BlackRock has introduced its first model portfolios for women in an effort to improve outcomes by accounting for differences in life expectancy and gaps in employment and income.
Women may be under-allocated to equities at critical points in their lives when these three factors aren't reflected in their investment choices, the firm said in a press release Thursday.
Women, on average, live five years longer than men and earn 82 cents for every dollar that men make, with Black and Latina women earning even less, BlackRock noted. The firm also cited data showing that women leave the workforce for 1.2 years on average to care for children or elderly relatives.
"This investment strategy is one way in which BlackRock looks to help women achieve better long-term financial outcomes while we — as a society — continue to work toward closing the gender pay gap and finding more equitable solutions for caregiving," said Stephanie Epstein, global head of models infrastructure and co-lead for BlackRock's Women's Initiative & Allies Network.
