Women are better traders

I’ve decided to get a little controversial this week, after reading what I initially thought was an outrageous claim about women being better traders than men.

October 19, 2016

2 minutes read

After a trading website recently declared that women make better traders than men, I must admit I chuckled at this perceived ridiculous claim.

After all what difference does it make what sex you are?

And, besides, it’s a male-dominated industry.

Well, after giving it some thought and finding a lot of research posted on the topic … I’m sorry Benoni “boets”, I think I have to agree.

From the research articles I have found, there were some very clear traits that women possess which we men do not.

It boils down to our genetic make-up which, after giving it some thought, rings true for many of my female clients.

So, taking into account the “research” and swayed a little by the trading attributes of my own female clients, I have come up with the best reasons why women make better traders than men.

Women are more risk averse.

Well, more than men in general, at least.

Men hold bad trades longer, and take bigger losses.

I think that can be attributed to the fact that women do not possess testosterone.

Women don’t have big egos.

I’m not saying they don’t have egos, they just don’t have big ones like we men do.

Of course women are competitive, but female traders have bigger motivations, they are more goal-orientated; women are more measured, as opposed to jumping in head first – which men are apparently prone to doing.

Research has found (and you know this is true) that women read the manual!

They stick to a strategy and question things of which they are uncertain.

Let’s be honest, we don’t read the manual.

Another research “truth” I came across is that men hate to be wrong and take longer to admit that they have made an error.

Let’s face it, nobody likes to be wrong, but men are particularly bad at admitting defeat.

This my friends, is a very important trading trait.

If you are a trader, losses are part of the game and we have a saying in this business: “your first loss is your best loss”.

Men tend to turn small losses into big ones.

Women are better in a crisis and less emotional because, contrary to popular belief, female traders are more disciplined and less likely to panic.

Which leads me to the next trait we men don’t possess: women can more easily say no.

Markets are unpredictable as it is.

Sometimes there just isn’t a trade and sometimes the best trades are the ones you do not make.

Trading of course isn’t for everyone, men and women are equal in this sense and by no means am I saying that all women should be traders; there are, of course, women who have no business pulling up an order screen.

What I am saying is that, based on research, there should be more women trading the market and there is a better probability of them being more successful than their male counterparts.

So come on girls, let’s get you trading.