You may have heard of the gender pay gap, where women earn less compared to their male counterparts. But on top of the pay gap, there’s also an investing gap, too. Women typically don’t invest as much as men and it’s dramatically hurting their finances (the good news is that when women do invest, they tend to be better investors). There is also a very real gap in the number of women working in investing and finance more broadly. According to studies by Harvard Business School, among senior roles in venture capital and private equity women hold just 9% and 6% of the positions. At hedge funds, that number is just 11%.
That being said, there are certainly women breaking barriers in the world of investing and with that in mind, we are highlighting the top women in investing in 2021, ranging from educators who are working to move the needle to CEOs on a mission to close the gender wealth gap.
These are women to know, follow, and applaud.
1. Arian Simone, General Partner Of Fearless Fund
Arian Simone is a serial entrepreneur and President and CEO of the Fearless Fund, which specifically focuses on investing in women of color. According to the site, “Fearless Fund invests in women of color-led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. Our mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders building scalable, growth aggressive companies. Fearless Fund is built by women of color for women of color.” The fund exists to close the gap and support women of color on their entrepreneurship journey. Arian is also the author of “The Fearless Money Mindset: Broke Doesn’t Scare Me”.
2. Amanda Holden, Founder Of Dumpster Doggy
If you’ve ever been bored to tears learning about investing, Amanda Holden is your antidote. She runs The Dumpster Dog blog and has a course, Invested Development, that mixes humor with expert investing knowledge. She breaks down complicated concepts and simplifies them in terms you can actually understand. Her Instagram game is a feast for the eyes and wonderful for your brain and wallet.
3. Cathie Wood, CEO Of ARK Invest
While women may be lacking in numbers on Wall Street, Cathie Wood is at the very top of the pack as the CEO of ARK Invest. While she has been on Wall Street for a while, when Cathie struck out on her own with ARK Invest — a collection of ETFs — in 2014 her career went into overdrive, and ARK now boasts $60 billion in assets across seven ETFs. Her flagship ETF, ARK Innovation, is now the largest actively managed ETF, about as major a feat as there is. Even more striking? That ETF made 150% last year thanks in large part to bets on mega-growth stocks like Tesla. It’s no wonder every investing move Cathie makes is closely watched, and she has even proven an ability to move markets. For instance, the sports betting app DraftKings stock shot up 8.6% in one day after it was disclosed that ARK was including it in one of its funds.
4. Mabel Nuñez, CEO And Founder Of Girls On The Money
After what happened with Gamestop, maybe you wish you understood a bit more about stocks and wondered if you should get more in on the action. Mabel Nuñez is the founder of Girls on the Money, a stock investing education platform that helps women and underrepresented communities learn this specific skill. She is the author of “Stock Market Investing Mini Lessons For Beginners: A Starter Guide For Beginner Investors”. You can also check out all of her free resources for beginners as well as check out her Instagram.
5. Jannese Torres-Rodriguez, Creator And Host Of Yo Quiero Dinero Podcast
Jannese Torres-Rodriguez hosts the Yo Quiero Dinero podcast where she covers topics like pursuing Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE), navigating finance as an immigrant, why you need to start investing, and more. Her tagline is “a personal finance podcast for the Modern Latina”. You can also check out her blog and read posts like “How to start investing” and follow her entertaining yet informative Instagram account.
6. Sallie Krawcheck, CEO And Co-Founder Of Ellevest
Long known as one of the most powerful women on Wall Street — she famously held the glass ceiling-breaking role of President of the Global Wealth & Investment Management division of Bank of America — Sallie Krawcheck is now the co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, an investing platform for women. Ellevest helps women invest and creates personalized portfolios based on their unique goals. The company also has a focus on impact investing, where you can align your money with your core beliefs and values. For example, you can support women-led companies, community-based services, and sustainable companies. According to Ellevest’s website, “Women retire with two-thirds as much money as men do, but live six to eight years longer.” Sallie is on a mission to close the investing gap and support women through their retirement.
7. Monick Halm, Founder Of Real Estate Investor Goddesses
You can invest in the stock market and you can also invest in real estate. But real estate investing isn’t something to get into lightly. That’s where Monick Halm comes in. She runs the Real Estate Investor Goddesses website and podcast. You can learn from her free training about the ins and outs of real estate investing and also check out her The Investor club too. If real estate investing is something you’re considering, the resources she has created are invaluable.
8. Arlan Hamilton, Founder And Managing Partner Of Backstage Capital
Arlan Hamilton is the founder of Backstage Capital, which is a venture capital firm that invests in founders from underrepresented communities. According to its website, “Less than 10% of all venture capital deals go to Women, People of Color, and LGBT founders. Other VCs see this as a pipeline problem. We see it as the biggest opportunity in investment. Backstage Capital has invested more than 170 companies led by underrepresented founders.” Arlan used to be homeless and now has built a successful venture capital firm. She is also the author of It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated Into Your Greatest Advantage. Arlan is changing the venture capital game and putting her money where her mouth is and investing in companies she believes in.
9. Jully-Alma Taveras, Founder Of Investing Latina
Jully-Alma Taveras is the Investing Latina and founder of the Investing Workshop. She calls herself the “J. Lo of Investing”. You can check out her tax organization guide, get private mentorship and learn important investing definitions explaining what capital gains are, what a dividend yield actually means, and more on her Instagram. Her YouTube channel is also chock full of great content that you can binge and learn why it’s important for women to invest and why you need to invest for retirement.
