High Net Worth women admit to a greater level of concern then men about a variety of personal issues, ranging from financing the education of children to family health issues.

In the Spectrem study Investment Attitudes & Behaviors of High Net Worth Women versus High Net Worth Men, investors were asked whether they were concerned about 13 different topics of a personal nature, and women expressed greater concern than men about all of the topics.

The research was done on investors from three different wealth segments:   Mass Affluent (net worth between $100,000 and $1 million Not Including Primary Residence), Millionaire (net worth between $1 million and $5 million NIPR) and Ultra High Net Worth (net worth between $5 million and $25 million NIPR).

The greatest disparity between male and female concern was over the responsibility of caring for aging parents. Fifty-six percent of women said that was a concern (59 percent of Mass Affluent women said so). Only 42 percent of men expressed that concern, a difference of 16 percent.

There was a 15 percent difference between men and women in “being able to retire when I want to.” Fifty-nine percent of women expressed that concern, while only 44 percent of men did (although 56 percent of Mass Affluent men admitted to that worry). The average for men was brought down because only 27 percent of UHNW investors said they were concerned about retirement, while 41 percent of UHNW women said they had concern about when they could retire.

Other double digit differences were in “losing my job or spouse losing their job” (39 percent women to 29 percent men), “getting adequate help and advice to allow me to reach my financial goals” (34 percent to 24 percent) and “having someone to care for me in my old age” (54 percent to 41 percent).

So is there a concern that men and women share equally?

Health is an issue that seems to bring out the same level of concern. When asked about their own health, 62 percent of women and 59 percent of men admitted to being concerned, and when it comes to the health of their spouse, 66 percent of women and 65 percent of men said it was on their minds.

The greatest concern for women was “maintaining my current financial position”, which 69 percent of women admitted to. Only 61 percent of men said that was a concern, less than the concern they had for their spouse’s health.

Women were least concerned about “financing the education of my children” at 32 percent (men were at 25 percent). Men’s lowest level of concern was for “getting adequate help and advice to allow me to reach my financial goals”, which had only 24 percent admit concern.