Craigs Investment Partners have been sponsors of the Business Women’s Network (BWN) for more than 10 years and are a co-principal sponsor of the upcoming BWN Speaker Series 2022, hosted by Tauranga Business Chamber.

 Annemarie Hills is an investment adviser at Craigs, and a member of the BWN advisory group.

In this article, she discusses why women are great investors, some of the barriers they face when getting started and how Craigs Women’s Wealth programme can support and empower women to make good investment choices.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve had to cope with ongoing disruption and change as the Covid pandemic has played out and continues to do so. On the positive, it has helped us to become more resilient and adaptive to changing circumstances. We’ve also learnt that it pays to have a plan.

But recent statistics* still show that 62% of women don’t feel prepared for retirement and 60% of women rate their investment literacy as low.

At Craigs Investment Partners, we want to change that.

Craigs Women’s Wealth programme has been running since 2007 and has a key objective – to empower women to have the confidence and knowledge to invest. We host a range of events around the country for clients and potential clients, such as our women’s wealth breakfasts and investment workshops. We also share our knowledge and insights via our website and social media. At Craigs, we have 51 female advisers across 19 branches, from Kerikeri to Gore. We are here to help you on your investment journey, so that you can focus on what you are good at and keep pushing your own boundaries.

I’m an investment adviser at Craigs, an active participant in our Craigs Women’s Wealth programme and a mum to Hannah and Molly. Following maternity leave with Molly, my husband and I decided to challenge our status quo and switch roles. I returned to work fulltime, and Richard became the key person at home. Four years on and this continues to work well for us.

Through my role as an adviser, it’s encouraging to see more and more women taking charge of their investments and in some cases, the family finances. However, women (according to the statistics) still have a way to go.

So, what’s holding women back?

A common misconception I have found among women new to investing, is that investing involves taking on ‘bucket loads of risk’. But we are all different and have different views on risk. Not all of us can withstand the ups and downs of a high growth portfolio and it may be surprising to hear that many of my clients have a significant proportion of their portfolio invested in bonds and term deposits; to lower risk and to reduce volatility.

For most clients, it’s not about picking the next winner. It’s about keeping ahead of the bank and inflation over the long term, taking a regular income and being able to sleep at night!

The financial services industry is rapidly changing in many ways – technology, competition and Covid has forced us to challenge the status quo, to think in new and fresh ways and to push the boundaries as we know them.

At Craigs, we don’t just want to encourage more women into investing, we want to see more women in key roles in financial services. I’m hopeful we will see more women enter the industry as we adapt to new ways of working that encourage flexibility, such as working in adviser partnerships and working from home.

Some women feel like they need to have a level of base knowledge to start investing, but you really don’t. Our role is to guide you. It’s our expertise and it all starts with a conversation.

Contact Annemarie Hills if you want to discuss your financial goals and investment needs. You can contact Annemarie on 07 925 2426 or annemarie.hills@craigsip.com

If you are interested in attending a Craigs Women’s Wealth Breakfast or Workshop, you can learn more about Craigs Women’s Wealth at craigsip.com/womens-wealth

This article is general in nature and does not constitute regulated financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, objectives, goals, or risk tolerance. Investments are subject to risk and are not guaranteed. Past returns are no guarantee of future performance and returns can go down as well as up. Before making any investment decision Craigs Investment Partners Limited recommends you contact an investment adviser. For more information on Craigs financial advice services please see craigsip.com/tcs

* Financial Services Council Money and You survey – Dec 2021