The research is clear -- women earn better investing returns than men, even though they're less confident in their ability to invest. That lack of confidence, combined with a long-standing wage gap, puts women at a big financial disadvantage, especially when compounded over decades in the workplace.
Inspiring role models for women can help build confidence and encourage a foray into investing, which is why The Motley Fool is recognizing the leading women in the investing world in 2022. These women, like the Fool, are helping to make the world smarter, happier, and richer.
2022 Award Winners
Investor of the Year
Cathie Wood
With more than 40 years of experience identifying large-scale investment opportunities, it's no surprise that Cathie Wood is the Investor of the Year in our 2022 Women in Investing awards. As CEO and CIO of ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”), Cathie has identified many key investments across a variety of sectors with a focus on technological advancement and innovation. In addition to winning various awards over the years, Cathie also partnered with Notre Dame Academy to start the Duddy Innovation Institute, where young women are encouraged to challenge their traditional education and advance a new way of thinking.
Rising Star
Tiffany James
Tiffany James grew $10,000 into a multi-million dollar portfolio. Now she's sharing her investing know-how with other Black women in a wealth-building community she founded, Modern Blk Girl (MBG). Through MBG, James offers investing courses and conversations for adults and teens. James is known for her down-to-earth style and natural ability to make investing relatable and accessible. Read more about Tiffany's investing journey in our Investors Like Me series.
Investing Podcaster
Farnoosh Torabi
Wondering if you should invest in Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) instead of paying off student loans? Need someone to explain what an NFT is in a way you can understand? Get those answers and more from Farnoosh Torabi on the So Money podcast. Every Friday, Torabi answers real financial questions sent in by her listeners. When she's not answering listener questions, she's interviewing business leaders, celebrities, authors, and influencers to learn about their top money strategies. Torabi is also editor at large for CNET Money.
Investing YouTuber
Rose Han
Rose Han's upbeat energy about investing and financial empowerment is contagious. She's made the journey from debtor to self-made millionaire. That experience fuels her outlook that anyone can reshape their finances with the right attitude. But, as her 600,000-plus YouTube followers will tell you, Han isn't just a motivator. She's also a teacher, taking on technical investing topics and explaining them in easy-to-grasp ways.
Investing Blogger
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner graduated from an expensive private university with a lot of student loan debt. Having previously worked in the financial services industry as a financial analyst, she launched the blog Making Sense of Cents to help others achieve financial independence and create lives they love. Michelle has since paid off her student loans and continues to educate her readers on topics like saving money, improving finances, and ways to earn a passive income.
Investing Author
Michelle Singletary
Michelle Singletary's 2021 book, What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits: A Survival Guide, is a practical roadmap for managing money through tough times. Her approach may be pragmatic, but her delivery is lighthearted. Singletary's 2003 title, 7 Money Mantras for a Richer Life, includes this memorable rule: "If it's on your ass, it's not an asset!" Singletary also writes the nationally syndicated column "The Color of Money," which appears in The Washington Post twice weekly.
Blockchain Investor
Kinjal Shah
Kinjal Shah, a partner at Blockchain Capital, is on a mission to promote diversity in cryptocurrency. In 2021, Shah partnered with Women in Blockchain (WiB) and she256 to create the Komorebi Collective. The collective raises capital for crypto companies with women and non-binary founders in an effort to address the sad reality that women-led start-ups only get a small percentage of VC funding.
Tech Investor
Beth Kindig
Beth Kindig is the lead technology analyst and co-founder of I/O Fund, an actively managed tech stock portfolio. In its first year after launch, I/O Fund grew a jaw-dropping 236%, outperforming its closest institutional competitor by more than 100%. Kindig, who's driven to empower individual investors with high-quality research, shares stock picks and analysis in a free weekly newsletter. Her winning recommendations have included Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) at $30, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) at $130, and Bitcoin at $7,000.
Cannabis Investor
Lori Ferrara
When Lori Ferrara joined The Arcview Group, the cannabis investor network had roughly 80 members, and she was the only woman. Today, Ferrara is part of an all-women management team running Treehouse Global Ventures, a fund that invests in women-led cannabis companies. Ferrara also runs Alexava Holdings, a boutique private equity firm specializing in cannabis investments.
Real Estate Investor
Annie Dickerson
Annie Dickerson is a mom and former fourth-grade teacher who built herself an enviable passive income stream by investing in real estate syndications. She later co-founded Goodegg Investments to share her expertise and enable more moms to build wealth without giving up precious family time. Goodegg researches and manages real estate syndications. Members can join the community for free to learn about syndicated real estate investing and invest in Goodegg projects with the goal of generating passive income. Read more about Annie's investing journey in our Investors Like Me series.
Socially Responsible Investor
Sallie Krawcheck
Sallie Krawcheck is the co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, a bank and robo-advisor designed for women. Ellevest uses an investing algorithm that considers women-specific challenges such as career gaps to start a family, plus longer lifespans and lower average pay than men. The company also provides financial coaching and on-demand learning for women. Under Krawcheck's leadership, Ellevest reached a milestone of $1 billion in assets under management in 2021. Read more about Sallie's investing journey in our Investors Like Me series.
Venture Capital Investor
Mary Meeker
Mary Meeker, also known as "Queen of the Internet," is the co-founder and general partner of tech-focused VC firm Bond Capital. Meeker is widely respected as a big-picture thinker adept at identifying digital trends early. Tech investors everywhere follow her Internet Trends Report, which she's published almost annually since 1996. Meeker's most successful moves include early bets on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Instacart, Slack (NYSE:WORK), Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), and Uber (NYSE:UBER).
Ratings Methodology
Our ratings models are intended to cut through the noise and focus on the most Foolish critical factors. For the 2022 Women in Investing Awards, we asked the following questions:
- Does the awardee embody our Foolish values of making the world smarter, happier, and richer?
- Does the awardee’s investing philosophy align with The Motley Fool’s?
- Buy 25 or more companies over time.
- Hold those recommended stocks for five years or more.
- Invest new money regularly.
- Hold stocks through market volatility.
- Let your portfolio's winners keep winning.
- Target long-term returns.
- Does the awardee prioritize buying and holding quality stocks for long periods of time while focusing on companies’ business fundamentals rather than on the stocks' short-term price changes?
- Does the awardee have a track record of outperformance and achieving impressive returns for clients?
- Has the awardee, as an investor, helped to solve a problem?
- Has the awardee been nominated for any other outstanding awards for involvement in their community, philanthropy, etc.?
- As a final check, all award winners had to pass our Golden Rule test: Would you recommend this person to a family member or close friend?