The women managers didn't just squeak by the overall average for hedge funds, but bested it by almost 60%.
The article goes on to say that for the past six years women run funds returned 6 percent while the overall HFRX average lost 1.1 percent and the Standard and Poors 500 (an average more established funds) only did 4.2 percent.
Rothstein Kass has been producing this report for three years with data going back six years. The latest report continues the story of successful investment strategies managed by women, but also points out that growth in woman managed funds is still slow, but steady.
Unlike the legal profession where women's participation was going asymptotic a few years ago, this is a new field for high level women to enter. With results like this there is little reason to doubt there will eventually be similar rapid gains. In endeavors where testosterone does not provide an advantage (and as this study indicates may actually provide a disadvantage) there is no reason not to expect a steady rise for the first few years followed by a more rapid rise as these results get more media (and importantly investor) attention.
Can you think of any reason to invest your money where it doesn't produce the best results? I can't.
I can still remember a time when the primary area for women doctors was in gynecology where women patients felt more comfortable with a woman than a man doing their examinations. But with the advent of HMOs and similar group practices where you do not have an assigned doctor at all times it has become more common for doctors of all kinds to consist of a significant percentage of women. As men become more accustomed to the idea of trusting a female doctor, dentist, tax professional, lawyer or investment adviser it is not unreasonable to expect a "pole reversal" effect where customers of these services, both women and men gravitate to the professionals that they view as most likely to produce the best outcomes for them. Such preferences may be no more rational on a case by case basis than selection criteria of the past, on the other hand consumers like to take shortcuts since they don't have the time to investigate every single provider and furthermore the professions don't always make it easy to view individual results of such providers.
As this momentum builds, young women will see these fields as naturals for their talents while young men may just chose to go elsewhere and those elsewhere jobs may involve an increasing degree of manual labor: construction work, trucking, assembly lines, etc.
Anyone who objects to these societal shifts should keep in mind that there is nothing forced about them. Customers will continue to gravitate to providers where they get the best results, students will gravitate to careers that offer them the best opportunities. The world will go on and each generation will see ahead of them just what they expected to see based on what is happening "now".
For more of what the future holds stay tuned to Fethez and Femitheist resources linked here.
The future starts now.
Resources:
Graphics:
Original NBC Article:
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/female-hedge-fund-managers-do-it-better-survey-2D11929573CNBC:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101337906Original Reuters Story:
http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USL2N0KO1XR20140115Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hujsoMtswUhttp://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000236100
Full reports (PDF):
For 2012:http://www.rkco.com/getattachment/1ca72e70-3f74-4f8e-97f3-165d95738614/Women-in-Alternative-Investments-Building-Momentum
For 2013:
http://www.rkco.com/getattachment/428e7040-4f34-449f-826a-e0305b1970b6/Women-in-Alternative-Investments-A-Marathon-Not-a
