Hi Guys,
Based on numerous research studies, we have known for some time that female investors outperform their male counterparts. Here is a Link that reviews and reinforces that conclusion:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/male-investors-vs-female-investors-how-do-they-compare-1430709406So why aren't there more female members in the population of mutual fund managers?
As an investor class, women are characterized as more prudent, more patient, more longer term goal oriented investors than us males. Compared to them we suck. Yet the mutual fund industry has not taken advantage of these needed and successful investment attributes. Data that I've seen from the likes of Morningstar and others suggest that the mutual fund management cohort is male dominated. In rough numbers, 90% of funds are managed solely by men, 7% by a mixed team, and only 3% by females alone.
It seems likely that the mixed teams might be a worthwhile option since each member group brings a slightly different and possibly profitable set of skills, insights, and instincts into the game.
I seem to recall reading that female fund managers do better in many cases, and never poorer, than their male counterparts. What do you think?
Best Regards.
Comments
Have had many excellent female money managers, attorneys, surgeons, etc. over the years. And more than a few males who were real "clunkers."
We're still playing catch-up of course. That's because the stereotypes that existed unfairly many decades ago take time to change. When I was in high school counselors (and parents) were more likely to steer girls into careers in nursing and teaching and men into science, engineering or accounting. Helps explain why even today there are higher proportions of the genders in certain fields. So much has changed for the better. But it will take many more years to overcome the effects of those stereotypes.
Like you, I too selected my mutual fund managers without considering gender as one of the selection criteria. But was I missing a pony here?
After some casual reading, I discovered that female investors slightly outperform male investors statistically. The statistical margins are small and might well just represent noise. But it is also possible that the differential performance means something. I speculated that if it did, that gender performance advantage might persist into the mutual fund management arena. That mental exercise prompted my current MFO post.
Since I made that post, I found a recent study on this subject by Morningstar that addresses the topic using its extensive database. Here is a Link to that study:
http://corporate.morningstar.com/US/documents/ResearchPapers/Fund-Managers-by-Gender.pdf
It is a nice piece of work. Please give it a look/see. It is a short report.
The female fund management population is so thin that the stats might not be meaningful, but they are the only stats. Performance differentials over longer timeframes are not large. Morningstar data show that a mixed management fund team out distances both an all male and an all female team by a small margin. Integrating gender different ways of reviewing and interpreting data generated a small advantage for the professional teams.
That seems to work in our household too. My wife and I team to make investment decisions. Over time, most of those decisions have satisfied our modest goals.
Thank you for your participation in this exchange. By the way, the Morningstar report reinforces your added comments about occupational pressures in high school. But things are changing.
Best Wishes.
A lot of folks have been asking the same question: Given their documented performance successes, why not more females in the financial industry?
Many studies have addressed this issue, and some easy answers have been proposed. Some elements of those answers can be found in the Morningstar paper that I referenced. Here is a Link to yet another article proposing a simple answer:
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-02-24/why-don-t-more-women-hold-top-jobs-in-finance
Basically, women choose other fields. Their educational achievements and other glittering attributes surely qualify them. Biases quickly give ground to performance in the financial world. So the quick answer is that it is a simple matter of choice. Women choose other occupations. More power to them and the freedom of choice.
Best Wshes.