a woman learns to take charge of her finances, she will never go back." Once women device a plan, they stick to it.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.