Are women better investors than men?

Fidelity Investment thinks so. After it reviewed the annual performance of 5.2 million accounts, it found that women outperformed men by 40 basis points. And that small edge adds up: $250,000 invested for 15 years with a 7.4% annual return yields $834,531, compared with $740,493 at 7%.

By the time women retire, however, they’ve saved 44% less money than men, according to a different study by Vanguard. Most of this shortfall is due to the gender pay gap, plus the fact that woman may exit the workplace, and pause contributions to employer-sponsored retirement savings plans, for extended periods to raise families.

Women versus men is a popular topic among investment experts. Yet another survey shows that only 23% of women say they're doing well or very well financially — 11 percentage points behind men. Additionally, 37% of women say they aren't able to save money, versus 22% of men.

There are people who can help. At a recent panel convened by the Financial Planners Association of Iowa, four women who work for area financial planning businesses discussed how they cater to women and their perspectives on wealth accumulation and management.

A lot of women lack confidence when it comes to investing, said Brittany Heard of Foster Group. Or they’re skittish. “They can be risk-averse,” said Emily Derifield of West Financial Advisors.

But higher risk can bring higher rewards, so it’s the duty of planners to counsel clients and help them understand the possibilities. That doesn’t involve risky crypto currency so much as mutual funds or ETFs, which are professionally managed and closely monitored. In many instances, Derifield said, women simply aren’t aware of the variety of reasonable investment opportunities available to them.

Abby Belvin, also with West Financial Advisors, said that when she works with heterosexual couples, she engages with both the man and woman so that both will be informed and comfortable with financial decisions in the future. Most of Belvin’s single-women clients are widows or divorcees, although the number of never-married women with money to invest is on the rise.

According to another study, men are twice as likely to consider themselves “very knowledgeable” about investing, while women are twice as likely to say they are “not very knowledgeable.” Men are also twice as likely to describe themselves as “aggressive” or “most aggressive.”

“Women need to be more aggressive because of [their] longer time horizon,” Heard said. On average, women live to be 79.3, a full six years longer than men, so they’ll need some extra resources. And when women end up in asset-burning extended care facilities, their stays tend to be longer than men’s.

Women already show strong instincts as investors. With greater confidence, tools and guidance, they can amplify that advantage — and close the retirement savings gap.