Watch: 5 Successful New Zealand Women Discuss Investing, Relationships & Why We Need To Talk About Money

They joined Viva and Milford for a frank discussion about financial literacy.

When it comes to securing a comfortable future, many women could be missing out on knowledge that could significantly improve their financial outlook.

It’s for this reason Viva is proudly partnering with Milford to put on an unmissable event to be held at Hotel Britomart next month. Investing For Yourself, Your Family & Future puts women front and centre of the conversation around savings and investments, exploring ways in which we can significantly boost our financial futures with help from experts.

Hosted by finance journalist Frances Cook, BusinessDesk reporter and host of Cooking the Books podcast, a panel of experts will share their personal insights and expert knowledge; and uncover how smart investment strategies with the help of a financial adviser can help women get ahead, provide a safety net and support retirement plans.

“There is too much evidence and research out that shows how women fall behind men when it comes to money matters,” says Viva editor Amanda Linnell. “By working with Milford, our aim is to equip our readers so they can have greater awareness and can make informed decisions. From pay inequity through to protecting ourselves financially in relationships, the importance of investing and savings for retirement, there is so much to consider. Here at Viva we believe knowledge is power and we want all women to have the power to protect themselves financially.”

While the conversation around financial literacy for women continues to grow, particularly among younger females, many women still haven’t taken the leap into investing beyond KiwiSaver, whether due to family roles or other systemic barriers to financial success and security, says Kate Tyro, a financial advisor at Milford who leads the Women’s Wealth Initiative. “Women are as financially literate as men, but we tend to downplay our knowledge or think we don’t know enough to participate,” she says. “It’s a perceived gap that has meant women have typically hung back from investing in markets and gone into term deposits.”

Likewise, many women leave the investing to their husbands, says Kate, yet with up to 80 per cent of women ending up on their own towards the end of life, either through divorce or outliving their spouses, this can leave women in a vulnerable position. You don’t need to know an awful lot about investing to make a start, she adds, with financial advice available to help you dip your toe in, even if it’s investing $1000.

Investing For Yourself, Your Family & Future is intended to be a welcoming and conversational event, a non-intimidating space where those attending can feel comfortable to ask questions of fellow attendees and female advisers.

The hope is that it will continue to spark conversations among couples, families and friends — all of which will help to break down the social taboos around money discussions. This is despite the fact financial literacy has a huge impact on our lives, whether it’s related to sharing money with your partner or remaining independent, loaning money to family members, divvying up household expenses, starting new relationships, or house purchases, wills and estates.

“It’s so important that women have the opportunity to talk about money, and what they can achieve with it,” says Frances. “There’s plenty of research that shows that women are less likely to invest, but when they do invest, they’re actually better at it and make more money on average than men.”

The event will also delve into the theme of security across generations, empowering women to invest to secure better futures for their children, or to help older family members manage their finances. Those who don’t own a house can also expect advice on generating saving security, along with what to do if you find yourself suddenly single, and facing retirement alone.

“The money world can be really simple, but it doesn’t always look that way from the outside,” she adds. “So it’s wonderful to have more conversations like this to welcome women into the space.”

Watch the full panel discussion above now. Check out Milford’s Women’s Wealth Website and download the Financial Wellbeing Workbook at womenswealth.co.nz