Blog | Entrepreneurship

8 Advantages That Make Women Great Investors

Kim Kiyosaki’s take on how a woman’s traits can come in handy for investing— and ultimately benefit your portfolios

Summary

• Never let anyone tell you investing is a man’s role

• The importance of manBe sure to always question money advice, and seek your own financial education

• Kim Kiyosaki shares her take on why women investors have just as much potential as their male counterparts

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Some professions are categorized as more male-dominated, such as construction work, car sales, and mechanics. Likewise, others are categorized as more female-dominated, including nursing, teaching and social work. Thankfully, some of these gender stereotypes are falling by the wayside, but there’s still work to be done to dispel these myths.

Now, when it comes to the profession of investing, some people might automatically assume that it falls under the male’s domain — but at Rich Dad, we believe that’s completely bogus. In fact, Kim Kiyosaki would argue that women bring eight unique advantages to investing that makes them better suited to it than men.

Additionally, you’ll be surprised at how many women have been in your position before. There is a perception that women don’t help other women. Often referred to as the Righteous Woman or Queen Bee mentalities, the misconception that women tend to undermine each other is a false one; instead, these behaviors are triggered in male dominated environments that insinuate women are of little value - thus creating an unnecessarily competitive playing field. By asking one another for help, women can eliminate the pride or fear associated with this conditioning and create a new environment of trust among ambitious and successful women.

In this article, Kim argues that women recognize when they’re in over their heads and seek the appropriate assistance. What a great way to save time so you can focus on the things that do require your personal attention!
When it comes to investing, it’s crucial that you ask for help when you need it — that way, you’ll avoid a rookie mistake or even prevent a small problem from snowballing into a bigger one.

1. Women are not afraid to say, “I don’t know.” Remember back in the old days, when you’d have to stop at a gas station for directions if you were lost? Well, now that we can just Google everything or use GPS, it’s no longer as applicable, but men were notorious for not wanting to admit they needed help reaching a destination.

   But here’s how Kim puts it: “Women, on the other hand, are more willing to ask questions and admit when we don’t know or understand something. Sadly, the person who acts like a know-it-all and is more afraid of looking ‘stupid’ than asking a question will never learn or grow. Once you stop learning, what’s left in life? The advantage we women have in being confident enough to say, ‘I don’t know,’ is that it opens up the doors for us to learn so many answers. It pushes you to seek out information, to research things online or attend seminars, and talk to more industry experts.”

   Asking for help is one of the most powerful methods of learning that anyone can utilize in their profession. Pretending to know all the answers because you don’t want to look stupid comes from low confidence or low self-esteem. Once you realize that you’re not always the expert over a subject matter, you are empowered to exhaust any and every resource around you - only building a foundation of knowledge for every future endeavor.

   So, proudly admit, “I don’t know!” or ask someone to explain something again. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll learn. Just make sure you always question money advice, so that you can have confidence in the answers you’re given.

2. Women are willing to ask for help Piggybacking on number one above, women are also more willing to ask for help than men.

3. Women will hunt for a bargain Let’s face it, women have a lot of experience looking for bargains — from grocery shopping with coupons to clothing children, women know how to snag a deal. This is an important skill for investing, because you’ll want to look for something that is priced below its actual value and buy it.
   The following quote, from Ruth Hayden, a financial educator and author, illustrates this point:“If we women shopped (investments) the way we shopped at Nordstrom’s, we’d be in the money. When stocks are low, it’s like a three-for-one panty sale.”
   So expand your product knowledge from pints of raspberries and designer jeans to particular neighborhoods for rental properties or certain stocks, and you’ll soon be able to spot the good deals as soon as they appear. Once you have some practice, you’ll even learn how to turn a good deal into a great deal. A quick tip, act fast! Just with any bargain, when it comes to finding the best real estate investment deals, get in early, or come in late. Always keep your finger on the pulse of the market, and be ready to pounce with an offer before your competitor.

