Recent Study: COVID Impacts Women’s Finances. Here’s How to Rebuild

• • • In addition to the wage gap, data suggests there is also a wealth gap—women do not have as much saved for retirement as their male counterparts.
    • According to a survey released in Jan 2021 from the Nationwide Retirement Institute (https://news.nationwide.com/women-investors-concerns/), COVID-19 has widened this retirement preparedness gap.

• • • According to the results, women feel less prepared than men to protect their investments in volatile markets. Their top concerns are protecting their portfolios against COVID-related losses and protecting assets. Interestingly, other research shows that women are better long-term investors than men, they just have less confidence in their financial decisions, and COVID seems to be amplifying this lack of confidence.
    • Best advice to increase women’s confidence? We want to focus on what we can control. This means keeping an eye on income and expenses, maintaining an adequate emergency reserve, and keeping a diversified portfolio in line with long term goals.
    • If you are still employed, continue to invest in your company 401k, and if you’re nervous about volatility, consider dialing back risk rather than ceasing to invest completely. Compound earnings should help long-term investors over time, so it is important to continue investing.
    • Remember, short-term adjustments are often okay, especially if income and/or expenses have changed during the pandemic. COVID is a storm that can be weathered, especially in the context of a long-term financial plan where we expect to make course corrections along the way.
    • The survey notably showed that the number of women who worked with a financial advisor increased by over 10% in 2020 compared to 2019, a great trend that would be even greater to see increase further in 2021.

Interview: Lauren Oschman

Lauren Oschman, CFP® is a financial advisor for some of the nation’s highest caliber physicians. She holds an economics degree from Vanderbilt University and completed her financial training at Emerson University. Along with these prestigious degrees, Oschman has over a decade of expertise in financial matters for high net worth individuals. 

Oschman delivers financial education programs to medical residents & fellows nationwide (Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, Rush, OrthoCarolina and many others), has built a $1 million revenue financial planning business, and co-founded Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors, and is an expert in helping physicians attain their financial goals—and has a niche passion for working with high-caliber female surgeons, and volunteers as a CFP® WIN (Women’s Initiative) Advocate to raise awareness about the profession for young women.

Her decade-long experience as an accomplished financial advisor and executive has led to her being a sought-after speaker for financial workshops throughout Alabama, Georgia—and Tennessee, where she has happily resided with her husband and two young children.