Go ‘Long on Women’ as Spending Recovers, Bank of America Says

Investors should consider a “long women” investment plan that focuses on female-oriented apparel, cosmetic and consumer-finance stocks, as women become bigger spenders, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Women will recover faster from the recession, as the female unemployment rate at 8.9 percent is almost two percentage points below the male rate, and women are “best positioned” in job growth areas such as health care, according to a note dated Jan. 26 from David Bianco, chief U.S. equity strategist at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm. One of the fastest-growing demographic groups is women in their 30s, he said.