What to Do When The Market is Running Wild? Ask Your Mom.

The stock market has been all over the place (although generally going down) over the last few weeks. At this point it might be good to see which sorts personality traits help people best survive the market turmoil.

Recently the Christian Science Monitor had an article on “Why Women Might Be The Winners in
Today’s Market” in short women are less likely to panic and sell in a down market and make more stocks trades. Women are also more likely to seek the advice of a financial profession and are more likely to have a financial plan. Men are also more likely to double down on their investments after an initial loss. Although the article also indicates that women are more likely to use lower risk investment vehicles such as bonds and money market funds. In the long run too little risk can lead to low returns.

When the market falls and you see your 401k plunge it’s hard not to sell off. Aphorism like buy low and sell high are hard to swallow. But it might just the medicine you need to weather the financial sickness.