Men are from Mars, women are from Venus was a much talked-about look at male/female relationships first published in 1992. The book’s premise was that men and women have such different communication styles and emotional needs that they might as well be from different planets.

As it turns out, there also are some significant differences between the genders when it comes to investing. For financial advi-sors, it’s a great opportunity to understand the very distinct client needs of women vs men.

Franklin Templeton Invest-ments Corp. probed the issue of gender and investing two years ago, in the aftermath of the onset of global financial crisis. In a February 2009 poll, we asked 1,000 men and women to describe their investment personality. Men had more positive investing traits, with 40% describing themselves as opportunistic, analytical and risk-taking.

In contrast, women were much more conservative in their approach: only 25% considered themselves strategic investors who were willing to take chances.

In subsequent polls, we have found investor sentiment for men and women alike has improved as equities markets recovered through 2009 and into this year.

To our surprise, the gap in optimistic investing traits between the sexes was consistent — a spread of 14%-15% across the four polls. Men consistently identified themselves as risk-takers, while women were more likely to be suspicious and conservative in their approach.

This whet our appetite for more research. In October 2010, we commissioned a gender-specific survey by Leger Marketing.

That survey found that women investors lack the same levels of satisfaction, confidence and optimism when compared with men. Women are less likely to hold investments and have less confidence in meeting their financial goals than men, the Leger survey found: men are 7% more likely to hold investments than women and 6% more confident in their financial plans.

Only 65% of women surveyed were satisfied with their investment knowledge, compared with 77% of men. Women held a more negative perspective as well.

Having an investment advi-sor closes the gap. The Leger survey found that women investors who work with an advisor are 14% more satisfied with their knowledge, 15% more optimistic and 16% more confident in their financial plans vs women who invest without the benefit of advice.

Advice is crucial for these challenging times. Investors remain tentative and, for the most part, ill prepared when it comes to meeting their long-term financial goals. Every Canadian — women and men alike — needs financial advice to take advantage of the improving investment climate and to plan for their future. IE



Don Reed is president and CEO of Toronto-based Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.