I believe that women have come a long way since Victoria Woodhull, who was considered the first lady of finance.  In 1870, Victoria and her sister, Tennessee Clafin, founded Woodhull Clafin & Co., becoming the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street.

Even after making it on to Wall Street, the Woodhull sisters did not qualify for a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, this was something only achieved by women in 1967.

I learned from an early age, after starting my career in the South African financial market, 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.’ I soon realised that I had a hard road ahead of me to disprove the skewed notion that, ‘men are daredevils when it comes to finance who like to take risks and that women are too cautious and want security.’

Keys to success

The following factors have helped me succeed in a male-dominated industry:

Mentorship, leadership, and motivation – As resistant as you might think you are, going at 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 sharing their own experiences. 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 building 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 that 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 too. Having a structure in your work environment, being organised and technically strong is a key component. Having a good work/home life balance is a vital element to gaining respect and recognition for a job well done.

I don’t believe that women have an inherent aversion to risk. Women would take more risk if they had more money. 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.
 

Taking the right investment steps

Despite the obvious and well-taught approaches to investing, like increasing your income, controlling your spending habits, defining your long-term investment objectives, saving no matter what your income is and creating 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.

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 through alternative real estate investing.

Denise Nel

CMO – Chief Marketing Officer

Wealth Migrate


A recent study showed 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 Wealth Migrate at the Women & Wealth event where keynote speakers will share their journey to financial independence and key lessons on how to create wealth.

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.

Bring all the special women in your life, young and old alike!

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