Time to Feel Confident Investing

Even the most feisty and frugal of us can have a hard time feeling fabulous when it comes to our savings. Research shows that investing is one area where women tend to lack confidence.

In an international study of women’s opinions, the financial services industry was the one line of business they were most dissatisfied with. In regard to investments specifically, 73% of those women said they were unhappy with the service level they received.

I believe that every frugalista should have the opportunity to put her hard-saved money to good use, without feeling pressured – or worse, talked down to. Especially since women already manage a significant amount of the world’s wealth (and will manage even more in the future)!

As women, we some have natural strengths when it comes to investing. For example:

● We’re more patient and willing to ‘stay the course’ during normal market fluctuations. The worst thing an investor can do is panic when things get rough.
● We’re more likely to accept and follow professional advice (when we get it, that is). Getting professional advice is correlated with greater financial success over time.
● When we do invest, we trade much less frequently than men typically do, which limits the amount we spend in trading fees. Over time, fees can have a huge impact on the growth of your investments.

So how do we harness our strengths in an industry that isn’t meeting our needs? Online investment platforms like ModernAdvisor offer an alternative. These online financial advisors, also known as ‘robo-advisors’, determine the best portfolio for you, based on a number of different factors. These include your investment goals (like retirement, kids’ education), comfort level with risk and the amount of time you expect to be in the market.

Why use an online financial advisor?

Regardless of your account size, you receive a portfolio designed by a professional Portfolio Manager. Usually, only people with a lot of money to invest can afford the services of a Portfolio Manager. Proprietary technology allows ModernAdvisor to offer this service to all Canadians, regardless of the amount they have to invest. Plus, you can access advice in the way that makes the most sense for you. Need help right now? Instant chat. Prefer email over face-to-face? No problem – they’ll respond rapidly. Want a phone call? Book one with their handy online calendar.

You can set up and manage your investments when it works best for you, whether that’s on the train to work or after the kids are in bed. You can even monitor your investments on your phone or tablet. If you’re like me, you’re busy enough, and booking appointments to receive investment advice on top of everything else is exhausting.

ModernAdvisor uses low-cost Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to build their portfolios, and charge fees that are much lower than a traditional mutual fund portfolio. Many people who own mutual funds aren’t even aware of the fees they are paying and how much it impacts the growth of their savings. Want to know how much your mutual funds are costing you? This calculator will tell you exactly how much.

If you’re interested in Responsible Investments (i.e. investments that have been vetted by a third party based on environment, social, and governance criteria), ModernAdvisor now offers Responsible Portfolio options as well.

Julia Chung, one of those very rare fee-for-service financial planners (who sell advice, not products) had this to say: “As a financial planner, it makes me happy to see transparent, low-cost, easy-to-use investing options available to Canadians. Companies like ModernAdvisor are levelling the playing field and making high-quality investments accessible to everyone.”

ModernAdvisor also offers a free trial of their service. Sign up for an account, and they’ll fund it with $1,000 so you can see how it works using real money. If your account has grown during the trial period, you can keep the gains when you open an actual account at the end.

Another one of those few fee-for-service planning stars, Sandi Martin of Spring Personal Finance said this free trial offer is “…a great way to get acquainted and comfortable with ModernAdvisor from the inside. This is the perfect offer for those who feel better about big decisions when they know what to expect.” She also built a handy calculator you can use to compare the different robo-advisor options out there.

Download the free eBook, Women and Money, featuring these two Canadian female financial planners, for
more info about:

● Earning more money
● Paying down debt
● Feeling good about your finances
● Learning to invest

Create a trial account by May 15th and you’ll entered in a $100 Amazon Gift Card giveaway right here! Simply visit ModernAdvisor to set up your trial account, then enter your name and email address you signed up with into the form below to be in to win! Take a look around the website and see if trying out a trial account feels good to you, you never know what you could create! Good luck everyone! (Yes, guys, you can enter this giveaway too!)

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, though of course all opinions on this site remain my own.