I believe that women have come a long way since Victoria Woodhull, who was considered the First Lady of Finance.
In 1870 together with her sister, Tennessee Clafin, they opened Woodhull Clafin & Co. becoming the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street.
They, however, did not qualify for a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, this was something only achieved by women in 1967. Subsequently, Woodhull also became the first woman to run for U.S. president in 1872.
I learned from a young age, after starting my career in the SA financial markets, which was then a predominately male dominated sector, that this was no place for ‘girls who weren’t prepared to put on their big girl panties’ and I soon realised that I had a hard road ahead of me to prove the skewed notion that, ‘men are daredevils when it comes to finance who like to take risks and that woman are too cautious and want security.’
What I have found to be useful so far in helping me succeed in a male-dominated industry is the following:
- Mentorship, leadership, and motivation – As resistant as you might think you are, going it alone can be very hard. One of the most valuable assets to invest in is a mentor. Someone who understands the challenges you face and can help guide you through some of the normalities of the industry by bringing their own experiences and lessons learned. A mentor can help push you harder, highlight opportunities, and nurture confidence.
- Patience, perseverance, and positivity– Maintaining a positive attitude, with a good measure of perseverance and the ‘patience of Job’ can stand you in good stead.
- Networking and build up your contacts– This is a big part of the job in corporate industries let alone the financial sector. This is often done in environments which are not always female friendly but breaking through this barrier is necessary to embrace and learn from the challenges it brings.
- Strength, structure, and confidence – The financial sector is a very result driven sector with no time to lose, you need to prove yourself and sometimes it’s necessary to be a little-outspoken Being structured in your work environment, organised and technically strong is a key component. Having a good work/home life balance is a vital element to help earn you respect and recognition for a job well done.
Personally, I don’t believe that women have an inherent risk aversion, but that women might take more risk if they had more money. It’s this that often compels us to be more cautious.
So how do women work towards ensuring they have more money to invest in their wealth?
“No matter how senior you get in an organization, no matter how well you’re perceived to be doing, your job is never done.’ – Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity Investments.
Despite the obvious and well taught approach to investing, like increase your income, control your spending habits, define your long-term investment objectives, save no matter what your income is and create a safety net. I believe that today there is more that women need to do:
- “Invest no matter what is happening in the market” – If you are investing periodically, you will be dollar cost averaging the market which will minimise the risk you are taking, should the market decline. If you think it’s a bad time to invest simply cut back on how much you are investing.
- “Diversify your investments” – The best way to protect yourself against unexpected surprises is to diversify your investments across different asset classes. A global real estate portfolio is one of them.
- “Diversify your income sources too” – The economy and the job market are not always stable and you have to be prepared to ride the difficulties. Create a passive income stream which produces monthly or quarterly pay-outs which will provide you with an additional source of income for savings and debt reduction. It may also form the replacement of a salary if you lose yours in a time of recession.
Multiple income sources can represent a form of financial independence and wealth creation all by themselves.
I believe that women make great investors for the following key reasons and we should capitalise on our greatness:
- Woman are nurturers and we tend to nurture our investments.
- We learn from other women because if we find something that works we naturally want to share it with other women and establish great relationships with our investment networks.
- We are great shoppers! So finding great investments after doing our research is easy for us.
- We are not afraid of trying something new and we mostly have a natural tendency to be patient, and disciplined when sticking to an investment plan saving consistently for the future.
In conclusion at Wealth Migrate, we embrace women and our vision is to inspire all women to create financial independence through knowledge and confidence. We motivate all woman to take charge in creating their path to financial freedom from any age though alternative real estate investing.
Denise Nel
CMO – Chief Marketing Officer
Wealth Migrate
INFORMATION:
As a woman, it can seem like a daunting prospect, but a recent study proved that women make superior investors. As more women are taking on the role as bread winners in their families, it is vital that you expose yourself to alternative investment solutions.
Redefine your relationship with money by joining us at the Women & Wealth event where our speakers will share their journey to financial independence and key lessons on how to create wealth.
Watch our invitation video by clicking here
Join us at Date: 16th September 2017
Venue: Radisson Blu, V&A Waterfront
Event start time: 08:00 for 09:00
Event end time: 13:30
Ticket costs : R150 for adults (18 years and older) and R70 for young adults (13 – 17 years)
You will receive a complimentary brunch, a R100 Wealth Migrate Investment voucher to start you off on your own journey and a special gift bag from our sponsors. In addition to this, we will have an “on the day” competition where you can win an amazing prize for simply taking snaps on your phone.
Bring all the special women in your life, young and old alike!
