Why Should Women Invest - Chloe Wohlforth

I have been advising clients in a financial advisory capacity for over a decade, but my motivation to get involved in this work came very early on in my life. My dad died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11th, 2001. I was 16 and an only child. We were a very tight knit family of three, and not only did I see our world turn upside down, but I saw my mom struggle to tackle basic financial tasks, like writing a check, let alone possessing an understanding of our (now rather uncertain) financial picture. We were lucky to know someone who cared deeply about our future, and they introduced us to a financial advisor. I witnessed the confidence and reassurance our advisor was able to instill in my mom first-hand as a young girl, and my desire to do this for others as well soon followed. Advising clients on how to navigate their own financial picture is very personal. For me, the more personal…the more rewarding.

Below I outline three key points to think about when investing:

• STAY INVESTED IN STOCKS. Women should be investing in the stock market more because over the long-term, investing in equities has proven to be an effective vehicle to achieve eventual financial security. We don’t know what the near-term will bring at any given moment (election cycles, earnings reports, all-time high headlines etc.) What we do know, however, is that as a long-term investor, a consistent commitment to the stock market smooths out short-term volatility and has provided significant rewards.
• DEFINE YOUR RISK BUCKET. Investing in the stock market means you are taking on risk. Risk is not a bad thing, as long as you understand the risk you are taking.  If you need access to your money in a relatively short period of time (say the next three to five years) the stock market is not a place to invest.  If you need guaranteed access to a fixed dollar amount of money… why risk it? However, if you do not need access to that pool of money, or a portion of it, and short-term volatility has no impact on your long-term plans, then the stock market is an excellent place to invest. Over the very long-term you should see financial rewards as an investor in the stock market in excess of inflation. This means your buying power goes up.
• CHARACTER MATTERS. Women have often favored trust as much as data.  This is an excellent quality when picking a financial advisor because great performance can be fleeting.  Who do you see as a long-term partner in achieving your goal of financial security for you and your family?  Pick an advisor who understands your goals and objectives and helps you stay the course through difficult times of uncertainty. One last step you should take after finding an advisor you trust is to go to the SEC and/or FINRA websites to confirm this advisor has a clean record with no regulatory violations.  The links are  https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/ and https://brokercheck.finra.org/ .

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