The Why and The Thank You Behind Women & Wealth Solutions
According to National Center for Women and Retirement Research, in the world today there is a $1 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer going on of which 70% is going to women. In fact According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, in recent years more women are graduating from college then men with women starting their own business at a rate twice that of men. According to the census held by the Social Security administration, women today are breadwinners or co-breadwinners in 60% of the households in the US as well as women today live 6-8 years longer than men.
Of course we now also have a woman running for President of the US for the very first time.
But, as good as this may sound the reality that faces women is quite diverse:
According to the Administration on Aging women are out of the workforce on average for 12 years to care for children or an older relative.
11% of women age 65 and older are poor, compared to 7% of men age 65 or older.
And the median age of women who lose their husband is 59 while the average years that a widow will outlive her husband is 14 years.
With both the incredible improvements that have been made in our lives there still is so much to do. For me the drive to launch Women & Wealth Solutions came from my firsthand experience that when it comes to finances and investment planning, women still get a second rate treatment. “The trust me factor I’ll take care of it” is no longer acceptable but rather “I’ll assist you in helping yourself” is what’s needed.
All too often I’ve met with widows, professionals, divorcees and married women who whether they planned it or not, chose to or not, now found themselves in the role of the having to handle a household’s finances and were overwhelmed or surprised by the choices they had or the intensity of the decision process.
As Women, in that moment, our natural instinct is to focus on fixing the problem or trying to make everyone feel better by doing whatever it take to get that done now vs. taking a time out to assess where we are right now, where we need to be--and what are the decisions needed to get us there.
Somehow we don’t allow ourselves to not make a decision and learn of our options, so a better decision can be made when emotions die down.
So why DO I CARE SO MUCH?
In the past 25 years I’ve had the privilege to sit across from many women. Those who had taken a time out to properly assess their situation, formulate an action plan and then slowly executed it according to their pace, reached a far more peaceful outcome and a productive one then those who were pressured either by their circle of friends, family and advisers or themselves, to act in the moment.
Another reason why I care so much for those of you who don’t know, I TURNED 50 in May which begged the questions: what was I waiting for? At the same time I unfortunately had to say good bye to both my mom and dad, years before their time. Losing them and personally experiencing the loss and then the panic to act, crystallized for me the need to have professionals and colleagues on my side who could give me honest feedback, point me in the right direction and allowed me to take a time out to make the decisions needed to be made and eliminate distractions or those wrong impulses that could have cost me dearly in the long run.
I simply want to continue to be that go to professional when you or those you love find themselves in that position. With my team and I personal attention to your needs at whatever transition you are making we are here for you.
Now one the most common questions I usually get at this point IS will I STILL work with MEN?
Yes, of course I will. In fact some of my strongest supporters other than my clients have been the men in my life such as my husband Ilan, my business partner Eyal and Tom, my brother Eldad and my son Zeeve.
HOWEVER, women in transition is what I am leading with right now. And this is where I need your help to get the message out and AMPLIFY IT. There are plenty of competent, able financial advisers out there who most probably look better than me, manage monies better or even know more than me. I doubt however that any will care as much as we do, take on our fiduciary responsibility as seriously as we do and will reach out to you before you even know you need reaching to as much as we do.
For us making sure you are okay emotionally and psychologically where you are right now is step one regardless of your situation. The actual conversation about the portfolio is usually at the end of the agenda, since ultimately the money is the tool that allows you to live the life you want today and tomorrow. If we don’t know what that life looks like how can we know how to manage your assets?
Women & Wealth Solutions is really the face we want to put out there as a public representation of what we do for our clients every day already.
In closing I want to THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE YEARS OF SUPPORT!! I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS WITH OUT EACH OF YOU!! I want to thank Seema Alexander for helping me organize my thoughts, Jean for the furniture in my new office, Alex Greif for the videos on the web site at WWS, my kids Zeeve, Tamar, Yael and Noa who have had to listen to my money lectures their whole life. For Barbara, Nancy and Elizabeth for editing my work and keeping me in compliance and for Barbara Pesce for introducing me to Over40Females, a group of women who have strengthened my conviction that we can do anything.
I welcome your referrals and the opportunities to speak to each of you and whenever possible in front of women who are actively looking to learn more about their options and take on a more active role in managing their finances.
I firmly believe that it’s never too late to learn and get engaged in your own finances.