5 professional women give us their wealth management tips

Having a financial plan can help you achieve your long-term financial goals such as an investment portfolio aligned to your own values, early retirement, a property portfolio or generational wealth to pass down to loved ones.

However, according to research by UBS’s Chief Investment Office, 62 per cent of women in the UK are not getting involved in money matters that can directly affect their long-term financial wellbeing. This is where UBS wealth advisors can help – by organising these goals into three defined areas: liquidity, longevity and legacy.

And with more opportunities than ever to invest our money in ways that reflect our values, there’s never been a better moment to work out how we want our money to work for us. Forget financial jargon, we asked five visionary women, including a managing director at UBS Wealth Management, a key partner of Harper’s Bazaar’s Work Summit at The Londoner hotel this year, to reveal their top wealth management tips…

‘Knowledge is key to confidence,’ Vested Impact’s Kimberley Abbott, winner of UBS’s Female Founder Award, tells us. ‘The more we understand something, the more comfortable and confident we feel with it. For finances, this applies to both understanding your own spending and budgets, and also understanding the wider financial options and opportunities.’

‘When it comes to wider financial markets and understanding the potential and power of the financial markets as a whole, Christine Lagarde [former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and current head of the European Central Bank (ECB)] is definitely someone who has influenced me,’ Kimberley continues. ‘Not just in her understanding of the power of financial markets for good but also her commitment to ensuring finance and financial markets are understood by the everyday person and not caught up in fancy jargon.’

Oliver Holmes

Helena Lee, Acting Deputy Editor of Harper’s Bazaar, tells us: ‘I remember learning from a panel at our Bazaar at Work Summit that our financial behaviour can be set at a very young age. So, I think talking to our children about financial independence and encouraging them to understand the concept of earning and saving is very important.’

Joanne Finney, Consumer Editor of Good Housekeeping, Prima and Red, agrees: ‘I’m very aware of how I talk about money with my five-year-old son. I try to be as open as possible and teach him about wants versus needs. We talk about how we only have a finite amount to spend each month so we have to make choices about what we buy. To help learn to save, he has a piggy bank and we encourage him to put any money he gets given in there until he has enough to buy what he wants. We’ve also been putting money into a Junior ISA every month, as we think it’s the best way to make sure he starts adulthood with some savings.’

Shona Baijal

Shona Baijal, managing director at UBS Wealth Management, tells us that the three financial areas couples find the hardest to discuss are lifestyle differences, financial dependency and risk tolerance. ‘On average, women live longer than men,’ she says. ‘This means that, at some point, women are likely to be solely responsible for their finances. This can leave women financially vulnerable if they hadn’t previously involved themselves in long-term financial decisions. So, if you’re in a relationship, it is very important to discuss financial matters with your partner. It’s important to work out how you can shape your wealth to cope with challenges and achieve your ambitions – whether that’s to create a legacy for your family or make changes you’d like to see in the world. I believe that prosperity comes with a sense of purpose.’

‘My philosophy about investing is little and often,’ reveals Finney. ‘This “drip feed” approach is a good way to ride out any bumps in the stock market and is a more realistic way for me to save, as I don’t have a big lump sum to play with. I’ve set up a direct debit for the start of the month, once my salary has gone in, which moves money into my stocks and shares ISA.’

Oliver Holmes

‘Considering my values when choosing what to invest in helps me to sleep easier at night,’ Lydia Slater, Harper’s Bazaar’s Editor-in-Chief, tells us in regards to ESG (environment, social and governance) scores and socially responsible portfolios. ‘Having money in sustainable industries is self-evidently likely to be a better long-term investment, and I like knowing my money is invested in a way that makes the world a better place.’

For more information on the best ways for women to manage wealth, head to UBS

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