10. Pocket Sun, SoGal Ventures
Pocket Sun is the co-founder of SoGal Ventures, which is a female-led venture capital firm investing in women and underrepresented entrepreneurs all over the world. According to its website, “As a team, we have invested in 80+ startups with world-class, diverse entrepreneurs in the US, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Africa.” At age 24 in 2016, Pocket was listed as one of the 30 under 30 for Forbes Asia.
In an article on Medium, Pocket states, “We want to use our investment to build a better future that we want to live in. Every company represents our hope to change the conversation.”
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Arian Simone is a serial entrepreneur and President and CEO of the Fearless Fund, which specifically focuses on investing in women of color. According to the site, “Fearless Fund invests in women of color-led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. Our mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders building scalable, growth aggressive companies. Fearless Fund is built by women of color for women of color.” The fund exists to close the gap and support women of color on their entrepreneurship journey. Arian is also the author of “The Fearless Money Mindset: Broke Doesn’t Scare Me”.
If you’ve ever been bored to tears learning about investing, Amanda Holden is your antidote. She runs The Dumpster Dog blog and has a course, Invested Development, that mixes humor with expert investing knowledge. She breaks down complicated concepts and simplifies them in terms you can actually understand. Her Instagram game is a feast for the eyes and wonderful for your brain and wallet.
While women may be lacking in numbers on Wall Street, Cathie Wood is at the very top of the pack as the CEO of ARK Invest. While she has been on Wall Street for a while, when Cathie struck out on her own with ARK Invest — a collection of ETFs — in 2014 her career went into overdrive, and ARK now boasts $60 billion in assets across seven ETFs. Her flagship ETF, ARK Innovation, is now the largest actively managed ETF, about as major a feat as there is. Even more striking? That ETF made 150% last year thanks in large part to bets on mega-growth stocks like Tesla. It’s no wonder every investing move Cathie makes is closely watched, and she has even proven an ability to move markets. For instance, the sports betting app DraftKings stock shot up 8.6% in one day after it was disclosed that ARK was including it in one of its funds.
After what happened with Gamestop, maybe you wish you understood a bit more about stocks and wondered if you should get more in on the action. Mabel Nuñez is the founder of Girls on the Money, a stock investing education platform that helps women and underrepresented communities learn this specific skill. She is the author of “Stock Market Investing Mini Lessons For Beginners: A Starter Guide For Beginner Investors”. You can also check out all of her free resources for beginners as well as check out her Instagram.
Jannese Torres-Rodriguez hosts the Yo Quiero Dinero podcast where she covers topics like pursuing Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE), navigating finance as an immigrant, why you need to start investing, and more. Her tagline is “a personal finance podcast for the Modern Latina”. You can also check out her blog and read posts like “How to start investing” and follow her entertaining yet informative Instagram account.
Long known as one of the most powerful women on Wall Street — she famously held the glass ceiling-breaking role of President of the Global Wealth & Investment Management division of Bank of America — Sallie Krawcheck is now the co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, an investing platform for women. Ellevest helps women invest and creates personalized portfolios based on their unique goals. The company also has a focus on impact investing, where you can align your money with your core beliefs and values. For example, you can support women-led companies, community-based services, and sustainable companies. According to Ellevest’s website, “Women retire with two-thirds as much money as men do, but live six to eight years longer.” Sallie is on a mission to close the investing gap and support women through their retirement.
You can invest in the stock market and you can also invest in real estate. But real estate investing isn’t something to get into lightly. That’s where Monick Halm comes in. She runs the Real Estate Investor Goddesses website and podcast. You can learn from her free training about the ins and outs of real estate investing and also check out her The Investor club too. If real estate investing is something you’re considering, the resources she has created are invaluable.
Arlan Hamilton is the founder of Backstage Capital, which is a venture capital firm that invests in founders from underrepresented communities. According to its website, “Less than 10% of all venture capital deals go to Women, People of Color, and LGBT founders. Other VCs see this as a pipeline problem. We see it as the biggest opportunity in investment. Backstage Capital has invested more than 170 companies led by underrepresented founders.” Arlan used to be homeless and now has built a successful venture capital firm. She is also the author of It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated Into Your Greatest Advantage. Arlan is changing the venture capital game and putting her money where her mouth is and investing in companies she believes in.
Jully-Alma Taveras is the Investing Latina and founder of the Investing Workshop. She calls herself the “J. Lo of Investing”. You can check out her tax organization guide, get private mentorship and learn important investing definitions explaining what capital gains are, what a dividend yield actually means, and more on her Instagram. Her YouTube channel is also chock full of great content that you can binge and learn why it’s important for women to invest and why you need to invest for retirement.
Pocket Sun is the co-founder of SoGal Ventures, which is a female-led venture capital firm investing in women and underrepresented entrepreneurs all over the world. According to its website, “As a team, we have invested in 80+ startups with world-class, diverse entrepreneurs in the US, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Africa.” At age 24 in 2016, Pocket was listed as one of the 30 under 30 for Forbes Asia.
In an article on Medium, Pocket states, “We want to use our investment to build a better future that we want to live in. Every company represents our hope to change the conversation.”
