Many affluent women lack investing acumen, study finds
Not only do women face a gender gap when it comes to compensation, but they also lack confidence about investing the money they do earn, a new study has found.
Forty-one percent of affluent women were “not at all” confident about their ability to invest, according to a recent study funded by Wells Fargo & Co.
Just 8 percent of the women said they were “highly confident” about investing.
Researchers interviewed 600 women in the United States with a median of $455,000 in liquid assets and $145,000 in household income about wealth, investing and retirement.
“Today’s affluent women are financially savvy working women, but investing confidence doesn’t follow hand in hand with increased wealth,” said Karen Wimbish, director of retail retirement at Wells Fargo.
IPO surge follows gains in market
The stock market has been heating up, driving demand for IPOs.
There have been 140 initial public offerings of stock this year, up 46 percent from the same time in 2012, according to IPO tracking firm Renaissance Capital.
Of the eight companies that went public last week, two — cybersecurity software maker FireEye and technology advertising company RocketFuel — nearly doubled in value Friday.
The pace does not appear be slowing down.
This week, market watchers expect as many as 13 more companies to make their debuts.
If all of them price, it will be the most IPOs in the U.S. in one week since 2007, when 14 hit the market at once, according to data provider Dealogic.
With the stock market hitting new highs, investors want to take chances they might not otherwise take in a flat or down market, said Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at IPO Boutique, which researches and invests in IPOs.
