Women Can Invest!
At a recent seminar, I was given the privilege, as a finance coach, to speak to a female audience about investing. This was a live event collaboration with one of the largest and most established brokerage firms in the Philippines. The firm had launched a Women Series, to encourage and empower their female customers to invest.
This topic is close to my heart. In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8th, I would like to reiterate some of the key takeaways here to inspire and empower women investors on their journey towards financial independence and success.
"Being financially literate is a powerful thing, especially for women.” – Otegha Uwagba
1. One of the questions I asked during the seminar was “Men are better investors than women. Do you agree?” Half of the hands went up in the room. In fact, past surveys have shown that most women think that men are better investors. Yet, other studies have regularly shown that women performed better on a risk-adjusted basis when it comes to investing. That meant women generally took less risks than men and made better returns.
So where's the gap? Confidence. Women are just not as confident about their capabilities compared to men when it comes to investing. It's time to step up, ladies!
Confidence in investing is a money mindset. If you feel like you are ready to supercharge your money mindset, take back control of your finances and move on to the next level – you can enroll in my personal one-on-one coaching here. In just 3 sessions, my students have experienced transformative shifts in money mindset.
2. Oftentimes, people do not take action because they are not sure when the right time is to enter the markets. Again, hypothetical backtesting research (by Schwab Centre) has shown that it doesn't matter which investing style you choose or what your ability is to time the market. As long as you invest consistently, your performance in the long-term will substantially outperform someone who never got started. (If you are wondering whether you are ready to start investing, click here to download my "Investment Readiness Check" PDF)
3. Dare to dream. Ladies, very often we had big dreams when we were little. However, as we got older, got married, had kids and added responsibilities, we started to prioritise everyone around us more than ourselves. We allowed life to suppress our dreams and desires. It’s time to take back control.
What if you allow yourself to dream again? What if you took care of your own emotional and financial needs first, so that you have more to give to others? When you have the audacity to dream big, life delivers.
During the seminar, I taught a technique which I found extremely useful and effective for myself: Creating an Abundant List.
Imagine that you have unlimited abundance… what would you do/buy/have?
Write down all your heart’s desires. You can have as much as you want, as much as you allow yourself.
Your job is just to put down what you desire. Let the universe help you with the “how to” get there.
Let’s embrace the power within us to shape our financial destinies. As women, we possess the resilience, intelligence, and vision needed to thrive in the world of investment. Let us dare to dream big, to shatter glass ceilings, and to pave new paths towards financial independence.
Remember the words of Warren Buffett, who once said:
“Successful investing takes time, discipline, and patience. No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time: You can't produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”
There is no hurry. If you haven’t started investing in the last decade, there is no need to jump into the market tomorrow. Give yourself the grace of time to learn how to navigate the complexities of the financial world with confidence. You can watch my Masterclass “Invest with Confidence” here to get a headstart.
So, ladies, let’s walk decisively towards a future of abundance and prosperity. Let's invest in ourselves, our futures, and each other. Together, we can rewrite the narrative, leaving a legacy of empowerment for generations to come.