Freedom for women is financial

Investing can seem like something reserved for people with substantial savings, financial expertise, or a high tolerance for risk. A Limmud Cape Town session challenged all three assumptions. 

The “Invest Like a Woman” session brought together Tanya Golan, Jess Mallach, and Tamar Haim to discuss women, investing, financial literacy, and long-term wealth creation. The three women work in financial advisory services and explained that compliance requirements meant they could not give personalised financial advice at the session. Instead, their aim was to educate and encourage greater financial engagement.  

Golan said the idea for “Invest Like a Woman” originated from the general lack of knowledge about basic financial concepts and the various investment products. 

“I realised that during your school and university career, no one actually teaches you the basic foundations of financial literacy,” Golan said. This lack of knowledge was particularly significant for women because financial dependence can leave them vulnerable when circumstances change. 

Mallach said she had seen this in her work with clients, where husbands sometimes attended financial meetings without their wives. She said women could then find themselves struggling to understand their finances after a divorce, the death of a spouse, or any other life-changing event.  

The speakers highlighted the importance of passing on financial knowledge between generations. Haim, who studied accounting before completing her postgraduate studies in financial planning, said she had not understood investing before entering the financial industry. She wished she had started investing at 21 and wanted younger people to understand the value of starting early. 

One of the central concepts the women discussed was compound growth. Haim described it as a snowball effect, where investment growth remains invested and can itself generate further growth. “The earlier you start, the more powerful it becomes.”  

The amount someone started with was less important than developing the habit of investing. “Your first thousand could actually be more important than your million,” she said. 

The session examined the financial challenges women face. Golan quoted statistics that women in South Africa generally retire with 21% to 29% less in their pension or provident funds than men. She attributed this to factors including lower earnings, career breaks, caregiving responsibilities, and women’s longer life expectancy.  

The speakers distinguished between saving and investing, noting that keeping money entirely in cash could expose it to the effects of inflation over time. 

However, they stressed that investing should not come at the expense of financial stability. Haim said people should first understand their budgets and establish an emergency fund. Risk was another major topic. The speakers explained that different investments carry different levels of volatility and that investors need to understand their own circumstances and tolerance for risk. 

A diversified portfolio can include different asset classes, such as cash, bonds, property, and equities. Diversification can reduce exposure to the performance of any single investment.  

The speakers cautioned against allowing fear or excitement to dictate investment decisions during market fluctuations. 

Mallach compared investing to a roller coaster, with periods of significant declines followed by periods of growth. She said education could make it easier for people to remain invested through market cycles.  

The session ultimately returned to the importance of financial independence and knowledge. The speakers said financial freedom is not necessarily about becoming wealthy, it is about having greater choice, security, and control over the future.  

Learn the basics, ask questions, start with what is affordable, invest consistently, and avoid waiting until everything is understood before taking action, they said. “Confidence doesn’t always come before you start. It often comes because you started.”