What Can Women Do to Align Their Investments With Their Values

Written by Tuti B. Scott for How Women Lead in partnership with the Nasdaq Foundation

Women’s economic power is undeniably on the rise: we control one-third of the world’s wealth, and our wealth is compounding at a faster clip than market performance (BCG). Women also outpace men as investors, stewarding a 0.4% higher return than men over a decade (Fidelity). Yet there remains a gap between women’s level of financial engagement as well as our collective action in investing our money in a way that’s aligned with our values. More than half of married women bow out of long-term investment decisions entirely (UBS). But when high-net worth women investors think about what leaving a legacy means to them, research shows that these investors often prioritize benefiting the greater good, whether it be social, economic, or environmental good (How Women Invest / How Women Lead).

To engage more actively as investors, it’s important to understand what success looks like with our money and our priorities. Resources exist to help you examine values alignment with your funds in the public markets or to assess your current retirement or pension holdings.

Four steps to get started aligning your investments with your values:

1 - Define your values. What matters to you most? Where do you want to see the most change or make an impact? Examples include: social justice, environmental sustainability, climate change, and healthcare equity. Pick an area that’s important to you as a starting point.

2 - Research options. Many gender and racial justice mutual funds and ETFs offer opportunities to invest with as little as $100 dollars. These resources can help you focus on and find information on investment opportunities aligned with the values most important to you:

●  As You Sow: Offers tools and reports to help investors align their portfolios with a wide variety of values including climate, gender equality, and specific issue areas.

●  Parallelle Finance: Offers insights into sustainable and responsible investing.

●  Equileap: Offers data and insights on corporate gender equality.

●  Bridge Justice: Offers a comprehensive platform that aggregates data on the racial, human rights, economic, and climate impacts of publicly traded companies.

●  Gender Fair: Rates companies on their gender equality performance.

3 - Find your team and community.

What if we supported each other in activating our capital to benefit society, humanity, and our burning planet? For women especially, it helps enormously to connect into community-based opportunities for building financial courage. Peer networks, angel and investing clubs, and accessible learning opportunities abound. Community resources to check out include Invest for Better, How Women Invest, and Coralus.

Need help finding a financial advisor? Garret Planning Network promotes fee-only financial planners who provide advice to people from all walks of life, without minimum account requirements, sales commissions, or long-term commitments. Values Advisor has a database of financial advisors from a curated collection of experts who deliver both financial and environmental/social returns.

4 - Take action. Women are gifted collaborators, entrepreneurs, leaders, and yes, investors!

We must remember that while the financial system was not originally built for us, money is a form of generative power. The data shows that women and people of color have not had equal representation in the boardroom (Deloitte) or in venture investing (Forbes), but those numbers are shifting as more women step forward to take action and align their investments with their values. The sooner we can get comfortable with using our power for good, the more impact we can make and the more funds we can manifest to care for ourselves and our loved ones, be charitable, and invest in other women+.

The Urgency of Now!

It no longer serves us to have an economy that only works for a few. There are multiple places and spaces to move your money and do it in ways that align with your values. Start somewhere. Do one thing that positively serves your desire to align your money and your values. Process all that happens for your mind, body, soul, and heart when you do this and stand in your power. Applaud yourself and tell at least one other woman what you did.

As women, remember…activating the full potential of our financial power increases our agency while benefiting humanity and our planet. And this is work that’s going to take all of us. But to truly unlock women’s wealth, women need to feel comfortable with financial power while defining it for themselves and using it in ways that work for them.

Tuti B. Scott is a gender avenger, point guard, and executive coach living at the intersection of money, embodied power, and women+. Currently, she gets to facilitate trainings  and workshops to help people shift how we move money towards justice and produce Women & Money gatherings.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with a licensed financial advisor to obtain personalized advice tailored to their individual financial situation and goals.