While the world of finance has long been dominated by men, today many female investors are making their mark on the industry. Some of those females have become some of the most successful investors in the world, boasting long track records of generating ample returns from the investments they’ve chosen. Their ability to create wealth for themselves and for the investors who trust them with their money has made them some of the most respected people on Wall Street. Here are five of the top female investors to follow if you are interested in learning more about investing successfully.
1. Cathie Wood
Cathie Wood is possibly the most famous female investor today. She is the founder, CEO, and chief investment officer of investment management company ARK Invest, which had $24 billion in assets under management in early 2022. The company actively manages a portfolio of ETFs, one of which (ARK Innovation ETF) saw a 177% gain over the five years before 2022. The fund targets a 15% annualized return over five years.
Wood often invests in disruptive technology and has made many successful calls, like the one she made on Tesla hitting a price target of $4,000. She has become popular with growth investors who like her investing style and investors who appreciate that her Ark Invest funds disclose their trades each day, which is unusual in the industry. She often speaks about her investing strategy through various media channels.
2. Sallie Krawcheck
Sallie Krawcheck has led some of Wall Street’s biggest names throughout her career, taking the helm at such notable names as Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, and Citi Private Bank. Today, she is the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, a female-focused financial planning and investment platform. She has publicly stated that her mission is to help women reach their financial and professional goals.
Since its launch in 2014, Ellevest has grown to hold around $1.5 billion in assets under management. It now encompasses a community of more than 3 million women and helps them invest in stocks and alternative investments. It also offers a variety of financial and retirement planning tools to make reaching financial targets simpler. Krawcheck is also the chair of the Pax Ellevate Global Women’s Leadership Fund, a mutual fund for companies that advancing women rate highly.
3. Mellody Hobson
Mellody Hobson has made quite a name for herself in the business world. She has served as chairperson of DreamWorks Animation, a director of JPMorgan Chase, and chair of the board at Starbucks. She became the first African-American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago and was a long-standing board member of the Estée Lauder Companies. Time magazine has named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world and she has appeared on Forbes’ list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
Today, Hobson is co-CEO and president of Chicago-based Ariel Investments, one of the nation’s largest African-American-owned money management and mutual fund companies. The company manages nearly $13 billion in assets. She is also chairman of the board of trustees of Ariel Investment Trust. You can often find her speaking about financial issues on CBS This Morning. She was also a contributor to Good Morning America for many years.
4. Abigail Johnson
Abigail Johnson was named chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investments in 2014, taking the helm of one of the largest mutual fund companies with a history of more than 70 years. The company has nearly $4.5 trillion in assets under management and she owns nearly 25% of the company. Her net worth is estimated to be around $19 billion.
Johnson earned an MBA from Harvard and worked in various roles for Fidelity before she secured her first executive position. In November 2016, she gained full control of Fidelity and its 45,000 employees worldwide. She was the richest person in Massachusetts in 2020 and has been named on Forbes’ The Richest Person In America’s 50 Largest Cities list and their Powerful Women list.
5. Barbara Corcoran
Although she is best known today for her 14 seasons on ABC’s Shark Tank, top female investor Barbara Corcoran has been part of the investment scene for a very long time. She started her real estate business, the Corcoran Group, in 1973 and sold the business in 2001 to NRT for $66 million. She currently has a net worth of around $80 million.
Corcoran has made several smart investments as one of Shark Tank’s original investors. In one of her 130 deals on the show, she turned a $50,000 investment into $468 million. Today, she runs Barbara Corcoran Venture Partners, which is currently investing in close to 50 high-growth, revenue-generating, early-stage companies. She is also an author and motivational speaker, being featured on Larry King Live and NBC’s Today show, as well as hosting CNBC show The Millionaire Broker with Barbara Corcoran.
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Toi Williams began her writing career in 2003 as a copywriter and editor and has authored hundreds of articles on numerous topics for a wide variety of companies. During her professional experience in the fields of Finance, Real Estate, and Law, she has obtained a broad understanding of these industries and brings this knowledge to her work as a writer.
