Stav sees the PBS show as a source of pride for Hispanics. She advises her women clients not to say anything to their husbands and to casually leave their financial statements on the table when they start to make money. Eventually, Stav explains, many husbands will come see her to find out what is going on. She lets them size her up and proves she knows what she's talking about. Women tend to know more than we think we know.
Men tend to think they know more than they actually know when it comes to investing.
For starters, there's a lack of education about investment and there's a lot of conflicting information among what's available. Meanwhile, many older women rely on their husbands to manage finances and when their husbands die they go to financial planners and are lost, Barajas said. Younger Latinas tend to be more involved in the handling of the household finance, but it's tough to think about investment when husbands and wives are both working to make ends meet. In fact, although investment among Latinos has increased through 401ks and similar plans, it's usually tied into a pension plan and deducted from paychecks, Barajas says. Stav says that a major roadblock for many Hispanics who want to invest is that their parents never went down that road.