Brooks Macdonald Group has set up a brand and network for women to “come together to learn more and talk about investing for the future”.
Female Folio by Brooks Macdonald has been created “to serve the needs of women as an individual demographic”, the firm said.
The wealth manager cited a global study by Boston Consulting Group, Managing the Next Decade of Women’s Wealth, which found too many banks and firms rely on broad assumptions about what women are looking for.
This results in products, services and messaging that can feel superficial at best and condescending at worst.
Brooks Macdonald said it has designed Female Folio to bring together empowered, affluent women who want to feel more comfortable about participating in conversations about their personal finances. Through relaxed events, the network will offer positive and shared environments to help facilitate conversations around investing, with the aim to help women invest according to their personal values and objectives.
The network is open to women with at least £500,000 of investable assets, across pensions and savings. Brooks Macdonald will host four flagship events during May at its key hubs in Edinburgh, Jersey, London and Manchester.
Can’t deny there are still a lot of women not investing
Claire Barker, marketing and communications director at Brooks Macdonald, said: “Ultimately, we want women to start their own financial journey, based on their life choices. There is much in the industry that is technical and complex, and we want to break down these barriers to make investing more accessible, through face-to-face refreshing conversations. It’s important to find someone credible, who you trust, to help with that journey. This is why we have created Female Folio.”
Andrew Shepherd, Brooks Macdonald CEO, added: “The industry as a whole has come a long way to be more inclusive, but we can’t deny the fact that there are still a lot of women who aren’t investing.
“It is important for them to think about how they look after their money, wealth, pension, investments – the reality is that everyone should own their financial journey to become financially independent. The creation of Female Folio demonstrates our commitment to driving positive change within the investment industry.”
