3 Things Women Should Consider When It Comes To Investing

For any woman looking to make future history and get into finance, I have a few pieces of advice to share to ensure you are getting into the best field for you, setting yourself up for success, and secure yourself the fairest compensation.

If you are managing money, your performance is measurable and easily comparable to that of your peers, which allows for pay transparency between genders. Note that studies show that women are better risk managers than men, so you might even beat the boys performance-wise!?If you are one of the lucky young women about to start college in the Fall, consider classes in Economics and Finance, or if you are a junior looking for internship and career opportunities - start researching opportunities or careers in asset management. We, the women in Asset Management, can’t wait to welcome you! Check out BlackRock’s internship and job opportunities here: https://careers.blackrock.com/early-careers?

I've made two big mistakes when it comes to my personal finances:

1) Not contributing to a 401K until my early 30s

2) Cashing out of the stock market during the 2008 crisis.

Don’t repeat my mistakes. Even if retirement feels far away, contribute something small. $100 a month in the equity market, earning average 7% over 40 years, can yield $300k without any matching from your employer. Think about that! It will also have the added benefit of getting you to focus on what the markets are doing every month. When markets get volatile, staying invested is important. Many investors tend to sell during times of volatility and can miss out when markets turn back up. As a result, investors could underperform the overall market. When we look back over the last 20+years, missing top-performing days could have hurt your return.1 Staying invested in a diversified way can help yield positive returns in the long-term. On top of that, it's easier than ever to start investing on your own. Consider opening an investing account at an online brokerage firm like Fidelity (or any other place!) if you haven’t already.

As women, we tend to shy away from discussing money with our friends – and certainly our managers. Make sure you are discussing your expectations and compensation trajectory every year. Unfortunately, when women do this, they are often called “aggressive," but over the long run, transparency helps everyone. And if you are a man and you know that your female colleagues are making less than you, it's on you to speak up and?share your stats!?If nothing else, speaking up will force you to become comfortable with conversations about money, negotiating your value, and who knows? It might even get you the pay you deserve.

1 Bloomberg, as of 12/31/21. Based on a hypothetical $100,000 investment in the S&P 500 from 01/31/2002 to 12/31/2021. Staying invested over the entire period would have amounted to $616,317, while missing 10 of the top performing days would have resulted in $282,358 and missing 25 of the top performing days would have resulted in $134,392. Index returns are for illustrative purposes only. Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. Indexes are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future result

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation within the meaning of federal, state or local law.? You are solely responsible for evaluating and acting upon the education and information contained in this material. BlackRock will not be liable for direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information obtained from these materials or from any other source mentioned. BlackRock does not render any legal, tax or accounting advice and the education and information contained in this material should not be construed as such.? Please consult with a qualified professional for these types of advice.

This material contains general information only and does not take into account an individual's financial circumstances. This information should not be relied upon as a primary basis for an investment decision. Rather, an assessment should be made as to whether the information is appropriate in individual circumstances and consideration should be given to talking to a financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, member FINRA.
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