It is never too late for women to understand their finances, according to Felicity Cooper, winner of this year’s Money Management and Super Review Financial Planner of the Year awards.
Cooper, owner of financial planning firm Cooper Wealth Management in Queensland, said she was passionate about helping women understand their finances through her work with Financial Literacy for Women, particularly those aged 55 and over.
As part of this, she has travelled around Australia on a pro bono basis and presented to over 400 women in the last 12 months.
This age group, she said, were most likely to have left the finances to their partner in the past and tend to underestimate their own wealth.
“We help women come to terms with their wealth. Statistically, women underestimate their wealth by 50% because they just don’t know what they have. They have never been responsible for their own investments or income, they only did the family budget.
“It is so important women know about their finances, they live longer than men, they retire with less super and need to be invested for longer.
“Women need to get over the fear they will be judged or look silly for asking these questions. It is so important they have someone they trust who they can ask.”
At Cooper Wealth Management, which she founded in 2015, the firm’s five staff are all female, although Cooper said this was a coincidence rather than a conscious choice. Nevertheless, she felt financial planning was an ideal career for women.
“We have the chance to make a difference. Lots of women want to work with a female financial planner as they are more empathetic than men. As well as being about finance, it is about psychology as people’s finances are an emotional topic for them.
“On our side, it is not a job where you are tied to a desk and can be very flexible. It would be great to see more females in the industry.”
As to how she would motivate women to join the industry, she encouraged females to be confident to reach out to others for help.
“I would ask them to reach out, there are plenty of women who want to help you if only you are willing to ask for it. Use this advice then to get your foot in the door and build relationships.”