4. Women do their homework As a general rule, the fairer sex generally does their homework instead of buying off a “hot tip.”
   In fact, Forbes published an article in early 2021 that outlined the careful but wise nature in which women do their investment research. “Studies show that women spend more time researching their investment choices. And while they do take on less risk than men when it comes to investing, that doesn’t mean they’re risk averse. Rather, they’re simply more likely to take on appropriate levels of risk with their investments than men. Both of these findings make for better investing outcomes.” When it comes to real estate investing, doing your due diligence can make or break your return on investment (ROI). Don’t forget to do your due diligence on a potential rental you sign on the dotted line.

5. Women are risk aware- not risk averse Let’s really differentiate between the terms “risk-averse” and “risk aware.” As a result of #4 above, studies show that women are perceived to be more aware of potential risks than men tend to be. Additionally, our risk taking tends to decrease under stress. Now, you may have heard arguments that the real reason women will not be successful as investors is because they are less willing to take risks. Kim examined that argument.
   “I know for me, whenever I venture into an investment that I feel is a bit more risky or unfamiliar to me, I tend to study it just a little bit more carefully than usual. I do my homework with perhaps a bit more effort before laying out my money.”

   

   If women truly are risk-averse, then this may lead them to do a little more research on the investments they are pursuing, which leads them to greater success with their investments— as statistics prove. But what that means at the end of the day is that women make their final move with an awareness of the risk, instead of an aversion to it.

   Now, the one trap that women need to watch out for is when the aversion to risk to the trap of the analysis phase of a potential opportunity. If “analysis paralysis” happens, that can end up leading to doing nothing. So, use risk to your advantage, just don’t let it prevent you from moving forward. And here’s a little guide to help you decipher risky vs. safe investments

6. Women have much less ego Simply put: Women have much less ego when it comes to their investments. Successful women investors tend to be very practical, matter-of-fact and conscious of the return on their investments. It’s no secret that men can tend to display ego or bravado when showing off their investments.

   This goes back to numbers one and two — women aren’t afraid to say, “I don’t know” and are more willing to ask for help. Women are more likely to ask questions until they fully understand the information, and also tend to be more interested in the goal (making money) than in impressing the people around them.

7. Women are nurturers When it comes to investing, women tend to nurture their investments. What does this mean? Well, in the most obvious sense as it pertains to real estate, they take care of the properties differently. They fix them up (using amenities to attract the ideal renter happened to be an important real estate predictions of 2025), they meet their tenants and develop relationships with them, and they foster community ties.

   Part of the nurturing process involves establishing good relationships with other investors. This network may include business/stock/real estate brokers, finance lenders, investors, members of clubs and organizations, tenants, individuals privy to information on future progress within the city, tax professionals, mentors, etc. The stronger the relationships, the better the information that’s received, which can be invaluable when building an investment portfolio.

8. Women learn well from other women Women are used to sharing information with other women.

“After all,” Kim starts, “if one of us finds something that works, we want to share it with our friends!”

This is one reason female-centric investment clubs are growing in popularity — it’s a great way to get introduced to, or to learn more about, the world of investing. Kim particularly likes the ones that focus on education (a place to learn and study together) versus the resource pooling options, which can lead to disappointment. It’s also a good time to mention the eight online resources for women supporting women that Kim shared.

The downside of learning from women could be that women may sometimes take information from women who have no experience as gospel, listening to advice because, “she’s my friend.” So, just a friendly reminder to make sure that the women to whom you are talking about investing are like-minded and have similar investing goals — and that they have done or are doing exactly what it is you want to do. Otherwise you may be wasting a lot of your time.

Now that you’ve been made aware of how your natural traits greatly benefit your portfolio, all you have to do is get started. Never let anyone tell you investing is a man’s role — financial freedom is within your reach ladies, and that’s a powerful and freeing position in which to live!