For most of her working life, Sharon Boyer, a Statistics Canada analyst in Ottawa, had no RRSP and didn't think much about retirement.
Then 10 years ago, at 47, Ms. Boyer figured she'd better seriously start planning ahead. "I have a pension but I was worried it won't be enough. I started paying attention to all the information out there about RRSPs and I've been investing in them ever since," says Ms. Boyer, who will retire next summer.
During the past decade, many women have followed a similar investment journey, according to financial experts. They've gone from being largely uninformed and uninterested in their future financial needs to becoming more educated and active in owning RRSPs and other investments.
But the experts disagree about whether women have come far enough and fast enough to adequately prepare for retirement.
Patricia Lovett-Reid, a senior vice-president at TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., is concerned that women are still too cautious and complacent about retirement goals. In a poll near the end of last year, TD Waterhouse found that 54 per cent of women owned RRSPs, compared to 58 per cent of men. They were planning to put an average of $3,700 into their RRSP for 2003 -- about $1,000 less than men.
The poll shows men are more likely to invest in stocks and mutual funds and expect a higher rate of return from their RRSPs than women. Fifty-four per cent of women see themselves as low-risk investors versus 45 per cent of men. Women expect an average rate of return from their RRSPs of 7 per cent. Men expect 10 per cent.
"We've been doing these surveys for the past four years and it's the same old issue. Women aren't saving enough and they're too conservative. Their control of their own finances isn't keeping pace with their economic advancement on the job front," Ms. Lovett-Reid says.
But Susan Andrighetti, a vice-president and investment adviser in Thornhill, Ont., at CIBC Wood Gundy Wealth Management, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc., says her female clients are on par with the men she advises.
"I'm not comfortable saying that women are more conservative investors. It's not true any more."
In fact, many married women are now taking charge of the family investments, Ms. Andrighetti says. Ten or 20 years ago, when a couple went to see her, the husband typically did all of the talking. After the initial appointment, she never saw most of the wives again.
"Now, it's the opposite. The husband will come in once to make sure he's comfortable with my approach, then leave it up to his wife to make the ongoing decisions."
Her female clients are just as likely to put their money into mutual funds and stocks as her male clients, Ms. Andrighetti says. They don't automatically opt for GICs and other fixed-rate vehicles and, with some investments, such as income trusts and gold, they're even more willing to take the plunge than men, Ms. Andrighetti adds.
Ms. Boyer, who has educated herself about investing through reading, attending financial forums and joining an information-sharing group, moved away from GICs as her knowledge grew.
She developed a more mixed portfolio. In the last few years, as she approaches retirement, she's bought more bond funds and GICs and cut back somewhat on her equity mutual funds. Equities still comprise the bulk of her holdings and, when the market went down, she didn't bail out of mutual funds.
"I'm in for the long haul. The return now for GICs isn't enough to support you through retirement."
That kind of thinking shows how far women investors have come, say some financial pros. Robert Nesbitt, a portfolio manager and investment adviser with RBC Dominion Securities Inc., a unit of Royal Bank of Canada, in Ottawa, believes women no longer lag.
A recent RBC poll found that 47 per cent of women and 52 per cent of men were planning to contribute to an RRSP for 2003. In that survey, women on average were planning to spend about $4,800 and men about $5,100. The bank doesn't consider these amounts to be a significant difference, says bank spokesperson John Vincic.
"I see absolutely no gender difference. How much risk a person is willing to take on is an individual thing, more a question of socio-economic upbringing and life experiences than anything else," Mr. Nesbitt says.
Women make up just over half of her high-end clientele, says Susan Latremoille, a vice-president, portfolio manager and head of The Latremoille Group, a wealth management practice at RBC. Her practice includes a diverse group of mostly older investors, who need a portfolio of $1-million to join. Making an RRSP contribution isn't an issue. Clients typically put in the maximum at the start of the year.
Even the women who have inherited money, not just those who have made it themselves, take an active interest in their financial affairs, says Ms. Latremoille. Her financially successful female clients don't differ from the men, she says.
But that may not be the case for all women, Ms. Latremoille adds. "Just by the general demographics, with the lag of women getting into the workplace, I can believe that, at the lowest common denominator, women could be behind men."
One of the most striking differences in the TD poll was the average amount of money that women and men believe they will need for a comfortable retirement. A person retiring in a large city will need about $750,000, Ms. Lovett-Reid says. The men in the survey estimated $623,000, but the women predicted just $399,000. "That's a huge difference, and a big call to action. I think many women must be counting on their partner's pension or savings or just guessing what they'll need."
Also of concern, Ms. Lovett-Reid says, is the survey's finding that a growing number of women -- 44 per cent -- are relying on the Canada Pension Plan, or Quebec Pension Plan, and Old Age Security to fund their retirement.
To Ms. Boyer, that's scary. One reason she wants to build her retirement chest is healthcare costs.
Women need to take saving seriously in part because of their longer life expectancy, Ms. Lovett-Reid says. A third of a lifetime can now be spent in retirement, she points out, which can't be sustained by under-investing or sticking to low-yield properties. "You have to ask yourself, what's the greater risk: volatility in the market or outliving your money?"
There are some areas, pros agree, where women beat male investors. They tend to do more thorough research, are more likely to seek the advice of a financial expert and follow the plan they establish.
"If anything, women are better decision-makers than men because they're less emotional. They tend to buy on logic and sell on logic," Ms. Andrighetti says.
Overall, though, Ms. Andrighetti says the TD survey findings don't reflect her clients. "My take is that women are educated, save regularly and make wise investment decisions. I often wonder who's being interviewed for these surveys."
Still, "ideally, I'd like to be able to say that women are making great strides," Ms. Lovett-Reid says. "But they've got to get their money working harder for them. There's still a lot of catch-up to do."
© The Globe and Mail
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