GW & Wade’s Women and Wealth recently hosted a Wine Tasting Event for GWW women clients and guests at Sip in Boston’s Back Bay. The tasting featured 6 wines all created by women vintners. The sommelier discussed the background of each of the vintners and how they have succeeded in what has traditionally been a male dominated field.

Along with the wine industry, it’s interesting to note that women are making great professional strides across all industries. A March 2015 BMO Wealth Institute article addressing financial concerns of women recently reported that women now hold 52% of all management, professional and related positions and control 51% ($14 Trillion) of U.S. personal wealth. So, even though women overall are still only paid 78 cents for every dollar a man earns, the gender pay gap is the smallest ever and narrowing according to a 9/8/14 Business Insider article.

With the shift in wealth generation and control, The Center for Talent Innovation performed research that looked at how woman viewed wealth and found encouraging shifts. They reported that for women, having wealth:
•    provided financial security for their family, 
•    ensured they would not run out of money in retirement, and 
•    allowed them to pursue careers that were fulfilling as well as to support causes targeting social well-being.

So, as today’s wealth generators, here’s a critical question: how do you reach these goals of long-term financial security, career fulfillment and social well-being?

And here’s a possible start of an answer: remember what you want and stick to it. Don’t be sidetracked by the daily barrage of financial news of how markets will react to what's going on in Brazil or the latest economic data report or be overwhelmed by the responsibility of managing your money. There will always be market volatility - sometimes more and sometimes less.  

As part of our Women and Wealth Wine Tasting event, Counselor Kelli Adams addressed the issue of financial noise in our lives in a presentation titled: State of the Market: Tune out the Noise and Tune into your Long-Term Goals. Kelli likened the recent stock market volatility to her training for a half marathon. With the idea being that while your daily running time is important, it’s your “average” running time as you train and whether it’s trending in the right direction that is even more important; likewise for your investments.

Listening to what is happening with the Fed, recent GDP numbers, China devaluation or the drop in crude oil prices won’t make a difference in your long-term plan, but it may cause you to be distracted by this short term noise. Instead, stay focused on your goals and why you created a financial plan and invested in the market in the first place.

If you focus on what your goals are, the rest of your financial plan will fall into place. For example, if education is a primary goal, then saving for your child’s or grandchild’s college costs requires a 10 to 20 year timeframe with a long term diversified investment strategy.  Similarly, if philanthropy is one of your goals, there are a number of ways to achieve this as part of your estate and financial plan. (I wrote about this approach in earlier blog posts: Women & Wealth: A View from the Front Line (Parts l-lll).
 
The takeaway? A financial plan targeting your personal goals and time horizons coupled with a diversified investment strategy is the best way to reach your financial finish line.  

By the way, our attendees reported having a great time networking with other GWW women and learning about some great tasting wines for the holidays. More events to come. Stay tuned!

Meg Welborn works with individuals, couples and families at GW & Wade, LLC. The information provided above is general in nature and is not intended to represent specific investment or professional advice.  Always consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.  No client or prospective client should assume that the above information serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized individual advice from GW & Wade, LLC, which can only be provided through a formal advisory relationship.  Please see the “Contact Us” section of our website, www.gwwade.com, for information on contacting GW & Wade.