Men Are Idiots, Fidelity Research Shows; Women Remain Less Confident Than Men About Investing And Retirement Decisions
“The men in their lives agree," according to the survey. "Men are more likely than women to be very confident in their own ability (53% versus 45% of women).”
In other words, women know what they do not know. Men, in contrast, are more often confident than women about their ability to manage the couple’s collective wealth.
Would be great to see research showing which of the sexes is better at investing. My guess is the investment track record of men and women would be about the same. Men just think they’re better at it.
Women don’t come away unscathed. They, too, are human.
“Women, in turn, are more likely to be confident their ‘other half’ could assume this role (52% versus 43% of men),” the research shows. “Surprisingly, younger women tend to be the most deferential of all.” In other words, women buy into the notion that their men are better financial managers.
An important finding: The number of women claiming primary responsibility for day-to-day financial decisions jumped to 24% in this year’s survey—up from 15% in 2011—and the number of women claiming “primary status for long-term retirement decisions” more than doubled to 19% from 9% in 2011. That could be the start of a major trend in how couples deal with money. Traditionally, this was a man’s job. In modern families, however, it will be a lot more common for the woman to become the primary decision-maker on finances.
Another gem: Fidelity says the average American can expect to spend about 30 years or more in retirement. For a 65-year-old couple today, there’s a 50% chance one will live to the age of 92 and a 25% chance one will live to the age of 97.
Fidelity’s research on financial planning issues is often good quality. It’s something Fido does well.
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