Business Notes

Savvy Savers, But Not Risk-Takers

Just as many women as men have saved for retirement, although more women than men say they are unwilling to take financial risk no matter what the gain, according to a new study.

The 1999 Women's Retirement Confidence Survey (WRCS) finds that 70 percent of working-age women (ages 25 and older) say that they have personally saved money for retirement, versus 71 percent of men. That is a 12 percentage point increase in the proportion of women who have personally saved for retirement from 58 percent in 1994.

"Ultimately, women will need to save more money for retirement than men to ensure adequate income replacement," said Don Blandin, President of ASEC. "So, the idea that women invest more conservatively may mean that they will fall short of their savings goals."

Two important reasons why women must save and plan more for retirement are that women live longer than men and women leave and rejoin the work force more often than men (e.g., pregnancy, spouse relocation, taking care of ailing parents, etc.). Being out of the work force more frequently could result in lower overall earnings, less opportunity to contribute to a pension plan or some other retirement plan, and lower Social Security benefits.

Other highlights from the survey include:

• Women indicate that their employer plays a key role in their expectations for retirement income. Forty-four percent expect that money they personally saved through a retirement plan at work will be a major source of retirement income.
• Most women (85 percent) do not know the correct age at which they will be eligible for full Social Security benefits — they typically underestimate.
• Working age women are more likely than their male counterparts (62 percent vs. 49 percent) to use the advice of a financial professional when making saving and investment decisions.

For more on the Retirement Confidence Survey, visit ASEC Web site.

Affluent Women in Dramatic Upswing

The number of affluent women in the U.S. increased by 68 percent between 1996 and 1998, according to a new market research report.

In 1998, there were approximately 14,821,000 affluent women across 16.7 million affluent U.S. households (defined as households with a minimum of $100,000 in income and/or $500,000 in net worth, excluding the value of primary residences), according to The Affluent Women Market, a new report derived from Spectrem Group's 1998 Affluent Market Research Program. By comparison, in 1996 there were 8,814,000 affluent women about 11.7 million affluent households.

"The growth in the number of affluent women has significantly outpaced that of their male counterparts over the past few years," said William White, Spectrem Group's practice leader for affluent and investment consulting. "The affluent women market should be attractive to financial and investment services marketers due to its rapid growth and the fact that, in two-thirds of affluent U.S. households, a woman plays a major role in financial product and service decisions."

Spectrem Group, based in San Francisco, is an international provider of market research, strategic consulting and mergers and acquisition advisory services to financial institutions.

For more on the study, visit the Spectrem Group .

FEMALE Selects '99 Family Friendly Business Winners

SAS Institute, Inc. of Cary, NC, and Paradiso Restaurant of Alexandria, VA, have been chosen as national winners of the Family Friendly Business Awards presented by FEMALE, an international not-for-profit organization supporting sequencing mothers.

SAS Institute is the world's largest privately held software company. The company offers a variety of forward-thinking family friendly policies. They have two on-site daycare centers, 10+ sick child days, childbirth leave for mothers and fathers, adoption aid and infertility benefits. In addition, they offer flex-time, compressed work weeks, work at home and part time options.

Paradiso Restaurant is a family-owned restaurant, providing a family dining area with a separate supervised room for children. This room has a two way mirror so parents can still see their children as they dine. Children aged 3 to 10 can watch Disney movies, color and eat from a special menu while parents look on.

FEMALE is an international not-for-profit organization supporting sequencing mothers — women who have altered their career paths in order to care for their children at home.

For more information, visit the organization's Web site.

Avon Names New CEO

Andrea Jung was recently named president and chief executive officer of Avon. Jung has been Avon's president since January 1998 and its chief operating officer since July 1998.

Since becoming Avon's top executive last year, Jung has initiated a companywide re-engineering program and launched a strategic plan to accelerate revenue growth and bolster Avon's image among consumers and sales representatives.

"The foundation for future growth is in place and Andrea is uniquely qualified to lead Avon," said Stanley C. Gault, newly elected non-executive chairman of the board. "She has a thorough knowledge of the company and the global beauty industry, as well as the passion to mobilize the organization during this period of significant change."

Jung also was named one of Fortune's "50 Most Powerful Women in American Business" in 1998 and 1999.

For more about Jung and the company, visit Avon's Web site