FINANCIAL FOCUS: WOMEN PLAY KEY ROLE IN INVESTMENT DECISIONS

This "Financial Focus" column is prepared by Edward Jones Investments, headquartered in St. Louis. Jones includes branches throughout the nation, including Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

First of a two-part series

Today, women aren't just making more money than ever before -- they're also investing more.

Just how active are women in investing? Consider these statistics:

-- Forty-five percent of women report they are primarily responsible for investment decisions in their households, according to one recent survey of stock investors.

-- Two-thirds of working women participate in a retirement plan, such as 401(k), through their employer.

Obviously, it's just as important for women to become informed, active investors as it is for men. In fact, it might even be more essential for women. Why? For one thing, women still outlive men, on average, by seven years. This helps explain the fact that, at one time or another, 90 percent of women become wholly responsible for their own financial welfare.

Furthermore, because women typically earn less than men, the amount of their retirement benefits is lower. Women's pensions and retirement plan accumulations are smaller than men's, and women receive lower Social Security payments.

In short, with less money and longer life spans, women run a bigger risk of outliving their resources than do men. That's why the trend toward women's increased investment activity is so encouraging.

On the other hand, some evidence suggests women are not yet as confident as men when it comes to making the right investment decisions. Forty-two percent of women worry about making a bad investment decision, compared to just 32 percent of men, according to the National Center for Women and Retirement Research. Also, a larger percentage of women than men report they lack the money, knowledge and time to save adequately for retirement.

What can be done to overcome these hurdles? Time will take care of some of them. Women now hold a larger percentage of management-level jobs than ever before, so their average incomes will continue to rise. Women also are taking the lead in education; since 1982, women have earned more bachelor's degrees a year than men.

With increased income, greater job responsibilities and better education, women's confidence in their ability to invest successfully should rise significantly, and women, like men, also will benefit from the virtual explosion of financial and investment information that has become available over the past few years through the Internet and other sources. Finally, an increasing number of prominent women investment experts appear in print and on the airwaves. Hopefully, these women will serve as role models to all women interested in seizing control of their financial futures.

In the final analysis, successful investing is based on attributes such as perseverance, resourcefulness, inquisitiveness and drive. Those are traits that are shared equally between men and women.

Next week, we will conclude our two-part series with a look at women's attitudes and approach to investing.

The Southeast Missourian does not recommend that readers buy or sell stocks featured in this column, which is provided for informational purposes only.