According to a 2017 Merrill Lynch report, women feel roughly as confident as men do, if not more so, in performing financial tasks such as paying bills, budgeting, paying off debt and choosing insurance. However, the one area in which there is a notable gender difference is managing investments: Only 52% of women feel confident managing investments, versus 68% of men, the report said.
Betsy Cunagin, a senior financial advisor and the director of financial planning at Parsec Financial, said she sees varying degrees of financial proficiency when working with her clients.