New Report: Women Investors Are Ignored, Misunderstood, Undervalued

NEW YORK, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Two women-owned firms, the polling company, inc./WomanTrend and CAIM LLC today jointly released a groundbreaking study identifying key themes impacting today's women investors, entitled: "What Women Want: Understanding The Modern Female Investor."  The launch will take place on Thursday, October 21, at 6:00 pm at New York Yacht Club at 37 West 44th Street.  

The newly issued report includes a timely and customized omnibus study of women investors. the polling company, inc./WomanTrend conducted a telephone survey of 515 adult women across geographies in the United States, asking a set of very detailed and pointed questions about their investing habits, desires, and needs along the way. The results of the survey are included in this newly issued report.

"CAIM is excited to release this comprehensive review of women investors," noted Catherine Avery, CAIM founder and CEO. "Women control one-third of the total wealth in North America, representing one of the largest concentrations of women's wealth globally. Women's affluence has increased significantly in the last decade, and we expect this affluence – and proportional control of wealth – will continue to grow well into the future. We hope this report will help build confidence of the female investor especially in these difficult financial times."

"We were delighted to work with CAIM to produce what we believe is a truly groundbreaking report on this rapidly growing class of investor," added Kellyanne Conway, CEO and Founder of the polling company inc./WomanTrend. "Our report is a comprehensive attempt to make the connection between the increased affluence of women and the subsequent demands on their time."

Key highlights from the report:

• Just 10% of women are concerned about making financial decisions if "suddenly single" as a result of divorce or widowhood. Yet statistics show that nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce and an astounding 80% of women outlive their husbands. Women need to take more control of their investment portfolios, earlier in their lives.
• Dividends should be a woman's best friend, but aren't...Yet. According to our research, nearly one-third of female investors are informed about dividend paying stocks, yet most women shy away from them. Why? Most women are tremendously risk averse but are also unaware of proper diversified investing strategies.
• A high number of women surveyed (87%) selected at least one area of financial education they would appreciate, with the most prevalent topics relating to retirement planning (35%), college funding (26%), debt reduction (18%), and estate planning (18%).
• Women prioritized a proven track record (35%), someone who could make things easy to understand (35%), and personalized attention (29%) for an ideal financial advisor.

Kellyanne Conway

Kellyanne Conway, Founder and President of the polling company, inc./WomanTrend, is one of the most quoted and noted pollsters on the national scene, having provided commentary on over 1,200 television shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, HBO, Comedy Central, MTV and the Fox News Channel, and numerous radio shows and print stories.

Kellyanne has been profiled in over a dozen magazines, newspapers, and television programs.  Her polling data and op-eds have been published by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New York Post, The Washington Times, USA Today, National Review, Human Events, Investors' Business Daily, and Politico and she is a regular on the speaking circuit. She has received the Washington Post's "Crystal Ball" award for accurately predicted elections and co-authored WHAT WOMEN REALLY WANT: How American Women Are Quietly Erasing Political, Racial, Class, and Religious Lines to Change the Way We Live (Free Press).

the polling company, inc./WomanTrend is a privately held, woman-owned, nationally-regarded primary research and consulting firm based in Washington, DC, with offices in New York City. One division of the polling company ™, inc., WomanTrend, for years has tracked and interpreted the social, cultural, financial, professional and health trends influencing-and being influenced by-women. WomanTrend does more than summarize trend data. Instead, it looks to the greater context of "what it all means" in an ever-changing world. www.pollingcompany.com

Catherine Maniscalco Avery

Catherine founded CAIM LLC in 2007 after more than 20 years of successfully managing client assets at major institutions. Catherine's investment career and credentials are broad; she has worked for a number of leading investment firms in the U.S., including Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. She has been widely cited as an expert portfolio manager in such news sources as Financial Planning Magazine, The New York Times, Consumer's Digest, Fox Business and National Post of Canada.

On an individual basis, she has been personally responsible for portfolios totaling more than $750 million—while as a member of a larger portfolio management team, she has shared responsibility for managing more than $14 billion on behalf of investors.

CAIM is an independent, owner-run investment management firm specializing in managing customized investment portfolios for women and baby boomers. The backbone of Catherine Avery Investment Management (CAIM) is our core investment philosophy: Take a long-term perspective, create well diversified investment portfolios, and employ a classic investment philosophy including low volatility dividend paying equities.  www.caimllc.com

SOURCE CAIM LLC