Infographics

Unlocking the Power of Women in Investing

Published

6 years ago

March 4, 2019

Jeff Desjardins

Unlocking the Power of Women in Investing

Unlocking the Power of Women in Investing

The financial services industry is undergoing a dramatic shift.

The next generation of investors will be younger and much more diverse, with women taking an increasingly prominent role in building and growing family and personal wealth.

Today’s infographic comes to us from New York Life Investments, and it showcases how this new paradigm will shape the future of products and services on offer in the industry, as well as how wealth managers can cater to these changing needs.

Growing Economic Might

Women are underrepresented in the investing world, but this is changing fast. While various cultural and societal reasons are contributors to this, there is also a more simple driver: rising economic might.

Women-controlled wealth in the U.S. will increase from $14 trillion to $22 trillion between 2015-2020
Women control 51% of all personal wealth in the United States today
Women are set to inherit $28.7 trillion in intergenerational wealth over the next 40 years

Women are becoming more important drivers of income and wealth for their families, as well:

Women are now the primary breadwinners in 40% of U.S. households – a 4x increase from 1960.
Women own 30% of all private businesses in the U.S.
Women now hold the majority of management, professional, and related positions (52%)

Finally, women now make up the majority of recipients of Associate’s degrees (61%), Bachelor’s degrees (57%), Master’s degrees (60%), and Doctoral degrees (52%) in the United States.

The Wealth Management Gap

As women increase raise their level of economic influence to new levels, how will they manage this wealth?

Interestingly, studies show that women think about money and wealth differently than men – and differently from precedents already set in the financial services industry:

The Good News	The Bad News
Women are better savers, saving 9.0% of their salary in comparison to men (8.6% of salary)	Women consistently tend to score lower on financial literacy tests
Some research points to women generating better returns (+0.4%) off of investments	Some research points to women investing up to 40% less than men

Changing Concerns

Data from a recent survey by New York Life Investments sheds light on why women may be underserved by the financial services industry.

Reasons why women switch financial advisors:

33% poor performance
29% lack of personal connection
27% poor customer services

In other words, women don’t switch investment advisors simply because of poor performance – there are other, more complex factors involved. Part of this is likely because 62% of women say they have unique investment needs and challenges:

Perceptions of women and investing:

Financial professionals treat women differently – 40%
Women feel patronized by financial advisors – 36%
Financial advisors are less likely to listen to investing ideas from a woman – 30%
Financial advisors push women out of financial conversations – 28%
Women have less access to financial education – 26%
Financial professionals find it hard to relate to women – 26%
Financial advising is a man’s world – 24%

A Deeper Dive

It is crucial for advisors to understand that women are not one large, homogeneous group.

In fact, research shows that there are four unique segments of women that each approach investing differently – and they all have different sets of needs.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this infographic series, which will detail the differences between these segments.

Infographics

A New Framework for Personalized Financial Portfolio Alignment

The MSCI Similarity Score compares a client’s financial portfolio to a model portfolio based on risk exposures, allowing for personalization.

Published

1 month ago

June 6, 2025

Jenna Ross

A waterfall chart showing the MSCI Similarity Score calculation from 100% perfect financial portfolio alignment being reduced by different risk exposures.

A New Framework for Personalized Financial Portfolio Alignment

There’s a tension between clients’ need for personalization and the one-size-fits-all approach of model portfolios. Traditionally, wealth management firms check financial portfolio alignment based on exact holdings. However, some level of mismatch with a model portfolio is inevitable due to client preferences and circumstances.

How can advisors meet the personalization needs of their clients at scale?

This graphic, created in partnership with MSCI Wealth, highlights a new framework called the MSCI Similarity Score that allows for customization.

Introducing the MSCI Similarity Score

With the MSCI Similarity Score, firms can assess financial portfolio alignment in a simple, single score. A score of 0 indicates no alignment, while a score of 100 indicates full alignment.

The score measures how similarly a client portfolio behaves compared to a firm’s model portfolio based on various factors. For equity, this includes things like the country and industry of a company, as well as the strategies used, such as targeting growth stocks. For instance, two U.S. technology growth stocks may behave similarly in response to market movements.

This approach allows for more flexibility to meet clients’ unique goals and risk appetites. It’s a similar idea to someone counting calories, rather than restricting their diet to specific foods.

Seeing the Score in Action

How does the MSCI Similarity Score work in practice? Consider a hypothetical U.S. client that an advisor is onboarding.

The advisor has assigned the client to a high-quality global equity model portfolio, and is checking alignment.

Name	Model Allocation	Client Allocation	Difference
Core Total US Stock Market ETF	--	30%	-30%
MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF	--	10%	-10%
Total Stock Market ETF	40%	--	40%
Core MSCI EAFE ETF	--	8%	-8%
MSCI Emerging Markets ETF	--	4%	-4%
MSCI INTL Quality Factor ETF	--	3%	-3%
MSCI ACWI ex-US ETF	20%	--	20%
7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF	--	15%	-15%
Corporate Bond ETF	--	8%	-8%
1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF	--	3%	-3%
Core US Aggregate Bond ETF	30%	--	30%
Private Equity Fund	--	10%	-10%
Corporate Lending Fund	5%	10%	-5%
Gold ETF	5%	--	5%

Specific funds and ETFs are for illustration only and do not constitute recommendations.

The client’s holdings are quite different from those of the model portfolio.

However, using the MSCI Similarity Score, the advisor compares the two portfolios on the factors driving their performance.

MSCI Similarity Score Breakdown

Starting from a perfect score of 100, each difference in risk exposure between the client’s portfolio and the model portfolio reduces the score.

