David Weidner writes for Market Watch today that women are better investors than men, and just about everything else for that matter.
A new study by Barclays Capital and Ledbury Research found that women were more likely to make money in the market, mostly because they didn’t take as many risks. They bought and held. Women trade this way because they aren’t as confident — or perhaps as overconfident — as men, the study found.
“Women were more likely than men to have a greater desire for self-control,” the study concluded.
Weidner goes onto say, “We men just make bad decisions. We can’t help it. We’re men.” And as if that wasn’t enough, with his foot on our manly throats he decides to jump up and down for emphasis:
A new body of evidence is emerging that shows women are better at just about everything — or, as Dan Abrams has titled his new book, “Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else.”
And I got all excited about the male stereotyping when the Wall Street Journal led with the headline: “Where Have All the Good Men Gone” and responded with this column.
Market Watch, Weidner, and Abrams are not only saying categorically that guys are no good, they are saying we actually suck at just about everything including investing, the one thing that was once a male bastion.
None of which isn’t to say that women are as good as men at just about everything, including making money. But do we really need another column going through Weiner, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Arnold, Edwards et al. that concludes by the transitive property that we all as men are a hopeless group?
Here is Weidner explaining himself and today’s column:
Photo Courtesy of Market Watch
Is this guy for real? He seems to want to go to great length to explain what makes women better and what influences make them better but when it comes to men its just “well men suck”. No examination, no looking, no critical thinking. How about a little time wondering why men take risks (I bet it has something to do with that whole “provider” thing). And I’m really getting fed up with this practice of looking at that few men who had power in the financial sectors when the economy tanked and concluding that “men suck with money, women… Read more »
Poor Weidner ought to stick with stock analysis. First we read, “women were more likely to make money in the market, mostly because they didn’t take as many risks. They bought and held. ” but then we read, ” A 2005 study by Merrill Lynch found that 35% of women held an investment too long, compared with 47% of men.” If they are buying and holding so well, why are fewer women than men holding on too long? Which is it? Go out on a limb…women wind up with more money in the market because they live longer and inherit… Read more »