Why Women Make Great Traders

It’s a controversial claim to say that women make better traders than men, but there is some evidence in support of what would seem to be, on the surface at least, a very gender-biased statement.

In a study completed in 2001, it was found that overtrading due to confidence resulted in good traders losing more of their earnings than was otherwise predicted; the reason for the overtrading? Overconfidence, according to the study. The study also found that men tended to overtrade until their net returns were reduced by over 2.5%, whereas this was much less common among women traders, where not only was overtrading less likely, but when they did overtrade, their net returns only reduced by less than 1.7% – and the difference in these tiny percentages can make a big mark on your trading account, as many trader training organisations could tell you. The female traits apparently serving women well in the trading arena include:

Admitting Their Mistakes

Often the subject of jokes and laughter, it is a fact that men are less likely to admit they’re wrong than women. When you’re trading, the sooner you see you’re in a poor trade and exit, the better. In the gender trader debate, women do this more easily and more quickly than men, minimising their losses on the floor.

Being Level Headed

Despite centuries of history that women are emotional, hysterical and all manner of things unrelated to calm collected decision making, the reverse is often true. Women have been found to be calmer in a crisis, and better at making unemotional decisions in a crisis. This makes women traders more disciplined and less inclined to panic when the market experiences one of those frequent moments of turbulence.

Used To Saying ‘No’

It’s also a fact that women are better at saying no. Some of the most tempting trades are not necessarily part of your trading strategy – and that’s when overconfidence can really be your undoing. Women traders, it seems, are better at turning their backs on the ones that look too easy, but are in fact, departures from their own winning trading plan.

Sticking To The Plan

Women are great planners; both sexes have known this for centuries. However, the proof of the plan is not in the making; it’s in the implementation and it seems women traders are better at sticking to their carefully laid out strategy than their male counterparts. They also ask more questions and proceed only when they feel they have some idea of the lay of the land before them; in short, they are cautious operators and in the mad, fast moving world of forex trading, it’s the traders who look before they leap who are the most successfully consistent.

While one trading website screamed their ‘think like a woman’ mantra from the rooftops (possibly to attract more female traders to their floor), you don’t, of course, need ovaries to be a successful trader. However, in a world where many women still find the glass ceiling keeping them down, it’s good to know there are environments in which being female actually gives you a bit of an edge.

Do you think women make good traders? Share your reasons in the comments box below.