Dear Amy,

I am working as a graduate intern at a small mutual fund company. Every quarter we publish a shareholder report in which we have a section entitled "Women and Investing." It is currently my responsibility to research a topic and write about it. The problem, though, is that every article or author that mentions women (specifically) and investing are written very simplistically and really don't focus on WOMEN and investing. Instead they solely focus on investing basics that are suitable for both men and women. Do you have any suggestions of where I can look or which authors to read?

Thank you,
Lauren

Dear Lauren,

I get many shareholder reports and none have a section on "Women and Investing," so I was curious to learn about the existence of such a focus. However, I have heard of few funds that focus on women -most well-known is Amy Domini and the Domini Index - this index prioritizes women-friendly businesses and targets women investors, so that might be your best starting place. I think the most important thing to keep in mind is the difference in how men and women approach investing. My instinct is that women are more likely to invest in less risky, blue chip stocks, and are probably more likely to invest less money for fear that it will go away or because they are usually in need of liquid assets.

Also, many women fear ending up alone with no money. I think that you have to challenge that fear or at least address it by encouraging women to take steps earlier to prevent that from happening later. Good luck.

Amy