The number of women investors in the United States rose by 85% in the 15 years to 2000, a rise that Merrill Lynch believes is the start of an expanding global trend.

The rise, based on figures from the Investment Company Institute and the Securities Industry Association, “is only the start of a global trend that has seen a near doubling of the number of females in financial markets,” said Winthrop Smith, chairman of Merrill Lynch International and president of the firm’s International Private Client Group.

One reason for the rising number of female investors to the growing number of working women, Smith said. “Investors, including women, are also increasingly demanding inclusion in financial marketplaces as a matter of survival. Many investors realize they cannot rely on their pension system alone for their retirement and that they need to be proactive in planning for their own future,” he added.

Another factor the Merrill Lynch attributes to an increase in the number of female investors is the increasing level of global financial education and knowledge.

Merrill Lynch has also identified distinct differences between female and male investment habits. “For example, women often have very different economic goals and realities than male investors and they tend to choose slightly more conservative products,” said Karen Hoy, a Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant in Toronto. “Accordingly, it helps to offer a wide range of investment options to female clients.”

“Many women investors outperform men,” noted Hoy, citing a study by the University of California in 1998, which found that women generally trade less, thereby paying less fees and earning average net annual returns of 1.4% greater than men.

“So while women make up 46.5% of the world’s work force and make only 76 cents to every dollar a man earns, those 76 cents are being spent wisely,” said Kathy Sager, a Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant in Vancouver.

“Though you cannot generalize about female investors. Each woman investor is unique, her situation, her needs,” Sager said. “Like all investors, some know very little while others are very knowledgeable about various investments.”