Risk Factor	Score
Starting Point: Perfect Alignment	100.0%
Global Equity	-7.5%
Commodities	-4.9%
US Private Equity	-2.3%
U.S. Equity	-1.9%
USD Rates Level	-0.4%
Final Similarity Score	83.0%

The biggest difference between the two portfolios is their exposure to global equity risk.

With a strong Similarity Score of 83.0%, the advisor can see that the drivers of risk for both portfolios are closely aligned despite holding different funds.

A Flexible Approach to Financial Portfolio Alignment

The MSCI Similarity Score helps wealth management firms assess alignment between a client portfolio and model portfolio based on their behavior, rather than exact holdings.

This approach has a number of benefits.

Personalization: Wealth managers can customize client solutions without sacrificing portfolio alignment.
Transparency: Clients can see how their financial portfolio aligns with the firm’s recommendation, building their confidence in their investments.
Scalability: Firms can quickly see the score across multiple portfolios, helping them manage thousands of clients efficiently.

As client needs evolve, the MSCI Similarity Score is a simple and innovative way to customize financial portfolio alignment.

Learn more about the MSCI Similarity Score.

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Infographics

The 20 Most Common Investment Mistakes, in One Chart

Here are the top investment mistakes to avoid, from emotionally driven investing to paying too much in fees.

Published

2 years ago

November 7, 2023

Dorothy Neufeld

The 20 Most Common Investment Mistakes

No one is immune to errors, including the best investors in the world.

Fortunately, investment mistakes can provide valuable lessons over time, providing investors an opportunity to gain insights on investing—and build more resilient portfolios.

This graphic shows the top 20 mistakes to watch out for, according to the CFA Institute.

20 Investment Mistakes to Avoid

From emotionally driven investment decisions to paying too much on fees, here are some mistakes that investors commonly make:

Top 20 Mistakes	Description
1. Expecting Too Much	Having reasonable return expectations helps investors keep a long-term view without reacting emotionally.
2. No Investment Goals	Often investors focus on short-term returns or the latest investment craze instead of their long-term investment goals.
3. Not Diversifying	Diversifying prevents a single stock from drastically impacting the value of your portfolio.
4. Focusing on the Short Term	It’s easy to focus on the short term, but this can make investors second-guess their original strategy and make careless decisions.
5. Buying High and Selling Low	Investor behavior during market swings often hinders overall performance.
6. Trading Too Much	One study shows that the most active traders underperformed the U.S. stock market by 6.5% on average annually. Source: The Journal of Finance
7. Paying Too Much in Fees	Fees can meaningfully impact your overall investment performance, especially over the long run.
8. Focusing Too Much on Taxes	While tax-loss harvesting can boost returns, making a decision solely based on its tax consequences may not always be merited.
9. Not Reviewing Investments Regularly	Review your portfolio quarterly or annually to make sure you’re staying on track or if your portfolio is in need of rebalancing.
10. Misunderstanding Risk	Too much risk can take you out of your comfort zone, but too little risk may result in lower returns that do not reach your financial goals. Recognize the right balance for your personal situation.
11. Not Knowing Your Performance	Often, investors don’t actually know the performance of their investments. Review your returns to track if you are meeting your investment goals factoring in fees and inflation.
12. Reacting to the Media	Negative news in the short-term can trigger fear, but remember to focus on the long run.
13. Forgetting About Inflation	Historically, inflation has averaged 4% annually. Value of $100 at 4% Annual Inflation After 1 Year: $96 After 20 Years: $44
14. Trying to Time the Market	Market timing is extremely hard. Staying in the market can generate much higher returns versus trying to time the market perfectly.
15. Not Doing Due Diligence	Check the credentials of your advisor through sites like BrokerCheck, which shows their employment history and complaints.
16. Working With the Wrong Advisor	Taking the time to find the right advisor is worth it. Vet your advisor carefully to ensure your goals are aligned.
17. Investing With Emotions	Although it can be challenging, remember to stay rational during market fluctuations.
18. Chasing Yield	High-yielding investments often carry the highest risk. Carefully assess your risk profile before investing in these types of assets.
19. Neglecting to Start	Consider two people investing $200 monthly assuming a 7% annual rate of return until the age of 65. If one person started at age 25, their end portfolio would be $520K, but if the other started at 35 it would total about $245K.
20. Not Controlling What You Can	While no one can predict the market, investors can control small contributions over time, which can have powerful outcomes.

For instance, not properly diversifying can expose you to higher risk. Holding one concentrated position can drastically impact the value of your portfolio when prices fluctuate.

In fact, one study shows that the optimal diversification for a large-cap portfolio is holding 15 stocks. In this way, it helps capture the highest possible return relative to risk. When it came to a small-cap portfolio, the number of stocks rose to 26 for optimal risk reduction.

It’s worth noting that one size does not fit all, and seeking financial advice can help you find the right balance based on your financial goals.

Another common mistake is trading too much. Since each trade can rake up fees, this can impact your overall portfolio performance. A separate study showed that the most active traders saw the worst returns, underperforming the U.S. stock market by 6.5% on average annually.

Finally, it’s important to carefully monitor your investments regularly as market conditions change, factoring in fees and inflation. This will let you know if your investments are on track, or if you need to adjust based on changing personal circumstances or other factors.

Controlling What You Can

To help avoid these mistakes, investors can remember to stay rational and focus on their long-term goals. Building a solid portfolio often involves assessing the following factors:

Financial goals
Current income
Spending habits
Market environment
Expected returns

With these factors in mind, investors can avoid focusing on short-term market swings, and control what they can. Making small investments over the long run can have powerful effects, with the potential to accumulate significant wealth simply by investing consistently over time.

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